Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
NATIONAL police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi has said essential service workers do not need extra exemptions for their vehicles as they go about their official work business.
This comes at a time when some essential service workers have been having challenges accessing their work stations as police manning road blocks have been demanding exemption letters for vehicles from people cleared to report for work.
Some frontline workers complained in interviews with Chronicle that even though they had exemption letters, they were turned away at roadblocks dotted around the city as officers manning the roadblocks demanded exemption letters for the vehicles.
Even for those using company cars, the police officers manning roadblocks queried that the vehicles were not branded, thereby not showing that they were company vehicles. In that case, they were demanding log books or exemption letters for the vehicles.
In an interview, Asst Comm Nyathi said all essential services workers were at liberty to use private vehicles for work assignments.
“Employees with exemptions can use their private vehicles as they do not need extra exemptions for private vehicles. The private cars must only ferry people with exemptions and there must not be any extra people without exemptions in those cars.
“We are trying to limit the number of cars and the number of people in the CBD,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi however said complaints have been received from Bulawayo that some people were abusing exemptions and were using them for non-work-related purposes.
He said essential service workers travelling in Zupco buses were also undergoing screening at roadblocks as they were also expected to produce their exemptions.
“People with exemptions are the ones who are allowed to move from one point to another. If they are using their private vehicles, then those cars must not have any other person besides people who are going for work. People have been abusing the facility. The officer Commanding Bulawayo yesterday said some people were abusing the facility and people were trying to use private vehicle to come into the CBD, and when they were asked to produce exemptions, some of them had no exemptions,” he said.
“Even those who are travelling with Zupco buses going for work, they are also being screened. It’s not necessarily that those with private vehicle are the ones who are going to be screened. All people will be screened to ensure that exemptions apply to relevant people, not just to each and every person.” — @andle_tshuma
Online Reporter