A total of 11 917 pirate taxis and unregistered vehicles
have been impounded countrywide as the Zimbabwe Republic Police and other law
enforcement agents yesterday started targeting vehicles without registration
number plates or displaying expired temporary plates.
Police have been impounding vehicles used for illegal
public transport operations and yesterday’s blitz was an addition to this
operation.
According to the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Act,
vehicles should be registered and always display their registration marks and
numbers.
Police said such vehicles should not be driven on the roads
and motorists risk having their cars impounded and only to be released once
they have been registered at the Central Vehicle Registry, a process that now
costs US$80.
Police are also targeting those who are flouting traffic
regulations and endangering the lives of other road users.
The crackdown on unregistered vehicles comes in the wake of
a spate of armed robberies countrywide as criminals are using such vehicles to
try and evade arrest since the unmarked vehicles cannot be easily identified.
Others are suspected to have been involved in hit-and-run
accidents. Police said they would release the vehicles impounded for
lack of registration plates once the owners have registered them.
On pirate taxis, police are also conducting an operation targeting
motor vehicle owners who are operating public transport without exemption.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi assured the public that the Central Vehicle Registry now has adequate
permanent registration number plates so that the previous exemption allowing
vehicles to use expired temporary plates no longer applied.
“We would want to reiterate that any vehicle seen on the
road without displaying number plates will be impounded by police at roadblocks
and check points.
He said the motoring public was ignoring the law or was
being reluctant to register their vehicles.
In February last year, Government said importers of
vehicles who had been unable to register them owing to a shortage of number
plates should obtain temporary identification cards for indefinite use as it
organised new supplies of plates.
Temporary registration number plates normally have a 14-day
lifespan, just enough time to get the vehicle home and organise the permanent
registration. Herald
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