The parliamentary Finance Committee has unanimously rejected a Finance Ministry request to release €146,640 plus VAT for the technical implementation of the Photo Radar List, a system intended to identify drivers with outstanding fines from traffic cameras.
Committee members said they were not convinced that the funding was necessary after hearing explanations from the Traffic Police, the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services and the contractor responsible for the traffic camera system.
Committee unanimously rejects request
MPs said the responses they received did not change the position they had formed when the same issue was discussed the previous week, leading them to unanimously reject the request.
The decision also raised questions over why implementation had proceeded before the necessary funds had been released.
The contractor told Parliament that the work did not constitute a new contract but implementation of the original agreement, under which the funding had not been committed when the contract was signed.
The system was intended for installation at ports, airports, crossing points and police stations.
At the crossing points, it would allow authorities to identify Turkish Cypriot vehicles recorded by traffic cameras that do not appear in the Road Transport Department vehicle registry, enabling their owners to be traced.
Following the rejection of funding for installation and operation of the Photo Radar List, a solution for dealing with outstanding fines involving these vehicles remains unresolved.
System already integrated with police
Representing the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Achilleas Pilias said the existing contractor was required to modify its system and connect it with police systems.
He told Parliament that the integration had already been completed, allowing the procedure to be implemented, although the funding had not been committed by Parliament when instructions were given.
Pilias also said there was a Legal Service opinion stating that authorities could proceed with serving the fines.
Further systems integration is still required. He clarified that the system had operated in a test environment but had not entered full production.
MPs cite weaknesses in camera system
Acting Finance Committee chairman and DIKO MP Chrysis Pantelidis said members were not persuaded of the need for the requested funding because the two committee meetings indicated that many of the proposed measures were already being implemented.
He said another reason for the rejection was the gaps and weaknesses identified in the traffic camera system, for which the committee had not received satisfactory answers.
Pantelidis specifically pointed to the number of unserved fines, describing it as “impressively large” and “unusually large by Cypriot standards”.
“Until we are convinced that the executive understands this problem, or until it brings a legislative solution to this problem, we are reluctant to continually release funds that are simply an aspirin for a major problem,” he said.
