The government through Home Affairs Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police to mount only a single roadblock, within a 10km radius. This means that there will only be a single roadblock over a 20km stretch. The police have also been ordered to use a one-stop shop arrangement. This follows frequent complaints by motorists, tourists over the number of roadblocks and accusations that poloice o0fficers extort motorists. Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi has also decried the disproportionate number of roadblocks saying that they discourage tourism.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Hom Affairs Minister Ignatious Chombo said:
All Provincial commanders have been instructed to submit their monthly roadblock schedules to Police General Headquarters (Operations) to ensure effective monitoring of deployments in line with the organisational policy of erecting roadblocks at a distance of not less than 10km apart.
One-stop-shop roadblocks, which are multi-purpose, are being implemented to avoid duplications. Increased supervision of deployed personnel is going to be enhanced to correct any inconsistencies with policies and directives.
A review of all deployments is being done with a view to rationalising the roadblock deployment system in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
More: Sunday Mail