MPs persuaded to fastrack revision of Road Traffic Fines Act

1. Ntonya its not penalty that make people comply its the whole systems and process. Imagine in Malawi today we so many drivers who can only drive an automatic car and yet for one to get a license is examined on a manual car. so how come majority of the work class driver cant drive a manual one? I know you know the answer to question.

   Everyday from as early as 3 am you can find traffic police officer on the road and yet you find so many unroad worthy vehicles freely plying on road, worst still passing by the same officer who came very early to check on such vehicles, you why this is happening.

   Finally there is not proven research/survey that has been done by the traffic police or RTDSS justifying that the cause of road accidents in Malawi is low fines. So on what basis is Mr. Ntonya putting up his argument?

   If our parliamentarian are honest let then shoot down this bill amend. We Malawian are already complaining the way we treated each time we want to renew our documents. You spend 2 to 3 days just to have simple transaction like vehicle registration done. You don’t need to be told once you are on the que, you can see for yourself that corruption is at work. Improve on your processes and quality of work. Reduce time people spend at your office to carry out a transaction. For your own information people resolve to using short cuts just because they don’t want to spend the whole day at your offices.

   You don’t need to increase fines in order for you to realize that Blantyre and Lilongwe need additional offices to processes vehicle documents. In Lilongwe you opened City Centre office and nothing is happening in that office apart from printing documents, in my opinion I thought that office was meant to ease congestion at the main office.

   1. Accidents happen due to a number of factors, low fine is just negligible. Check the whole system, it all rotten. It needs a complete overhaul of the system including officers handling these issues. Increasing the fine will change nothing, it will only enable these officers get richer and richer at the expense of the victims. Corruption yawonjedza pa Malawi coupled with poor roads in most parts of the country. Corruption has a price to be paid, and many times the price is so high (roads users lose their lives and property).

2. The truth of the matter is that three quarters of people driving on our roads did not go through proper driving school. Their licences are bought.

3. Ntonya, u r thinking like a cadet. Hefty fines, so that the take home bribe also increases. Ntonya, u r part of why Malawi is not going forward. but since our MPs think like u, the bill will b fast tracked

4. Please stop the police from abusing the system. Why should they prosecute and judge? This leads to intimidation by the police. This must stop. Late Dzanjalimodzi got an injunction against this.

5. Its time to be sincere Mr Mtonya! Zomwetu mukufuna inu ndikuti mitengo ikwele kuti zomwe inunso mumachita demand ngati kick-backs zikwele, period!

   All you’re saying is false! The fines are already high! Bribes by road traffic directorate personnel and the police are the root cause of accidents!! Imagine when a driver is caught for exceeding offense most of the time you merely get kick backs or force such drivers to pay and continue with the same number of people on board!! Kodi kulipila for an offense kumamupanga munthu kukhala ndi chilolezo chopitiliza ulendo ndi zinthu zolakwika? Worse still, when a driver is caught having anthu or katundu opitilira muyeso at 7 o’ clock in the morning, you allow them to proceed with their trips irrespective of the offense provided they display that GR they got after paying for the offense! And most drivers particularly lorry and min-bus drivers use such GRs for the whole day!!

   Look at what you are doing at weigh-bridges, when one is caught with an offense of K800,000 and above, you usually allow kick back of K250,000 or K300,000 and let the offenders proceed with the offense. Inuyo musaoneke kuchenjela, you want high charges kuti the amount of kick backs nazonso zikwele!! Za chambaa basiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

   1. Very true

6. The speeding minibuses in Karonga were not induced by small road traffic fines but rather by the fact that minibus owners give their drivers daily financial targets to meet. Hefty fines will not deter accidents. How about the nasty roads and the selling of driving licences by the road traffic directorate itself? The issue is more complex than you think. Apa ndiye mwaganiza ngati cadet

7. Mr. Ntonya, raising a fine will not stop over speeding and accidents. Most of these salvage drivers not competent on the roads of Malawi especially minibus drivers buy licences from ur corrupt Road traffic, someone just from the village in Mulanje comes in town kugula license and mawa becomes a driver, how can he comply ndi malamulo apa mseu. There is too much corruption at ur office in all the region’s

8. Encouraging corruption. Build spaghetti roads . Anthu ena aja nde anenepa kwambiri.

9. In fact increased fines will make traffic police richer. Deal with corrupt traffic officers who tolerate unworthy vehicles and over speeding and receive bribes instead of penalty fees. You may wish to know that a small percentage less (10%) of roads collections go into GR. 90% of the fines is pocketed. Mr. Ntonya do a proper study using the concept of punishments in psychology” remember death penalties do not stop murders. Educate road users, empower passengers to report reckless drivers and act on them. MPs ignore Ntonya’s request instead ask his Department and Traffic Police to address the above

10. Tikudalira inu aphungu athu kuti bill imeneyi isadutse. Anthu ankhanza awa komanso opanda chifundo ofuna kulemera mwachangu. Fine ikakula ziphuphu sizingathe. Palizifukwa zambiri zopangitsa ngozi, Miseu yochepa komanso yosakhala bwino. Too much traffic conjetion in cities. Ena amakhala akuthamangila kuchipatala. Kuudula kwamafuta poopa kuti mafuta amuthera pa quee munthu amayenda zosakhala bwino. M1 Lilongwe-Kasungu very risky road galimoto zikamadutsana usiku. Matayala agalimoto ndiokwera mtengo kwambiri motorist are recycling tires. Too much fake spare parts in shops. Itayeni bill imeneyi apeze chochita kuti ngozi zichepe fine singapewe ngozi. Mwachitsanzo mudaletsa kuti anthu asamakwele malore koma mabasi kapena maminibasi, kodi ngozi zidatha? Mabasi sakuchita ngozi? Try intensive civic education and see the outcome.

11. Mr Leonard Ntonya, can’t we Malawians be smart a little, I mean just a little. Fines no matter how exorbitant they are, they will not stop accidents. They will not stop speeding. The good laws that we already have should be enforced. How many traffic police patrols were planned and carried on the roads in the north to catch speeding drivers and those others that disobey the law? So this notion that if you just raise the fines then the laws will enforce themselves is foolish. Start thinking about law enforcement and not putting hefty fines.

    1. Join the discussion…I also choose to disagree with Leonard Ntonya that raising of penalty fine will help to reduce road accidents on the roads of Malawi .From my observation all what is needed is a lot of civic education to the drivers emphasis being on the importance of observing road traffic rules and respect for road users that is from driver to driver and to pedestrians. And also can the Road Traffic Directorate stop this madness of issuing drivers licences to people who have not passed motor examiners tests because it would appear most of the drivers i.e mini bus drivers specially have licences but do not have knowledge of the highway code!

    2. HEFTY fines is just killing Malawians; Malawians are poor despite havining vehicle; Having a car does not mean you can pay any fines; Road Traffic Directorate from top and down they are corrupters; they despiration; So they know when they raise money for fines people will not be able to pay and negotiation begins and corruption take place; their bellies grows big, Foolish, Since our MPs are stupid and foolish they pass the bill Mark my words;

       1. Use speed traps and don’t take bribes, which a very difficult thing to do.

       2. Everything has been said. The best Mr Mtonya can do is find an other job.

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