Traffic Campaign: Cash or Clash [Archives:2005/902/Local News]

SANA'A, Dec. 10)In a release to Yemen Times, a traffic official said that, most of the seized cars have no customs documents. Most of the seized cars, which are without licenses, belong to influential people. They are Sheikhs, state officials and a few merchants who have relations with the influential people in Yemen. As for the seized cars, which have licenses, and a paid customs, they were found to have no traffic licenses. Most of their ownership papers are expired and not renewed. Their ownership transfer papers are also not renewed and also incomplete. In spite of the confrontations of the unlicensed cars' owners with the military police forces, especially those that have military plates, the security men managed to seize about 1700 cars. They returned the plates to the traffic or maintenance unit in the Ministry of Defense.

The campaign disclosed the recklessness of the Yemeni people in dealing with their car documents. They don't even care to renew them or pay the fines for traffic violations.

Although the campaign did not take long, it became a source of nuisance to some car owners. It became a source of extortion. It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Interior has issued a permission to succor police and the military police to stop cars and ask the drivers for their documents. This was due to some experiences in the past where traffic police were attacked by drivers. A car owner told Yemen Times that even if one is carrying his papers, some soldiers tend to find any excuses to make you pay illegal payments so that they let you go. If one does not pay, he will be disrupted or held without good reasons. However things were different with other traffic men. In a release to a traffic police, he said that some of the traffic police were beaten by some car owners. This especially happened from influential people. The security source told Yemen Time that some of them kidnapped the traffic men who tried to take them to police stations. They threatened to beat them if the did not get out of their cars. Some were compelled to go down especially after they were taken to side streets, where there are no succor cars.

The campaign that was carried out by the security authorities, were in coordination with the customs authority. The customs authority wanted to issue licenses to as many car licenses as possible. It had made a new customs Tariff, which settled the car tax at 5 %, for the cars whose manufacture did not exceed 7 years. For the cars which do not exceed7, plus the manufacture year, the rate is 10 %.

The law stated that starting from this month; the rate will be 10 % plus the fines and the other customs fees. The security sources inclined to reveal the number of the stolen cars that were seized. A great number of stolen cars is expected to be revealed; especially that owners of suspected cars avoid making licenses for their cars.

A source told Yemen times that due to the lack of lists of car engines in the license issuing centers, it is easy for those who stole cars to have licenses. Mohamed Abdulkhaliq, head of car licensing in Hodiedah, said in a release to Yemen Times that, they caught 10 stolen cars. The cars were reported by the Interpol to be stolen from neighboring countries. Dr. Ali Alzabidi said in a statement to Yemen Times that 769 million and 352 thousands were received by the state treasury, due to the campaign. He said that 43.302 cars were licensed since the beginning of the campaign on the 16th of last August, until the 17th of last month.

A source in the traffic said that the total car plates that were issued reached 35 thousand. Their income was about 148 millions, until the end of last month. The increase in number of unlicensed cars to 43.302 reflects the power of the influential in tax and customs evasion. This cost the national economy a great loss. If this is the case with the cars, how would it be with the other areas?
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