Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Police have launched a new operation targeting more than 1 241 motorists in Harare for violating traffic light regulations.
The force has taken the unusual step of publishing the vehicle registration numbers of all offenders, demanding their owners report to the nearest police station within the next week.
This crackdown is powered by the new Electronic Traffic Management System, a multi-million dollar technology partnership aimed squarely at curbing the country’s rising tide of road accidents and lawlessness.
National police spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the operation in a stern statement.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police releases the registration numbers for vehicles which were captured through the Electronic Traffic Management System for violating red traffic lights in Harare Central Business District,” Comm Nyathi said.
He issued a direct appeal to those on the list: “All vehicle owners are advised to report to any nearest police station to assist in the ongoing investigations within the next seven days. Vehicle owners and those in possession of the vehicles are urged to cooperate with the police to assist in the maintenance of law and order.”
The system is part of an ambitious US$80 million Public-Private Partnership with Dubai-based Vitronic Machine Vision Middle East. Its implementation signals a shift from manual enforcement to an automated, unforgiving technological dragnet designed to ensure no offender, “regardless of their status or connections,” escapes accountability.
This latest list of 1 241 offenders is a subset of a much larger problem. Police previously revealed that the electronic system has recorded a staggering 20 000 vehicles openly flouting road regulations in Harare and Bulawayo combined.
