Traffic cops acquire state of the art machinery

Zimbabwe motorist should brace for more road blocks as the traffic police plan to beef up their roadblock equipment and high way patrols by ordering state of the art machinery.

This has been interpreted as move to intensify checkpoints on the roads.

Basing on a tender document, ZRP/FT05.2011, cops want to procure 110 modern speed traps machines, 700 'police ahead signs', 500 road barriers and 1000 deflators.

The bids are set to open in April.

National spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said there is nothing unusual for cops acquiring new equipment.

"There is nothing unusual about traffic police getting new equipment.

We do that on a routine bases" he said.

There is an outcry from motorist on the numbers of road blocks on the country's roads.

Traffic police have been accused of demanding bribes from motorists and there are claims that they are using roadblocks for fundraising.

So heated has the issue of roadblocks, even parliamentarians have recently debated about it.

But Bvudzijena said if the public think that traffic police are abuse roadblocks, the checkpoints" would actually intensify until sanity returns."

Police also claim that roadblocks do improve public safety but motorist says there are 18 roadblocks between Harare and Bulawayo.