Breakdowns, licences hamstring EMPD

EMPD officers are said to be facing tremendous breakdown-related vehicle shortages, which is crippling the operations of the department and, as a result, negatively impacting service delivery.

The metro has not yet responded to media enquiry, but information gathered has revealed the shortage of vehicles is as a result of delayed repairs and maintenance of EMPD vehicles due to lack of money.

Our sister publication, Boksburg Advertiser has uncovered that the workshop which repairs and maintains the vehicles has stated it will not fulfil its obligations until further notice.

It, however, remains unclear what the reason behind the workshop issuing this statement is.

The shortage of EMPD vehicles was recently raised by Ward 22 Clr Ruhan Robinson, whose recent oversight visit to the Boksburg EMPD precinct revealed the branch is among the most badly affected.

Robinson said more than 10 vehicles at the precinct are inoperative because they are either awaiting to undergo mechanical repairs and maintenance or their licence discs have expired.

The councillor said he was also informed that due to the lack of resources, some officers have had to use their private vehicles to conduct their official duties.

“It was also revealed that some police units have been left without roadworthy vehicles for more than six weeks to carry out patrols or attend to road accidents and crime scenes, enforce by-laws for and traffic policing,” said Robinson.

Memos sent to the different metro departments, which have been seen by this publication, attest to the worrisome vehicle issue within the metro.

The documents indicate the problem is also exacerbated by the EMPD vehicles’ outstanding traffic fines – which have led to delays in motor vehicle licence renewals and many EMPD vehicles being taken off the road.

Using unroadworthy vehicles

On account of the recent metro bus crash at the Boksburg Civic Centre Clinic and other vehicle-related issues, trade union IMATU sent a memo to all its members recently, urging them not to use metro vehicles that are in an unroadworthy state.

Part of the memo reads: “I need to inform everyone of a huge problem within the City of Ekurhuleni, which is the state of licence discs for our council vehicles. In a letter from fleet and maintenance, it was stated they are experiencing a huge problem with the issuing of new licence discs for council vehicles, and this has now led to many of the council vehicles’ licence discs not being renewed.”

The union also stated it is aware that many employees are still using unlicenced and unroadworthy vehicles to do their duties.

“Please stop using them as a matter of urgency. On April 6 there was an accident at the Boksburg Civic Centre Clinic where a bus collided with people, and two people lost their lives. The notice stated the bus lost its brakes, but if that bus was unroadworthy for whatever reason and yet still being used, the driver will have a huge problem and so will the City of Ekurhuleni,” said IMATU in the memo.

Funds, repairs, licensing

On February 20, the City’s transport and fleet department also sent out a memo to metro departments warning them about the shortage of funds to maintain City vehicles. These include vehicle repairs, maintenance, licensing and registration, certificates of fitness and tracking.

“As a result, a certain number of vehicles will have to be grounded due to expired licences. Vehicle licences that expired in January are affected, and this may spill over to licences expiring in February if this is not resolved as a matter of urgency,” read part of the memo.

The author also encouraged departments to identify savings and allocate funds to those vehicle cost centres where funds had been depleted, as failure to do so would result in more vehicles that are inoperative due to mechanical faults or maintenance.

Collapse of essential services

Robinson said the shortage of vehicles comes at a bad time, with statistics indicating an increase in certain types of violent crimes.

“The shortage of resources once again manifests the “poor” management of City vehicles, and it seems there is no urgency to address the problem.

“For years, the DA in Ekurhuleni has been warning the metro about the likelihood of a catastrophic collapse of essential services.

“Following years of poor planning and maladministration, the fleet management department informed all departments that certain vehicles would be unable to perform mandated tasks.

“The DA has received numerous complaints from residents, as none of their issues have been attended to by the EMPD. The Department of Community Safety has cited ‘lack of vehicles’ as a reason why residents’ complaints were not being resolved.

“In terms of the City of Ekurhuleni Fleet User Policy, any defects on council-owned vehicles must be reported to the workshop immediately. Yet, at the workshop, there is a sign stating that no job cards will be issued until further instruction,” said Robinson.

He described the City’s fleet management as a disaster, saying the lack of accountability further exacerbates the problem.

“The poor planning, lack of oversight and general maladministration has led the City’s service delivery to a near standstill and, ultimately, the residents will suffer,” Robinson concluded.

The NEWS is awaiting the metro’s response.