Only 14 of the 48 flying squad vehicles in the Eastern Cape are operational, with many of those grounded vehicles parked at police garages and private workshops. There is no clarity as to when they will be back on the road.
The shortage of vehicles compromises law enforcement efforts.
Some of the vehicles have been out of action for months, some with only minor issues such as needing new tyres, the provincial government revealed.
Safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe revealed to the Bhisho legislature that the province’s six flying squad units had access to just 14 high-performance vehicles.
In a written parliamentary response to questions posed by DA MPL Bobby Stevenson, Tikana-Gxothiwe said of the seven vehicles the Mdantsane flying squad unit should have, not one was operational, while only three of the 11 vehicles meant to service the greater East London area were on the road.
Tikana-Gxothiwe said just three of the 10 vehicles meant to service the Gqeberha area were running, while Komani only had two of their four vehicles in action.
The provincial flying squad units are located in East London, Mdantsane, Mthatha, Qonce, Komani and Gqeberha.
The unit’s job is to increase police visibility on major routes, highways and in hotspot areas. The unit is usually first to arrive at crime scenes.
Tikana-Gxothiwe said only three of Qonce’s seven cars were on the road, while the Mthatha area only had three of nine vehicles in operation.
In the current financial year, Tikana-Gxothiwe said five of the vehicles were waiting for a service, 13 needed mechanical repairs, and six vehicles were off the road waiting for new tyres.
Only seven of the 48 vehicles had less than 150,000km on the clock, with 22 vehicles already having travelled over 200,000km.
Asked about measures to speed up the repair process, Tikana-Gxothiwe said: “All our vehicles are contracted to WesBank for maintenance and repairs, and there’s a need for speeding up the process.
“The bank takes far too long to send assessors to accident-damaged vehicles, which causes a huge delay. Our police garages deal with WesBank, which is a challenge at the moment.”
She said a tyre contract had been signed in August, which would help.”
The DA believed that 34 flying squad vehicles off the road was far too many.
Stevenson said: “Residents across the province are being denied rapid police response when they need it most, because of a crippling vehicle shortage.
“This must be particularly terrifying when your home is being invaded by robbers or rapists.
“It is no wonder the province is losing the battle against serious crime if the first responders are unable to respond because they do not have vehicles.
“Quarterly crime statistics released last week showed murder and rape continue to skyrocket in the province, while organised crime such as car hijackings, cash-in-transit heists and business robberies are also increasing.
“The flying squad is meant to provide a quick response to priority, serious and violent crimes in progress, in an attempt to apprehend suspects, as well as providing visible policing by means of vehicle patrols along the country’s major routes.
“They cannot do so if they do not have vehicles.
“It is clear that current arrangements to keep these vehicles on the road are failing and need to be re-evaluated.
“Additional budget also needs to be made available to replace the ageing fleet of vehicles.
“We cannot expect our police to fight crime, if they do not have the resources to do so.”
Stevenson said the matter would be raised at the next sitting of the provincial legislature in December. He had asked DA MP Andrew Whitfield, the spokesperson for police, to raise the issue in the National Assembly.
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