HARARE – Zimbabwe’s number plate chaos was laid bare on Monday as the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) revealed that it has a backlog of 60,000.

Police this month launched a blitz against vehicles not displaying number plates, and thousands of vehicles have been impounded across the country.

Justifying the crackdown in a September 15 statement, the ZRP said it had been informed by Amos Marawa, the permanent secretary in the ministry of transport that “there are adequate stocks of number plates but motorists are reluctant to acquire them.”

But the CVR – which is in charge of issuing number plates – says it needs foreign currency to import the aluminium used for the plates, and the department has not been sufficiently funded to acquire the raw materials.

“Unfortunately, the police started arresting everyone with temporary number plates and we were not ready for this kind of upsurge because we only have 15 percent of our workforce at the station due to Covid-19,” CVR registrar George Makoni told parliament’s transport committee on Monday.

“Now there is a huge influx of people coming because their vehicles have been impounded.”

The MPs, whose committee is chaired by Shamva North MP Oscar Gorerino, have tasked the CVR to liaise with the police and its parent ministry to allow motorists to continue using temporary number plates until it has capacity to meet demand.

“Police are charging people hefty fines for nothing. They should stop impounding vehicles until they have enough plates,” Gorerino said.

Makoni estimates there are 80,000 vehicles without number plates in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s number plates are made of 99.9 percent pure aluminium and reflective fitting. Ministers last week announced plans to manufacture number plates locally using aluminium and acrylic materials, which would reduce the cost of a pair of number plates for a single vehicle from US$80.35 to US$45.61.

Makoni said their current stocks of raw materials which are only enough for a few thousand vehicles would be depleted before the end of October.

The ZRP said it wanted all vehicles to carry registration plates “for effective maintenance of law and order in the country” after a spate of robberies were linked to vehicles without number plates.