No spares so cop cars ‘rot’
13 August 2011
BONGANI FUZILE
BONGANI FUZILE
HUNDREDS of broken Eastern Cape police vehicles have been left to rot at State garages for months due to a shortage of parts.
In East London alone, more than 140 cars are standing idle while mechanics wait on parts. Vehicles in need of repairs on that should take a day or two have been standing there for weeks. In some cases, police vehicles have been parked at State garages for six months and more.
Police officers, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said not having vehicles to respond to calls has impacted on service delivery to communities.
One officer recalled how he could not respond to a crime call because the vehicle was in the garage for "minor repairs". However, it was six days before the vehicle was returned to him.
Provincial police yesterday said a task team of mechanics and artisans has been formed and they will be visiting garages with high volumes of police vehicles to assist with repairs.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Marinda Mills admitted to the Saturday Dispatch that there were challenges at the garages but said they were working on plans to address the problems.
"The situation is reviewed on a daily basis to ensure that service delivery continues as normal. We have several mechanisms in place to address this," said Mills.
The situation has been dire for the residents of Sunnyridge. Desperate for a police vehicle to respond to calls, the community has asked that one of the broken vehicles be released to them. In return, they offered to fix and maintain it to fight crime in the area.
Maralyn Voss , CPF chairperson for Sunnyridge, Greenfields and West Bank areas, said they were frustrated by police not having vehicles to respond.
"We offered that we will pay for maintaining of the vehicle so that it could always be available for us in our area, which has been hit by crime. We are waiting for the police response, we need this vehicle and we will pay," said Voss.
A Sunnyridge resident , who asked for his name not to be published, said he was told in a police meeting that over 140 police vehicles are currently waiting to be fixed at East London police garage. The garage has adopted the name "Miracle Garage".
"That’s the problem they (police) are facing in East London. The ‘Miracle Garage’, they don’t have spare parts. This is crippling their work. They just can’t find a solution, they say those vehicles are piling up inside the yard," he said.
Officers say the garage was named "Miracle Garage" because it was considered a miracle for police vehicles to be returned on time.
The Saturday Dispatch visited three police garages in East London, Bhisho and Mthatha and found hundreds of police vehicles outside
