We cannot work without cars – SAPS
Local police officials are at their wits' end, some of them even asking civilians for spare parts to have their vehicles fixed so they can perform their duties.
At least 40 police vehicles are standing in disuse at the police workshop in the city, waiting to be serviced or repaired. Many of these vehicles have been there for up to three months.
National media has been reporting on this problem for the past few months, which is allegedly due to the mismanagement of resources and funds.
Lowvelder visited the local police workshop after several police officials of various stations across the City of Mbombela, including Nelspruit, White River and specialised units, had complained about the delay in vehicle repairs.
Apart from the 40 marked vehicles, several other unmarked ones were also gathering dust.
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A police official, who may not be named as he is unauthorised to speak to the media, said while his unit had four vehicles, only two were working, but barely.
“It took a whole month just to tow the vehicle from the unit office to the Nelspruit police workshop. In April, they sent it to another one. After having waited for a month, I called Nelspruit’s workshop and asked which garage my car was now at, and they said they didn’t know.
“The two that are working have issues, but if we send them in, we know they will not come back any time soon. That workshop is filled to the brim with police cars,” said the official.
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Lowvelder approached the Institute of Security Studies security expert, Dr Johan Burger, for comment.
“The police are of no use to the public if they cannot help when we need them,” he said.
“Police vehicles are spending an unholy amount of time in the police workshops. This is an issue that has been ongoing for years,” said Burger.
“People will call for help or lodge a complaint and are then told there are no SAPS vehicles, so no one can assist. Even in emergency situations when, for example, there is a woman home alone at night and someone is busy breaking in, they are told no cars are available.”
Burger said there is already a shortage of police vehicles within the country, which is exacerbated by the backlog of ones being repaired.
“Often what happens when people call for emergencies is that police will have one vehicle available, but it will be far away, attending to another complaint.”
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He added another problem contributing to the backlog is that officials are hesitant to take vehicles in for repairs or services when needed, as they are worried theirs will be unavailable for weeks.
“The car is then almost driven into the ground, because they don’t want to be without a vehicle.”
Another police official working in White River, confirmed that two of their cars needed repairs, but if they were sent in, they were scared they would take too long to come back, leaving them with just one vehicle.
The official said it was the first time in his three decades in the service that the backlog in vehicle repairs had been this bad.
“We cannot work like this. It is hampering our service delivery. Management keeps pushing us but there is nothing we can do. We do not have enough vehicles because of the backlog.”
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He added that some of the officials at the station had resorted to asking the community for spare parts, especially brake pads. Burger added that it was a very sad situation.
“It is a combination of poor command of control, officers not inspecting their vehicles frequently and sending them for repairs and services when needed and not having enough police vehicles at stations in general.”
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union’s chairperson, Life Monini, said while members had not spoken to them about the backlog, he knew there was a challenge with vehicles being out of commission for weeks at a time.
He said he would be visiting the Nelspruit garage next week to inspect the lot and the scores of police cars standing idle.
Police said they would respond to media queries soon.
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