New wheels for Rustenburg

The purchasing of 30 new vehicles for the Rustenburg municipality is cost-effective and in the best interest of service delivery, mayor Mpho Khunou said yesterday.

“There has been a lot of talk in Rustenburg about hiring of vehicles,” he said at the ceremony to mark the purchase of the new fleet.

“With this handover, we are closing the chapter of hiring of vehicles. There are a lot of reasons we find ourselves in the position, but hopefully we are moving forward.

“This is the first batch. We will be ordering another 50 vehicles,” he said at the symbolic handover of the vehicles at the Rustenburg Civic Centre.

Khunou said procuring a new fleet was cost-effective compared with using the old vehicles, which often required repairs.

The vehicles would be used by the water and sanitation unit, while public safety received two vehicles.

Last year, workers at water and sanitation went on strike, demanding to be provided with municipal-owned vehicles, refusing to use rented vehicles.

They claimed the rented fleet changed conditions of their employment and alleged corruption was at the heart of leasing vehicles. They pointed out that the municipality could cut costs if it repaired its vehicles instead of renting. – ANA