Cloud of secrecy covers municipal fleet

A cloud of secrecy seems to cover the expenditure involved in the delivery of a fleet of brand new vehicles to Polo­kwane Municipality after the five year contract with FleetAfrica expired last Wednesday.
The Polokwane cricket fields have been a hive of activity since early last week when a contingent of sedans, light delivery vehicles, trucks and earthmoving equipment was delivered and parked on the site under tight security. A source suggested that sporting events at the cricket fields were even cancelled to avoid public exposure of the new municipal assets.
During a visit to the site last Wednesday, it became apparent that vehicle tracking devices were being transferred from ‘old’ municipal vehicles to some of the new vehicles. Workers of the vehicle tracking company were tight-lipped and wished not to provide further details of their assignment.
The contract with FleetAfrica that was entered into five years ago, provided for a comprehensive fleet solution in terms of which FleetAfrica supplied vehicles and equipment through three of its product offerings, namely Full Maintenance Lease, Sale and Leaseback as well as Managed Maintenance.
At time of going to print, ‘old’ FleetAfrica vehicles and equipment were still being used by the municipality and a source informed that there was uncertainty regarding the future ownership of the vehicles and equipment. “The municipality claims that the assets were paid for and are now its property,” a source claimed and said that the municipality was currently engaged in an arbitration process regarding the future ownership of the fleet. Spokesperson for FleetAfrica, Tebogo Meyersfeld was requested to comment on the matter, but a response was still being awaited at the time of going to print.
Communications and Marketing Manager of the municipality, Matshidiso Mothapo confirmed that the municipality’s Chief Finance Officer was requested to provide information regarding the new fleet contract, but no response had been received at time of going to print.

Story: Barry Viljoen
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com
Photos: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert.observer@gmail.com