MBOMBELA – Mpumalanga government officials stationed at the Riverside Government Complex could not escape the wrath of Nyamsoro as hundreds of them had to pay their outstanding traffic fines on the spot last week Monday.
Nyamsoros are the recently introduced vehicles equipped wth an automated number plate recognition programme.
They are used to identify motorists who have outstanding fines or summonses by “reading” their vehicles’ number plates.
They were posted at the entrance and exit of the complex in the morning and afternoon during two operations led by
Mr Vusi Shongwe, MEC for community safety, security and liaison.
According to Mr Simon du Plessis, project manager, a total of 1 376 tickets were paid, totalling approximately R80 000 in fines owed by motorists working at the government complex.
With Nyamsoros, motorists are allowed to pay on the spot through the electronic payment system fitted in the vehicles. They were introduced three weeks ago during a roadblock on the N4 near Mattafin outside Mbombela.
Shongwe has urged government officials and politicians who have outstanding fines, to settle them because failure to do so might lead to their arrest. He encourages them to lead by example and become traffic ambassadors so that government’s messages on road safety are taken seriously.
“We will not tolerate the attitude that government officials and other motorists demonstrate towards obeying the law. We need to help government to enhance and promote road safety by being good examples ourselves.”
He added that this operation would emphasised the messages that government was serious about enhancing road safety and bringing to book all those who broke the law regardless of who they were or where they worked.
According to spokesman Mr Joseph Mabuza, the department will continue to conduct these operations at other government institutions around the province.
