Buffalo City metro has allocated R18-million for the purchase of a new fleet of municipal vehicles this year.
Details were contained in a report authored by acting municipal manager Vincent Pillay and tabled at the first council meeting for the year on Wednesday.
The report says the metro has a number of vehicles with high mileage because there was insufficient capital to replace them.
“The demand of vehicles for the institution is more than the supply and also the number of mechanics is far less than the number of vehicles in the system. As a result, the ratio is low,” the report reads.
The municipality has 1163 vehicles in its fleet, 65 of which are not operational due to various faults. The 65 vehicles are to be disposed of.
“These vehicles are the ones that will be disposed of because of being uneconomical to use, and also due to high mileage ... damaged engines, gearbox faults and body rust,” it is stated in the report.
A tender will also go out for the procurement of three new fire engines for the municipality’s fire department.
Responding to questions posed by the Daily Dispatch, BCM acting director of public safety and health Steve Terwin said the municipality had a separate budget for buying vehicles and fire engines for the fire department.
“At the moment we have a programme of replacing fire engines. The optimal replacement age is 15 years,” Terwin said.
He confirmed that the metro would purchase three new fire engines in the 2015-2016 financial year.
“For the 2016-17 financial year we have funding approved for another fire engine, so every year we have funding that has been approved for the replacement of vehicles and purchase of additional fire engines,” he said.
The additions to the fire department’s fleet follows a Dispatch exposé last year that revealed the department had just one fire engine in operation at one point.
It also follows oversight visits conducted by the Democratic Alliance at the East London fire station that found the recently acquired Volkan fire trucks – bought at a cost of R7.5-million each – were not working at the time. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
Metro set to spend R18m on replacing 65 vehicles
Details were contained in a report authored by acting municipal manager Vincent Pillay and tabled at the first council meeting for the year on Wednesday.
The report says the metro has a number of vehicles with high mileage because there was insufficient capital to replace them.
“The demand of vehicles for the institution is more than the supply and also the number of mechanics is far less than the number of vehicles in the system. As a result, the ratio is low,” the report reads.
The municipality has 1163 vehicles in its fleet, 65 of which are not operational due to various faults. The 65 vehicles are to be disposed of.
“These vehicles are the ones that will be disposed of because of being uneconomical to use, and also due to high mileage ... damaged engines, gearbox faults and body rust,” it is stated in the report.
A tender will also go out for the procurement of three new fire engines for the municipality’s fire department.
Responding to questions posed by the Daily Dispatch, BCM acting director of public safety and health Steve Terwin said the municipality had a separate budget for buying vehicles and fire engines for the fire department.
“At the moment we have a programme of replacing fire engines. The optimal replacement age is 15 years,” Terwin said.
He confirmed that the metro would purchase three new fire engines in the 2015-2016 financial year.
“For the 2016-17 financial year we have funding approved for another fire engine, so every year we have funding that has been approved for the replacement of vehicles and purchase of additional fire engines,” he said.
The additions to the fire department’s fleet follows a Dispatch exposé last year that revealed the department had just one fire engine in operation at one point.
It also follows oversight visits conducted by the Democratic Alliance at the East London fire station that found the recently acquired Volkan fire trucks – bought at a cost of R7.5-million each – were not working at the time. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
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