The president on Wednesday is to host a meeting on the embattled traffic camera system to try and untangle the growing knot as the programme remains mired in its pilot phase.
President Nicos Anastasiades has called in all the top stakeholders, ranging from the attorney general and ministers to the police chief, to try and finally get the sclerotic programme moving.
The pilot phase began in October 2021 with just four stationary cameras active, a period which was initially only set to last for three months. But since then, over half of the almost 90,000 violations which have been recorded have not had their subsequent fines sent out.
Local media reported that the president is set to issue guidelines to finally resolve the current stalemate.
Issues plaguing the camera system are varied, but a major hurdle is that the company is having difficulties issuing fines due a driver’s details appearing in different forms and not matching across the government databases.
Just last month, it was reported that 11,000 fines were deemed invalid by the company, which subsequently asked that they be rescinded.
Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos told daily Phileleftheros at the time that the reasons given by the company are that there were issues with visibility in the photographs, with key details such as the vehicle’s registration plate not being clear. Other cases, however, concerned test samples and service vehicles such as ambulances.
Karousos was also quoted as saying that the company managing the cameras has so far not received any payments due to the ongoing issues.
Those involved with the camera system say it is impossible to progress into the first phase, which sets out for a further 20 stationary units, as the system is already overwhelmed with just four.
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