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Traffic chief calls a spade a spade
2007-08-11 10:49:14
By Angel Navuri
The country`s Traffic Police Chief yesterday said traffic police officers and vehicle inspectors were behind the occurrence of frequent road accidents.
He said they had always issued licences to untested drivers.
Opening a two-day course for Motor Vehicle Inspectors in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Kombe said: `Issuing driving licences without seeing the applicants is so dangerous. They might be blind, disabled, mentally ill or drug addicts.`
He said the police were issuing driving licences to persons aged below 16 years, contrary to law. He said the tendency fuelled road accidents and killing of innocent lives.
`The worst thing is that the majority of vehicle inspectors, who are expected to test the applicants, don`t know how to drive. How can you test somebody without yourself knowing how to handle a vehicle?` queried Kombe.
He said vehicle inspectors had been issuing driving licences without verifying the qualifications of applicants or checking whether they had undergone driving lessons at recognized institutions.
`Some police inspectors have reached a point of signing driving licenses, although they are not listed as vehicle inspectors,` said Kombe.
He criticized traffic officers for bribe-taking and allowing faulty vehicles owned by rich individuals to ply the roads.
Some of vehicle inspectors are not even conversant with road signs, a defect that lowers their performance in terms of service delivery, he said.
`Inspectors lack road safety training. Some are ignorant of road signs. We cannot reduce road accidents in such circumstances,` said Kombe.
Opening the meeting, Deputy Minister for Public Safety and Security Mohamed Aboud said the government had put in place practical and long-term strategies to slow down motor accidents.
The strategies include controlling movements of faulty vehicles, installing speed governors on passenger buses, introducing controls in the issuance of driving licences and training of motor vehicle inspectors.
The training programe that drew about 130 vehicle inspectors countrywide, was financed by Scania Tanzania Ltd and Total and Super Doll Licences.
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