Boksburg EMPD without service delivery vehicles

by Cllr Ruhan Robinson — DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni

Date: 26 April 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media Statement

For years now, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has been warning the ANC and its Coalition partners* about the likelihood of a catastrophic collapse of essential services.

Following years of poor planning and maladministration under the incumbent administration, the Fleet Management Department, which is responsible for vehicle repair and maintenance, informed all Departments within the Metro that certain vehicles would be unable to perform their mandated tasks. As a result, service delivery has suffered immensely, and the Boksburg Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Precinct is no exception.

The shortage of vehicles has had a dire effect on Boksburg residents, as EMPD officials are unable to perform their duties without the vehicles.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has received numerous complaints from residents, as none of their issues have been attended to by the EMPD. The Department of Community Safety has cited “lack of vehicles” as a reason why residents’ complaints were not being resolved.

Following an oversight visit to the Boksburg EMPD Precinct, the DA was shocked to find ten Metro vehicles which could not be used because they have either not been serviced or the licences have expired.

The Boksburg EMPD Precinct, which is responsible for by-law enforcement, proving community safety, traffic policing and attending to vehicle accident scenes has been without vehicles for more than six weeks. How does the ANC and its coalition partners* expect officials to perform their duties without their tools of the trade?

In terms of the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) Fleet User Policy, “no driver is entitled to drive a council owned vehicle that is out of service or that is not properly licensed”. Furthermore, the same policy also states that any defects on City-owned vehicles must be reported to the workshop immediately. Yet, at the workshop, there is a sign stating that “no job cards will be issued until further instruction”.

In a memo to all its members, trade union, IMATU even pleads with its members to not use metro vehicles in an unroadworthy state, as they would have to “work miracles” to get their members out of trouble should something go wrong. The memo was sent out following the incident of a municipal bus’s brakes failing and killing two people in Boksburg on the 6th of April 2021 (IMATU Feedback attached).

The CoE Vehicle Fleet management is a disaster and the lack of accountability and consequence management in Ekurhuleni further exacerbates the problem, to the detriment of innocent residents.

The poor planning, lack of oversight and general maladministration by the Metro has led the City’s service delivery to a near standstill and, ultimately, the City’s residents will suffer.

The CoE needs visible and effective law enforcement, and this cannot happen without roadworthy vehicles. Under a DA-led Metro, EMPD services will be declared essential, where the vehicles needed to fulfil their function will be licensed and serviced timeously to not compromise services to residents across the City.

*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Ruhan Robinson

DA Ward 22 Councillor in Ekurhuleni