29 Mar 2015

It has not been possible to create fully functional transport units at ministerial level leading to unqualified personnel to facilitate preliminary inspection of vehicles before sending them to Central Transport Organisation (CTO) accredited private garages.

Answering a question in Parliament, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo said this resulted in continued reliance on CTO personnel and use of CTO workshops.

Mr Mabeo said some ministries had not budgeted for the maintenance of their fleet and some vehicles therefore had to park at CTO workshops waiting for sourcing of funds to procure parts.

The minister said the maintenance vote within CTO was reduced to only cater for the pool vehicles under the care of CTO. He said as a result, a number of vehicles were off road thus worsening the situation of shortage of transport.

Minister Mabeo said he hoped the situation would improve in the next financial year (2015/16) as most ministries had made budgetary provisions for maintenance. He said CTO had accredited some garages through Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) to ensure government fleet was secure during maintenance.

The minister said there had been instances, however, where vehicles were taken to unaccredited garages adding there was risk as they were not insured and therefore government might lose out in case of fire and theft.

He said they continuously engage with ministries to ensure transport officers are aware of the list of accredited private garages. MP for Maun East, Mr Konstantinos Markus had asked the minister to outline the challenges faced by government departments after the decentralisation of maintenance from CTO. ENDS