“The Congress of the People (Cope) believes that the role of all traffic departments is to ensure that all the drivers are in compliance with the Road Safety Act,” said the regional chairperson of the party in Vhembe, Mr Geoffrey Tshibvumo.

In a media statement, Tshibvumo alleges that the traffic officers of the Musina Municipality are using vehicles with worn-out tyres, vehicles with no licence discs and vehicles with no hooters. “As Cope in Vhembe, we strongly feel they are abusing their powers,” he says. He mentions that his party feels that all must be equal before the law, “and this includes all government agencies, and Musina Municipality is not immune from this.”

In reaction, the spokesperson for the Musina Municipality, Mr Wilson Dzebu, said that the allegations that the bakkie being used by their traffic officers does not comply with the safety standards “are misleading, unfounded and baseless”. He added that dents did not suggest that the vehicle was unroadworthy.

He said that the allegation that the vehicle had no licence disc was not true. “The disc has been pasted in the top middle of the windscreen,” Dzebu said. The licence expires on 30 November 2012, he added.

Dzebu also said that they were aware that vehicles on the road should have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm over the main treads.  “As a law-enforcement agency, we have no reason to use a vehicle that is not roadworthy”. Dzebu acknowledged that they had limited resources, but “we are doing our best to make sure that we deliver quality services to our people,” he said.