Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government has temporarily suspended the implementation of an electronic parking fees system following public outcry.
The TeRMIS system, which is run by Tanzania Rural-Urban Road Agency (Tarura), became operational on September 1 this year, replacing a manual fee collection system.
Ms Ummy Mwalimu, Minister of State in the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), said the decision was reached after her office received complaints from motorists regarding difficulties encountered during the TeRMIS implementation.
Ms Mwalimu has also directed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of PO-RALG Prof Riziki Shemdoe, to meet with a team of TARURA experts to explore how to address the chal- lenges that have emerged.
“Despite TARURA’s good intentions to im- prove the revenue collection system and address public complaints, we have temporarily suspended the usage of the e-parking fees system as of today (9 Sep- tember),” the statement to the media read in part.
Car parking fees will continue to be collected manually until further notice.
In Dar es Salaam, an electronic parking fee collection system was recently developed to enhance revenue collection efficiency and closing loopholes in government revenue losses.
According to TARURA, revenue collected increased to 40mil/- per day two weeks after they started utilising the system, up from 25mil/- collected per day before adopting the electronic payment system.
Previously, parking fees were paid in cash and a receipt was produced by the personnel in charge.
The new system entails scanning the vehicle and then posting the amount owed to the ac- count of the vehicle owner.
Dar es Salaam’s TA- RURA Regional Manager, Geoffrey Mkinga, said earier this week that TARURA continues to provide education on the system through various means to guarantee that every motorist in the city understands how it works.
“Before we begin arresting defaulters, we will offer car owners with information on the amount charged.”
We will begin providing reports in the same way that other institutions do when recalling debtors, but citizens should be aware that free parking places are not subject to penalties,” he said.
Mr Mkinga stated that the most significant problem encountered since the implementation of the new payment system started is a lack of awareness, as many people claim they were unaware of the change.
He claims, however, that the government has published a statement regarding the shift from analog to digital technology.
“Perhaps I should make clear that Tarura hasn’t come up with anything new.”
Because the rates are the same, we’re following the government’s plan to move from analogue to digital.
“The government no longer accepts cash payments in many regions, and instead accepts payments online,” he stated.
