The Zimbabwe Republic Police (RBZ) must not give traffic
cops manning roadblocks targets as this fuels corruption and other forms of
misconduct, Home Affairs and Culture Secretary Dr Melusi Matshiya, has said.
Responding to questions from the Portfolio Committee on
Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services yesterday while presenting
requirements on the 2019 National Budget, Dr Matshiya also indicated that the
ZRP had dismissed some of its members for engaging in corruption.
“Corruption in ZRP was there and those who were caught
red-handed by their bosses were fired. On the aspect of targets, I was not
aware. The problem with targets is that you will push officers into doing
something which ordinarily they would not want to do. This creates a problem,”
he said.
“In terms of our image and how we now relate to the public
and the mentioning of too many roadblocks we are rationalising to come up with
an appropriate number. The critical issue is when the police mount a roadblock.
“It is to look at the dangers within the society which are
speeding, unroadworthy vehicles and many other societal ills such as theft.
“The public said roadblocks are required, but within
certain parameters. It is those parameters we are trying to develop to make
sure we weed (out) corruption. There is an issue of accountability where we
want to see money reaching its intended destiny.”
Dr Matshiya said measures were being put in place to
restore the public’s confidence in the police.
These include removal of mandatory spot-fines and giving
the public at least seven days to pay their traffic fines.
“The public could now swipe, EcoCash, or pay the fines when
they are paying their licence fees or even take their case to the court if they
felt duped by the traffic police officers,” he said.
Dr Matshiya said the ZRP was struggling in its operations
because of the minimal budget allocation it was receiving from Treasury.
He said the security of the country should be prioritised
in terms of funding.
On immigration, Dr Matshiya said there was need for the
upgrading of computerisation system.
ZRP Deputy Commissioner-General Levy Sibanda said the
police were failing to provide decent accommodation to its members and some of
them were living in pathetic conditions.
The ZRP is also facing challenges of vehicles and this has
seen police failing to attend to accidents and crime scenes on time.
“Provision of security and prevention of crime is not a
menial business. It is quite expensive and it needs a lot of support in terms
of the fiscus. We are provided with 30 to 40 percent budget allocations from
what we request,” he said.
“The ZRP as an organisation is seriously underfunded and
that compromises its operations in terms of accommodation and the communication
sector. Without these issues being looked into more objectively, it means we
might stay with this problem and our performance will be next to zero.” Herald
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