Zimbabweans yesterday condemned the move by the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) to scrap, with immediate effect, the 30-day grace period it had granted to motorists to regularise their vehicle registration.
Long queues resurfaced at most Zimpost offices countrywide yesterday as motorists jostled to obtain new licence discs as police intensified their clampdown on unlicensed vehicles.
Several motorists interviewed by NewsDay said the move had inconvenienced them, describing it as extortionist. MDC national chairperson Nhlanhla Dube equated Zinara’s latest directive to “daylight robbery”, adding that his leaders would raise the issue in Cabinet while seeking to challenge it in court.
“It is shocking to note that barely a week after announcing the extension, Zinara has decided to instruct the police to arrest those that listened to its instruction on extension,” he said.
“The MDC treats this as a serious case of daylight robbery against the people of Zimbabwe.
“It is unacceptable for a government institution to act in a manner that seeks to violate the rights of the public.
“The party has since asked its ministers deployed in government to take up the issue at that level and bring an end to this criminal behaviour.
“We also wish to make known that we won’t hesitate to take the issue to the courts of law to protect the public against this exploitation.”
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The licence discs, featuring new security checks, were introduced last month in a bid to counter production of fake documents.
But Zinara spokesperson Augustine Moyo said there was no going back on the latest decision.
“We gave them an extension, and the public decided to drive their vehicles without insurance and so vehicles have accidents and who will compensate for them? What we are saying is if you come between now and June 30, you will not accrue any arrears.
“We will start penalising after June 30,” said Moyo, adding they had extended their daily working hours to ease the pressure.
Police also vowed to penalise motorists with invalid motor vehicle licence discs.
