In Northern Cyprus, no speeding fines have been issued for nine months

A scandal is brewing in Northern Cyprus regarding traffic cameras. According to local media reports, not a single speeding fine has been issued in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) over the last nine months using radar equipment.

As reported by Yeniduzen, the reason for this is that the government failed to announce a tender for the collection of fixed fines. As a result, losses amounted to at least 150 million Turkish liras over the past nine months.

This information is corroborated by data presented during a parliamentary session discussing the budget of the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation.

Sami Ozuslu, the deputy of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), stated that there are 130 stationary radars in the TRNC, with 100 of them currently active. However, in 2023, not a single Turkish lira was collected through these cameras because "there was no tender for delivering fines to addresses."

According to Yeniduzen, the delay in the tender may be due to the government planning to transfer control of the fixed camera system to ASELAN, a company associated with the Turkish Armed Forces.

Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arikli, in an interview with Yeniduzen, confirmed that the system would be transferred to ASELSAN. He stated that the contract with the current owner of the speed control cameras, the Dutch company Sensys Gatso Group, expired in 2021, and the Council of Ministers did not extend the contract.

However, the Dutch company itself claimed that the contract would not expire before 2026 and that they learned about the proposed agreement with ASELSAN from the media.

Representatives of Sensys Gatso Group stated that they have not received any requests for a meeting from the Minister of Transport, and their requests for a meeting with him received no response.

In turn, the director of Air-Kam Trading Ltd, responsible for distributing fixed speeding fines for the past five years, stated that he has known that traffic violation notices have not been sent for nine months.

As stated in the parliamentary session by Sami Ozuslu, the fate of already issued fines remains unknown: whether they will be canceled or subject to amnesty.

Erhan Arikli, in turn, reported that the total amount of fines for traffic violations is approximately 60-70 million Turkish liras, specifications are ready, and the tender will be announced shortly.