By Doreen Mokgolo
- Gauteng police garages are short 110 mechanics, causing police cars to sit broken for up to a year without repairs.
- The shortage leaves police stations without enough working vehicles to respond to crime and patrol dangerous areas effectively.
Police in Gauteng are struggling to fight crime because there are not enough car mechanics to fix their broken vehicles.
The province is short of 110 mechanics at police garages, meaning police cars often sit broken for up to a year without being repaired.
This leaves police stations without enough working cars to respond to crime and patrol the streets, making it harder to keep people safe.
Premier Panyaza Lesufi shared this shocking information when answering questions from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
He said police garages in the province have 262 mechanics working, but there are 110 vacant positions that have not been filled.
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Crezane Bosch, said the shortage means police cars are stuck in garages for months without being fixed.
“It leads to shortages of vehicles at our police stations to respond to crime. This situation could have been avoided if the vacancies were filled and the garages properly staffed,” she said.
Bosch said this is not good enough and shows that government is not putting the safety of Gauteng people first or helping unemployed people find work.
“Many crimes could have been prevented if these positions had been filled, helping police combat crime by ensuring that vehicles are readily available for policing. Additionally, families could have been fed if these vacant posts had been advertised, giving qualified individuals the opportunity to apply,” she said.
The DA is demanding that Premier Lesufi talk to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, to fill these jobs quickly.
“There is no reason for leaving important positions unfilled, especially in a province which has been called the centre of crime. There is no reason why posts cannot be filled when many of our people are unemployed and have little hope for change,” Bosch said.
The shortage means criminals have a better chance of getting away because police cannot chase them in broken cars or get to crime scenes quickly enough.
Pictured above: Police van.
Image source: File
