08 Apr 2014

Maintenance of government owned vehicles has been decentralised from Central Transport Organisation (CTO) to ministries and departments with effect from April 1.

Speaking in an interview, public relations officer in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ms Priscilla Simula said ministries and departments would be responsible for the management and maintenance of their fleet.

“Ministries will be able to repair and maintain their vehicles at accredited private garages and dealerships,” she said, adding that this came as a government decision to improve service delivery.

She said CTO would continue to play an advisory role to all ministries in all aspects of vehicle maintenance and procurement, including procuring suitable vehicles for different terrains and use. “However, departments and ministries can still use CTO to maintain their fleet if they wish to,” she said.

She said in the event that ministries or departments used CTO to maintain, repair or service their vehicles, it would be at the cost of the user ministry or department.

Ms Simula said to ensure that service delivery continued to be a priority, ministries and departments were expected to monitor that agreed service level agreements were adhered to by service providers.

CTO General Manager Mr Rafael Ramatu said in a press release that communication with ministries and departments on the decentralization had been done and would continue to be done; adding that CTO would continue to assist all ministries and departments to ensure that service delivery was not compromised. ENDS