News / National
Compulsory vehicle inspection on cards
23 Oct 2013 at 04:57hrs | Views
Government will soon introduce compulsory inspection for public and private vehicles at Vehicle Inspection Department depots countrywide, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking at an unannounced familiarisation tour of VID in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Dr Obert Mpofu also said Government has with immediate effect lifted the ban on the importation of left hand drive trucks.
"It has come to our attention that people are driving unregistered vehicles and the number of these vehicles equal the registered ones," said Minister Mpofu.
"The Government is meeting to introduce a compulsory vehicle inspection regulation and there will be penalties for those found on the wrong side of the law."
On the lifting of the ban on left-hand drive vehicles, Minister Mpofu said his ministry felt it was not necessary to continue implementing the ban.
"We feel it's not fair to our truckers that they be stopped from importing big trucks as we have found no problems regarding these trucks in road usage," said Minister Mpofu.
There was uproar when the ban on the importation of left-hand drive vehicles and vehicles that are more than five years old.
Many people said Government should have first made thorough research before implementing the regulation it sought to introduce.
Turning to his surprise tour of the VID yesterday, Minister Mpofu said his Ministry was touring institutions under his ministry throughout the country.
"The VID is the most important department in the Ministry. They offer vehicle fitness, test driving and drivers licenses, so much is happening here," he said.
"However, I have noticed that they are facing challenges regarding their equipment which is in a state of disrepair.
"The general conditions here are not conducive to the staff and to that effect we have received a donation of 20 computers which will help in their computerisation."
Minister Mpofu added that the Ministry will help VID in its commercialisation programme to make it viable.
"They provide an essential service, therefore, we will help it to be self-sufficient by upgrading their services.''
Speaking at the same occasion Transport and Infrastructure Development Deputy Minister Cde Petronella Kagonye said Zimbabwe was the only country that had not commercialised.
"It is proper to consider commercialisation so that we move in line with Sadc guidelines," she said.
Speaking at an unannounced familiarisation tour of VID in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Dr Obert Mpofu also said Government has with immediate effect lifted the ban on the importation of left hand drive trucks.
"It has come to our attention that people are driving unregistered vehicles and the number of these vehicles equal the registered ones," said Minister Mpofu.
"The Government is meeting to introduce a compulsory vehicle inspection regulation and there will be penalties for those found on the wrong side of the law."
On the lifting of the ban on left-hand drive vehicles, Minister Mpofu said his ministry felt it was not necessary to continue implementing the ban.
"We feel it's not fair to our truckers that they be stopped from importing big trucks as we have found no problems regarding these trucks in road usage," said Minister Mpofu.
There was uproar when the ban on the importation of left-hand drive vehicles and vehicles that are more than five years old.
Many people said Government should have first made thorough research before implementing the regulation it sought to introduce.
"The VID is the most important department in the Ministry. They offer vehicle fitness, test driving and drivers licenses, so much is happening here," he said.
"However, I have noticed that they are facing challenges regarding their equipment which is in a state of disrepair.
"The general conditions here are not conducive to the staff and to that effect we have received a donation of 20 computers which will help in their computerisation."
Minister Mpofu added that the Ministry will help VID in its commercialisation programme to make it viable.
"They provide an essential service, therefore, we will help it to be self-sufficient by upgrading their services.''
Speaking at the same occasion Transport and Infrastructure Development Deputy Minister Cde Petronella Kagonye said Zimbabwe was the only country that had not commercialised.
"It is proper to consider commercialisation so that we move in line with Sadc guidelines," she said.
Source - herald
