News / National
Government insists on spot fines
12 May 2015 at 06:30hrs | Views
The controversial spot fines imposed on motorists by police are here to stay, Home Affairs permanent secretary Melusi Matshiya has ruled.
Briefing Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs on Monday, Matshiya said it is legal for the police to issue spot fines.
"The official position is that spot fines are there to stay and it is legal for the police to collect them.
"That is why I am praying to have electronic traffic management in place where police will have a database which correlates with vehicles because while Zinara has done that, the police have not," he is quoted by NewsDay.
However, in February vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa - who is also the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister - expressed concern over allegations of serious abuse of the spot fines system by traffic police officers, saying their conduct was blighting an otherwise helpful administrative process.
Mnangagwa said spot fines were gazetted to prevent flooding the courts with minor crimes which only require one to pay a fine of $10 or $20 within seven days.
"We are concerned with the abuse that the police may be doing on the spot fines facility.
"There is serious concern about the abuse by some police officers who take bribes and do not issue tickets or receipts of the money they receive from motorists," Mnangagwa said.
He said it was worrisome that a person driving on a highway at 80km per hour in a 60km zone can be charged by police for speeding even in the absence of a sign indicating the speed limit.
Briefing Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs on Monday, Matshiya said it is legal for the police to issue spot fines.
"The official position is that spot fines are there to stay and it is legal for the police to collect them.
"That is why I am praying to have electronic traffic management in place where police will have a database which correlates with vehicles because while Zinara has done that, the police have not," he is quoted by NewsDay.
Mnangagwa said spot fines were gazetted to prevent flooding the courts with minor crimes which only require one to pay a fine of $10 or $20 within seven days.
"We are concerned with the abuse that the police may be doing on the spot fines facility.
"There is serious concern about the abuse by some police officers who take bribes and do not issue tickets or receipts of the money they receive from motorists," Mnangagwa said.
He said it was worrisome that a person driving on a highway at 80km per hour in a 60km zone can be charged by police for speeding even in the absence of a sign indicating the speed limit.
Source - dailynews
