Bigwigs lobby for ZRP Traffic posts
INFLUENTIAL people have been stampeding to have their children and relatives in the police force seconded to the traffic section to benefit from alleged rich pickings from corruption, legislators heard.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Cde Obedingwa Mguni said he had received requests from lawmakers and community leaders to have their children assume duties in the police traffic section.
Cde Mguni, who was accompanied by Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo, said this on Monday while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development chaired by Chegutu West MP Cde Dexter Nduna.
“I have received more than four requests from Members of Parliament and they are asking me to say ‘my son or my daughter is in the police force, he wants to be transferred to the traffic.’ I have told Levy Sibanda, who is Deputy Commissioner-General for Human Resources that here are the names of daughters and sons of MPs who want to be transferred to traffic. Can you interview them why they want to be transferred to traffic, what is the reason?” Cde Mguni said.
“The reason has been ‘my wife is far from me,’ ‘I see Bulawayo traffic is near, where there is space can I be accommodated,’ There are a lot of even community leaders who want their sons to go and work in traffic. You wonder why, what is the reason? Here, we have to correct everything to eradicate this (corruption) crime.”
He lashed out at such people whom he said should be exemplary in spearheading a zero tolerance on corruption.
“We need also to have the correct mindset from the parents who are also lawmakers and legislators to say, do not influence your children to go to traffic to make money because we are here trying to stop this, do away with corruption. That is why we do not sleep, we are looking for measures to stop these people from taking what is not theirs and from mounting false roadblocks,” said Cde Mguni.
Minister Chombo said it was critical to realise that there were watertight mechanisms to nip corruption in the bud by traffic police details.
“If you have a long hand and you want to be out of work, go and take $5 from the traffic section, 99 percent chances you will be caught,” said Minister Chombo.