As Roadblocks Reduced, Zimbabwe ‘Revenue’ Police Swoop On Hotels
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Tags: Bulawayo, Roadblocks, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police, ZRP
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As government says it is reducing the number of roadblocks, ZRP officers appear to have found a new avenue for making money as they have besieged Bulawayo food outlets and hotels where they are issuing tickets for what operators feel are flimsy offences.
ZRP officers have been accused of fleecing motorists by forcing them to pay spot fines for suspicious offences leading to a public outcry which has forced the government to act.
However, the cops seem to have found a new way of generating cash.
Bulawayo hotel owners and food outlet operators who spoke to New Zimbabwe.com accused the police of usurping council officials’ responsibilities.
According to the city’s by-laws, council environmental and health officers are responsible for monitoring public health standards as well as ensuring that the relevant laws are being adhered to.
“These police officers are harassing us. Every week they raid our premises issuing tickets for offences which do not exist.
Today I have been slapped with a ticket written “failing to maintain a sanitary convenience in a clean state”. Honestly what is that?
For this “offence” I was made to pay $20,” said a hotel owner who refused to be named for fear of victimisation.
Another food outlet operator said every week more than five police officers from Bulawayo Central Police Station visit her premises demanding access to fridges and cold rooms.
“On one occasion, the officers issued me with a ticket for mixing different cuts of beef. They left the ticket with one of my workers. How do these people expect us to survive really? On the roads they extort us and now they have followed us to our businesses,” said the operator.
In recent years, there has been a public outcry concerning the overzealous manner in which some ZRP officers man roadblocks along the country’s roads. It has been widely reported that traffic cops are abusing both the motorists and the law.
The tourism sector is also reportedly suffering huge losses owing to the numerous roadblocks on the highways.
These days, police officers are no longer in short supply of offences.
Offences range from not obeying stop signs, expired fire extinguishers, lack of reflective triangles, unsecure load as well as torn vehicle seats.
