The new increased spot fines will now be challenged in court. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has said the fines are “grossly...
The new increased spot fines will now be challenged in court.The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has said the fines are “grossly unreasonable and do not serve the ends of justice”. Traffic fines were hiked from a maximum of $20 to $100.
Dzimbabwe Chimbga, head of public interest litigation at ZLHR, said his organisation has received complaints from motorists and would soon file a court challenge.
“We will be tabling a legal challenge on their behalf when we open on Monday. We are obviously concerned that the government is trying to resolve a political and economic problem by using fines as a fundraising tool. This is not the purpose of fines,” he said.
“The fine is grossly unreasonable especially considering that the average salary earned by civil servants is $300 a month and that is not even being paid. How does the government hope to see these motorists pay such fines?” he said.
But a police source told Newsday that there was still confusion on whether the $100 fine was supposed to be collected on the spot or in court.
“We are still using the old fines until we receive communication from the top. We understand that it’s not clear if these are spot fines, so there is need for that clarity,” said a police source.
COMMENTS