200 EC ambulances stuck in garages

Two hundred Eastern Cape ambulances are among the 470 ambulances and emergency vehicles in South Africa piling up in private garages awaiting repairs.

Some have sat there for more than three months.

National treasury and the department of transport outsourced all maintenance for the country’s 110 435 fleet to Transit Solutions for billions of rands. This has resulted in all government garages lying idle, including those in Buffalo City, Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay. Staff at these garages say they cannot make any repairs to state vehicles.

In April 2014, national treasury entered into a five-year transversal contract where government purchased vehicles directly from manufacturers, but outsourced maintenance, repairs and fuel to Transit Solutions.

Transport spokesman Collen Msibi said it was estimated that by the end of the contract the government will have paid Transit Solutions more than R2.2-billion.

He said 7 146 government vehicles were at merchants awaiting repairs and maintenance across the country, some for nearly three months.

Eastern Cape health spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said the province had 447 ambulances, but at any given time there were 247 operational ambulances.

He said: “The remaining 200 ambulances are often out on repairs at various merchants in the provinces.

The department has requested 247 vehicles as a replacement to the non-operational and old vehicles.

“The process of repairing ambulance vehicles is done through government fleet management. Depending on the nature of repairs it can take longer than expected, especially if there are new parts that need to be replaced.”

Msibi also confirmed that countrywide, 471 emergency vehicles were at private merchants awaiting to be repaired.

The SA government fleet also includes the SAPS and SANDF fleets.

The contract with Transit Solutions has resulted in main- tenance staff being reduced to just doing administrative work for purchasing.

An employee at the East London government garage with more than 20 years of mechanical engineering experience said: “This is just one contract which is meant to enrich a few. This goes against what was promised to unions – that government will now purchase and maintain its own fleet.

“Instead we are just administrators to purchase vehicles. If a vehicle needs a new globe, we

can’t touch it. We need to wait for Transit Solutions.”

Treasury spokesman Jabulane Skhakhane confirmed that all users of the government fleet utilised the transversal term contracts as procured through treasury and managed by the department of transport.

“It is estimated that the government will pay R2.2-billion by the end of the contract period for fuel, oil maintenance and repairs as per the service level agreement, which will include the transaction fee to the service provider [Transit Solutions],” Skhakhane said.

A copy of the contract, seen by the Daily Dispatch, stipulates that the deal lasts for a period of five years, from April 1 2014 until March 31 2019.

As part of the contract, Transit Solutions was meant to provide training on an ad-hoc basis to mainly, but not only, staff from state motor transport sections.

But Miki Jaceni, Nehawu provincial secretary, claimed that to date no training has been done. Msibi disputed this, saythat ing training was conducted as per contract.

Jaceni said: “I’ve never received any training. Instead I was moved to push paperwork for purchasing new vehicles.”

Skhakhane, however, added that participation in the contract is not compulsory and the department does not impose the contract on provinces.

“It remains the responsibility of the accounting officer of each provincial government to participate on any transversal term contract or to choose which model to use to manage its fleet,” Skhakhane said.

Transit Solutions spokeswoman Jackee Khumalo refused to answer the detailed questions sent to her. Instead she referred queries back to the department and treasury.

“We have been advised to refer all enquiries about the contract back to the department of transport. All information on the contract belongs to the state and may not be disclosed without their approval,” she said.