adminZvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
A Vehicle Inspection Department official said yesterday stakeholders were not helping the agency in its fight against corruption among its officers.
Chief Vehicle Inspector Johannes Pedzapasi said even officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police had failed to detect corruption at its Chiredzi depot despite glaring irregularities where applicants were being issued with driver’s licences without taking part in a road test.
He said internal investigations exposed the scam, leading to the dismissal of at least 18 inspectors.
Mr Pedzapasi was giving oral evidence before a Parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructural Department chaired by Epworth Member of National Assembly Cde Amos Midzi (Zanu-PF).
Highfield East MP Mr Eric Murai (MDC-T) had expressed concern at the level of corruption at VID where he said one had to pay a bribe to get either a driver’s licence or a certificate of fitness for a public service vehicle.
Legislators took turns to lament the level of corruption at VID.
Mr Pedzapasi said despite suggestion boxes at VID depots and notices to the public to report corruption, no person had raised alarm.
“We are not getting a single call. What is disappointing is that our law enforcement agencies are letting us down because these things were happening right under their nose (in Chiredzi) but they did not do anything. We discovered the scam because of a system we have put in place,” he said. Glen Norah MP Mr Webster Maondera (MDC-T) asked why buses and other vehicles were allowed to ferry people on national roads defectiveness.
Mr Pedzapasi said they were facing a shortage of inspectors such that one was serving up to 5 900 vehicles a year. This translated to one inspector supervising 22 vehicles a day, a situation he said was not sustainable.
Online Reporter