Don’t blame cops from these stations if they say they don’t have vehicles

Police stations in the Vaal and Benoni have the highest number of out-of-service vehicles in Gauteng.

This is according to data provided by police minister Bheki Cele in a reply to a DA written question in the National Assembly.

Michael Shackleton, MP and DA Gauteng shadow MEC for community safety, called on Cele and the Gauteng MEC for community safety, Faith Mazibuko, to ensure the 2,170 police vehicles in Gauteng that are out-of-service are immediately attended to and brought back to their respective police stations to render services to residents.

This is an increase of 763 out-of-service vehicles compared to last year November, when 1,407 police vehicles were unavailable.

The following Gauteng police stations have the highest number of out-of-service vehicles:

• Vereeniging: 100
• Benoni: 82
• Springs: 65
• Protea Glen: 58
• Silverton: 54
• Midrand: 53
• Johannesburg Central: 50

In total, there are 5,967 police vehicles operational in the province.

Cele said his department has improved command and control in terms of fleet management, and has deployed artisans from other garages to the problematic garages to adequately address the high number of out-of-service vehicles. The department is also using a global financial authority to purchase bulk stock.

A situational analysis has been conducted in terms of mechanical transport to compile an operational risk and mitigation strategy to increase the number of operational vehicles.

The DA urged Cele to ensure the current mitigation strategy that has been implemented is reviewed on a regular basis to assess whether it is yielding positive results.

TimesLIVE