Sana'a.. Traffic violations and levies are a picture of organized Houthi corruption
English - Monday 21 November 2022 الساعة 02:12 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, special report:
“They are robbing us twice”; With this phrase, the driver of a taxi that stopped two years ago confirmed that he had not even paid the fines over the past years.
The disclosure came against the backdrop of an announcement by the Sana’a Traffic Department of the Ministry of Interior, which is under the control of the terrorist Houthi militia, to extend the payment period for the renewal of vehicle cards of all kinds in return for paying a lump sum of about (13,000) riyals for each renewal process, regardless of the years of non-renewal that have passed on the card. However, this is conditional on the need for the vehicle owner to pay the full value of all the fines he has, regardless of their number and whatever amount he has to pay.
Sources in Sana'a Traffic told NewsYemen: The extension of the period for renewing vehicle cards and paying fines took place after the branches of the traffic departments in Sana'a and the rest of the areas controlled by the Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen, were able to. From collecting hundreds of millions of riyals as a result of vehicle card renewals and collecting traffic fines for all vehicles of all types and numbers.
The sources added that these measures enabled the Houthi militia to collect huge amounts, especially those amounts for paying the value of traffic violations on various vehicle plates, which number 13 types (private - fare - transport - government - political body - customs entry - temporary entry). - United Nations - motorcycle - police - army - consular body - Yemen International).
According to traffic sources, the amounts of traffic violations are very large for many reasons, including that these amounts include the value of about (131) types of violations approved by the law, which are committed by drivers most of the time without knowledge of their type and value on the one hand, and on the other hand, that the process of collecting the value of violations What the Houthi militia is doing is related to the past years, some of which are more than ten years ago, specifically since 2011.
The sources indicate that the passage of the secretariat and the passage of Sana’a alone obtained nearly one billion riyals from the value of renewing vehicle cards at the rate of (520) million riyals for (40) thousand vehicles whose cards were renewed for 13 thousand riyals for each renewal, and (468) million riyals for ( 36) A thousand vehicles whose cards have been renewed, and all this during the first reduction period, which began on April 13, 2022 , and then was extended for two times.
They rob us twice
What the traffic man told NewsYemen was confirmed by the owners of vehicles bearing taxi numbers in Sanaa, where one of the taxi owners, who is an expatriate in one of the neighboring countries, said, I decided to renew the car license. I went to the administration and found many violations and a large sum of money.
He adds to NewsYemen: The car is rarely used in my absence, and when I asked for an explanation of the violations, the computer-based employee refused to give me that, and I know him well through dealing with him and paying previous violations.
He says: I decided to go to the general manager, but that employee caught me and asked me not to go before he gave me an amount from his own pocket, in agreement with a colleague of his, at 70% of the value of the violations, and the rest of the amount I have to pay.
He concludes: The previous bond was confiscated and cut up in front of me, and a problem arose with him after I realized that they were looting the fees without supplying them, and the violations kept accumulating as they are, and this is exactly what happened to me, but I told him that I keep a copy of the previous bond and that I can hold him accountable, and it ended with that.
A traffic policeman told the driver that those in charge of managing the violations are a group of employees who were carefully placed by influential people in order to carry out clear corruption and looting missions, and that there are those who protect them in light of the lack of awareness of some drivers of what is being looted, stressing that in the past years the owners of vehicles were stolen with these The method is millions of riyals without anyone holding them accountable in light of the chaos and the fear of car owners to raise their voices for fear of a negative reaction towards them.
Looting and thefts in new ways
In addition, the sources confirm that the collection of traffic violations, even if it witnessed a reduction by paying an amount of one thousand riyals for each violation, but the requirement of the Traffic Department to pay all violations, regardless of their number and duration, is what enabled the militia leaders to collect hundreds of millions of riyals, especially since some vehicle owners have violations extends to about ten years or more.
The sources pointed out that the militia intentionally announces the reduction of fines for violations and other things from time to time, with the aim of providing millions of riyals in revenue.
According to one of the traffic men who spoke to NewsYemen, one of the owners of taxis in Sana'a (a medium-sized transport bus driver) amounted to about (800) thousand riyals, with (800) violations extending over the past nine years, and that he had to pay the full amount.
The source added: The violations of taxis are the most collected because they are violations committed on an almost daily basis by virtue of the work of the owners and drivers of this type of vehicles. Therefore, the leaders of the Houthi militia in traffic focus on following up and collecting money for violations of taxi vehicles more than others.
In addition, one of the owners of minibuses (carrying a fare plate) said that the processes of recording traffic violations for owners of taxi plate vehicles are different from others, as traffic men tend to record almost daily violations on them, even if they did not commit them sometimes.
He added to NewsYemen: Although I had paid the fines on my vehicle and set its meter to zero, I was surprised that, within four days, fines of (15) thousand riyals were filed against me. Without my knowledge and without the fact that I committed a violation, with the exception of one violation, which is wrong parking, or what they call in the Traffic Law obstructing traffic, the value of which does not exceed one thousand riyals.
And he continued: When I used one of the employees working in the Traffic Office to inquire about the violations that were raised on my vehicle, his response surprised me, as he told me that the violations related to my vehicle were carried out by what they call (secret traffic). They are a group of traffic affiliates from the new elements who have been employed by the Houthi militia, where they are distributed in some streets on a daily basis. They wear military uniforms and place tickets on most vehicles. Hardly a day goes by without filing tickets on vehicles with different license plates, with a focus on vehicles that have license plates.
In addition, a source in Sana'a governorate's traffic confirmed to NewsYemen that the issue of secret traffic is a new mechanism pursued by militia leaders in the framework of great corruption practiced through money collection operations related to traffic violations.
He added, "Many of the recently appointed Houthi elements, whom the militias were unable to grant jobs in the traffic departments after they completed their Houthiization process during the previous years, had to give them a way to make money by assigning them to raise vehicle violations in secret, in return for obtaining percentages of the value of the violations." Collected especially from the owners and drivers of vehicles bearing fare plates.
He concluded by confirming that the traffic police employees in the areas controlled by the Houthi militias are subject to what applies to the rest of the state employees. Where they receive half of the salary that the militias receive for the rest of the employees, which does not exceed two or three times a year. This contributes to their registration of traffic violations in a large and often illegal manner in order to obtain a percentage of the value of those violations. Not to mention that they obtain bribes from the owners and drivers of vehicles in exchange for canceling legal violations or allowing them to pass through vehicles that do not carry plates or those whose passage is prohibited except with a prior license, such as vehicles that carry goods and various commodities that move between governorates.
