Source: Hike spot fines: Chihuri – DailyNews Live
Blessings Mashaya 24 February 2017
HARARE – Government must steeply hike spot fines to make them more
punitive to stem road crime and carnage, police commissioner-general
Augustine Chihuri said yesterday.
The police chief told the parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport
and Infrastructural Development – which was touring the law enforcement
agency’s transport management and computerisation centre at Chikurubi –
that legislators should push for steep fines for traffic violations,
including drunken driving; measures he claimed would introduce discipline
on some of the country’s most dangerous roads.
“The fines are such that once you pay, you forget it. Take for example in
Germany, if you commit an offence, they take all your number plates and
for you to get one plate (back), you need to fork out $10 000, which is
$20 000 for the two,” Chihuri told the lawmakers.
“I think for us, the number of people who commit road offences will
continue to increase because of small fines. But with the new system, all
this will be a thing of the past.”
Chihuri claimed spot fines and spikes were lawful.
“Yes spikes are legal….spot fines are also legal. People forget that as
police, we need to be protected from criminals. Everyone sees our mistakes
because we work with people all the time,” he said.
In justifying stiffer penalties, Chihuri said last year alone, 36 police
officers were injured, with three of them getting killed after being hit
by motorists trying to escape arrest.
This comes after Chihuri, Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo and
Attorney-General, Prince Machaya, in November last year unanimously
conceded that it was unconstitutional for traffic police officers to
detain and demand payment of spot fines from motorists at roadblocks.
The trio made the concessions in response to a High Court application
filed by a Harare motorist, Andrew Makunura, who was ordered to pay a spot
fine for not having a radio listener’s licence, but went on to file a
constitutional challenge against payment of spot fines.
Chihuri’s sentiments came after Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa in the
2017 budget hiked standard fines – which were last reviewed in February
2009 – by up to 100 percent with effect from January 1.
Chinamasa, like Chihuri, also argued that the penalty structure had been
found to be ineffective, given the rising road fatalities that were
largely attributed to the failure by motorists to observe road rules.
COMMENTS
And who is to be the judge as to who is right and who is wrong in such road traffic contraventions…the thugs in uniform that we meet every day jumping out of the bush and demanding with menace spot fines for the strangest of road traffic contraventions?
Or perhaps is Chihuri simply short of a bit of ready cash to bless a pretty young lady that has just aroused his eye…or some other part of his body.
Have you seen Chihuri’s mansion??!! It must cost a fortune to run that place!
Zanu functionaries are immune from all of this. They can be sent into Matabeleland to murder as many people as they choose or are told to murder, by Mugabe and Shiri – and then they will be awarded medals for bravery. How many CIO operatives have abducted or kidnapped perceived opposition figures in vehicles with no number plates? The Zed Arrah Pee will be very busy giving immunity to all the CIO vehicles with no number plates?
They have now seen we are all quite pliable like sheep willingly getting slaughtered.
This f***ing crook needs to be prosecuted, locked up forever and forced to repay all the money he has stolen.
Well done, Chihuri, ‘Alternative Facts’ have finally arrived in Zim!
To clarify: it’s a blatant lie that ‘ they take all your number plates’ and ‘you need to fork out $10 000’ for each to get them back.
German Police Officers issue tickets.
There is no impounding of cars or ‘creative invention’ of laws or damage to property (spikes). That’s considered unlawful.
Corruption and self-enrichment are unheard of. That’s something you should highlight and compare your police force to. It would solve plenty problems.
Just on a final note: Having driven on German roads for more than 30 years, I’ve collected 3 tickets in total, only being stopped by police just once. Here, in Zimbabwe I’m stopped at readblocks no less than 16 times between Harare and Vic Falls on a single one-way trip. Francly, that’s what I’d call absurd.
Reading this, I doubt if fineing people more will alter the current road safety problems you perceive you have. First the Writer is correct that the German police DO NOT “Take your number plates” , so do not lie; it spoils the argument. In the UK the police impound your vehicle if the thing has no MOT, Tax, or insurance plus if the driver is named driver on the insurance in say a male and female is diving she must be able to produce separate cover. You pay to get the vehicle back.
I Mentioned MOT, Contole Technique etc. This would help more then anything else. Most Banger cars of the Uk fail the annual test. Roads are also a serious matter and poor surface etc can and are contributory factors to accidents (which do not really exist, they are incidents and there is cause for each and every one)
In the EEC and the Uk minor matters are dealt with by ticketing and points and in some cases attendance at a course of tuition.
After all the matter must not be a money making racket as is hinted at by these columns, for the idea is to improve safety. The issuing of Driving licenses is serious area to be looked at as even in the Uk, proxy applications are common and are always discovered.