Cops’ chop of the small guys not on

It does seem odd that the SA Police Service (Saps) – an arm of a government promoting black economic empowerment – should jeopardise a part of the automotive sector worth R450 million a month.

There will also now allegedly be 54 000 jobs on the chopping block at a time when this country can ill afford higher unemployment.

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The African Panel Beaters and Motor Mechanics Association claims that is the effect of a police decision to stop allowing small workshops to repair Saps vehicles.

The cops, for their part, claim the decision is aimed at improving vehicle availability for policing.

Many police stations do not have an adequate number of cars or vans to carry out their duties and, in some cases, stations do not have vehicles at all.

Police management says this is because the small workshops take too long to do the work.

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The small guys, though, allege that police failure to carry out their own procedures in time is the real reason for the delays.

While the Saps says the decision is only temporary, it is still devastating.

Surely there must be ways to speed up the whole system to ensure everyone – from workshops to the victims of crime – benefits?