For years, officials struggled to install traffic cameras. They faced endless hurdles: technical expertise, data privacy concerns, problematic tenders, and countless other issues. They finally managed it three years ago. Yet they still haven’t figured out how to collect the fines.
While 600,000 violations have been recorded, half the tickets haven’t even been served. They’ve created a special platform where drivers must check if they’ve been caught on camera. If unpaid by March 31, cases go to court (which, at their current pace, means thousands of tickets will take 5-10 years to process). Besides, knowing how to drive isn’t the same as knowing how to navigate websites.
Another intractable problem is replacing faulty Takata airbags. We’re currently drafting recall orders for legal review. The ministry will act based on legal advice. All very slowly, of course.
Meanwhile, we’re trying to solve mobile phone use in prisons. Inmates are even making podcasts now – soon we might see an influencer documenting cell life on social media. Yet millions have been spent on prison security measures. Everyone knows phones don’t enter or get used without inside help. Any signal jamming system would affect – as before – the entire area: residents, passersby, the British Embassy, occupied territories… Never mind, let’s spend a few more millions to prove it again.
Our biggest mess is the District Organisations of Local Government. The reform was years in planning, but seven months after launch, they’re still finding their feet. Civil servants on secondment want to return, claiming they’re being held hostage. What can citizens say? Perhaps just “no more reforms”.
As if this weren’t enough, MPs must now solve another school issue: “Where should diabetic students inject insulin and who should help them?” A matter schools could handle internally is going to Parliament, which apparently solves everything.