Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) says it has received overwhelming response from the public concerning the use of its online platform.
RTSA Public Relations Manager Frederick Mubanga said over 13,000 clients have utilised the RTSA online payment portal and the compliance levels of payment of road tax for the fourth quarter of the year 2020 is high.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mubanga has advised members of the public that are seeking services from RTSA offices such as the payment of road tax to take advantage of the RTSA online payment platform as it is simple and less time consuming.
Mubanga also said that the agency has implemented an E-enforcement application that will work hand in hand with the online payment portal and can be used to check the validity of a driver’s license or the validity of road tax and any other related documents without mounting a physical checkpoint.
He added that the application will enable officers to stand beside roads without being on the road carrying out the actual enforcement and this will also encourage less physical contact with the public while officers perform their duties under the Covid 19 pandemic.
He further said that the agency is currently granting road service licenses for the year 2021 and wants to encourage all public service vehicle operators to come forward before the 30 of October 2020 which is the deadline.
RTSA has since urged members of the public who wish to renew their road tax for the first quarter of 2021 to do it now and online without the need to wait for the deadline which is December 31, 2020.
The online platform has come at the right time despite some glitches which had curtailed its launch much earlier in the year. Some motorist spoken to by ZBT challenges RTSA to smoothen out the insurance matter online as some insurance companies do not upload the insurance payment making it hard for one to pay online.
Insurance companies also need to move online and have an integrated system that can allow members of the public to pay for chosen policies online and this will bring a lot of efficiency and root out opportunities for corruption, which was perceived to be high when physically paying for these services.
