Govt auction rakes in over E2.5m
MBABANE – On Wednesday, the Government of Eswatini, through the Central Transport Administration (CTA) collected over E2.5m by auctioning a total of 197 vehicles.
The vehicles included trucks, buses, small cars, water tankers and heavy plant equipment from the different government ministries, including the Correctional Services. The auction was held at the Matsapha CTA sale yard from 9am.
Under the light motor vehicle category, the highest sold vehicle was a Toyota GD6 (2016 model), which belonged to the Royal Eswatini Police Service and went from a reserve price of E20 000 to E84 000. Upon closer inspection, the vehicle had been in an accident and needed fixing. According to the auctioneer, a total of 27 light motor vehicles were scraps and were no longer roadworthy.
Missing
Another notable vehicle that went under the hammer was a Toyota Quantum (2010 model) that had most of the interior missing. It went from a reserve price of E5 000 to E21 000. Upon speaking to the bidder, he mentioned that he was in the transport business and had a vehicle of the same make that got involved in an accident and all he needed at the auction was the body.
Under the heavy plant equipment category, a 1998 Komatsu GD650, yellow in colour, saw bidders upping the stakes to E380 000 from E150 000.
Another notable purchase was by BSA Training Centre Director, Bongani Dlamini, who bought three TLBs, with only one being a runner. Dlamini mentioned that it was an investment in the institution.
“The runner will be driven by the students while they go about their learning process. The other two will also be used by the students; it will come in handy when we train them how to fix heavy plant equipment,” said the director.
Bidders at the event were cautioned against bidding for items and not paying for them later. The consequences would be disqualification from the upcoming Mbabane CTA auction.