Mozambique deploys inspectors on roads to fight traffic police corruption

Maputo (AIM-New Ziana) -Mozambican police will deploy a team of inspectors to detect and fight corruption within its Traffic unit, Commander General Bernardino Rafael has announced.

According to Rafael, the inspectors would carry out patrols to stop traffic police officers from extorting motorists.

“We will deploy teams of inspectors to police all officers who commit these irregularities. The offenders will be removed and held criminally responsible,” he said.

He said the Mozambican police also wanted to combat the involvement of its various branches in traffic inspection, so that it was the exclusive responsibility of one specialised unit.

“There are many entities playing the same role and in different places,” he said.

Rafael urged traffic police officers to stop inconveniencing motorists.

“Don’t steal time and slow down the traffic,” he urged, exhorting members of the force to “make people’s lives easier” by simplifying inspection procedures.

He also criticised the illegal appropriation of drivers’ personal documents by traffic officers as a form of psychological coercion to pay bribes.

Several reports have identified the Mozambican Traffic Police [PT – Policia de Transito] as one of the most corrupt institutions in that country.

The traffic unit is also accused of being among the causes of road accidents in the country, by allowing bad driving to persist in exchange for bribes.

AIM-New Ziana