MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) - “Why don’t the municipal traffic officials act consistently,” is a question bothering a businessman who received a parking ticket for parking in front of his own business.

Mr Hannes Voight, locksmith in Krogh Street, is not unwilling to pay the fine for parking on the loading zone, but he is unhappy that only his vehicle, an LDV, was targeted. Last week he received a notification to appear in court.

The incident happened on October 25 last year. Four days afterwards, he sent a three-page letter to the municipality by registered post.

“I have not received any answer up to today,” says Mr Voight. The letter was addressed to the Director of Community Services.

His problems with parking arose from the fact that his private parking at the back of his business is adjacent to the Edgars’ municipal parking area.

“Our private parking can hardly ever be used because we are called out on many occasions during the day to attend to locks and safes, only to find that our vehicle cannot be moved due to illegally parked vehicles obstructing our way in the municipal parking area,” says Mr Voight.

On the day of the incident, two traffic officers stopped next to the LDV on the loading zone in front of the locksmith business and wrote a parking ticket. Mr Voight was informed that the officers had noticed that the LDV had been standing for too long on the loading zone and that nobody was physically busy loading or unloading goods onto or from the vehicle.

“The traffic officers then informed me that they were going to take action against all offenders and invited me to phone them if anybody parked on the loading zone without loading or unloading goods. The one officer went as far as writing his cellphone number on the back of my parking ticket and informed me that I must contact him immediately if somebody parks illegally and the necessary action will be taken,” says Mr Voight.

That was where the problem started. There was no way in which he could get the officers to act consistently. On the same day, two vehicles were parked on the loading zone. Mr Voight takes up the story: “By coincidence, the same two traffic officers who had issued me a parking ticket drove past in their vehicle. Excitedly, I phoned the officer on his cellphone and enquired why they had driven past the two vehicles that were parked on the loading zone without doing anything. I was informed that they had not noticed anything.”

Nine more vehicles, of which six were light motor vehicles, parked on the loading zone on the same afternoon. None of the vehicles loaded or unloaded any goods. Mr Voight notified the traffic officer who had given him his cell number.

“After the third call, he just hung up without answering the phone,” says Mr Voight.

The next day, Mr Voight informed the traffic officer via SMS that there was an illegally parked light motor vehicle in the loading zone. He got no reaction.

“A few minutes later, another traffic vehicle stopped behind the illegally parked light motor vehicle, the traffic officers climbed out of the vehicle but did nothing about the illegally parked light motor vehicle,” says Mr Voight.

This businessman is exasperated by the fact that the traffic officers do not enforce the law in a uniform way.

Mr Lampie Schoeman, newly appointed Acting Director of Community Services, said on Tuesday, June 20, that the matter would be investigated and that the complainant would be notified. Mr Schoeman was true to his word and on June 27 he reported that the letter had been answered and the complainant visited to the satisfaction of both parties.

Mr Schoeman said that the correct procedure in handling a letter of complaint would be to acknowledge receipt and to supply the complainant with the name of the municipal officer who would handle the case. Mr Schoeman’s appointment as Acting Director followed the dismissal of the previous Director, Mr Musitha, who was summarily dismissed on charges of misconduct.