Times Of Swaziland: FUEL BACK AT CENTRAL TRANSPORT  ADMIN (CTA) DEPOTS

FUEL BACK AT CENTRAL TRANSPORT  ADMIN (CTA) DEPOTS
================================================================================
BY MBONGENI NDLELA  on 21/11/2020 23:33:00


mbongeni@times.co.sz
MBABANE – It is back to business for government petrol attendants.
While the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is engaged in a protracted
legal battle with workers under the Central Transport Administration (CTA) over
the transformation of the entity into a parastatal, behind the scenes is a
consensus that has resulted in both parties lifting the ban on the usage of fuel
bowsers at CTA depots.
storage
CTA has five depots found in strategically placed locations countrywide. For the
past seven months, the fuel storage tankers were not used. This resulted in
government vehicles experiencing fuel shortages and having to travel long
distances to fill up at alternative government facilities.
Government cars based in Mbabane, for instance, had to be driven to either
Siteki or Pigg’s Peak fire and emergency stations for refuelling.
So frustrating was this arrangement such that some vehicles reportedly ran out
of fuel before they could reach these destinations. Most departments decried
inefficiency as they were grounded by the fuel shortage.However, new
developments are that government vehicles will now be refuelled at all CTA
bowsers.
tankers
The Times SUNDAY has learnt that during the course of this week, fuel tankers
had been filling up all the bowsers with diesel and petrol.
The fuel that was loaded into the bowsers by CTA management is said to have cost
E3.4 million. The management mentioned that the tankers carry a capacity of
about 282 000 litres of fuel. However, the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport hinted that the tankers were not on full capacity. As of Friday,
government vehicles assigned for Incwala National Ceremony were seen refuelling
from all the five CTA stations.
Washington Khumalo, the under-fire CTA General Transport Manager, confirmed that
an agreement had since been reached that government cars would again be
refuelled from CTA bowsers. He said his team was ready for the task. “This is
with effect from today (Friday),” he said.
“As CTA, we will continue to be strict with the requirements needed for
refuelling. Our petrol attendants remain committed not to allow misuse on
government property and fuel,” Khumalo said.
He further mentioned that Head 53 (Ministry of Public Works and Transport) got
used for the procurement of the fuel instead of the Head 91 (Central Transport
Administration).
redress
Head 91 contains the trading account which was suspended by the ministry
resulting in the workers going to court for redress.Khangeziwe Mabuza, the
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, yesterday
confirmed that government cars would now get refuelled at CTA depots.
Mabuza’s confirmation was also shared by Mduduzi Lukhele, the acting PS, who
explained that the decision to use Head 53 was because CTA needed to be a
fully-fledged government department.
“That decision was taken at the beginning of the government financial year,
and the procurement was in respect of that decision,” he said.
He said government departments would apply the formula that was used for
refuelling, and that the only difference with the new system was that the
procurement of fuel was different. “There are guidelines that were put in
place which will be used by the department when going to refuel. These
guidelines were drafted by the GTM,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said he had heard the news that
refuelling was back at CTA. He said the availability of fuel would help
government speed up its response to ongoing national response.
tools
Workers at CTA said they were a bit relieved when they heard the news that fuel
was back at the department. They stated that going to work daily and finding no
tools was stressing them.
“All we want is to go back to work. For a while, we did not know our fate as
workers, and as a result, we ended up wandering around, without work to do.
There is no electricity, no parts and every operation is grounded,” said one
of the workers.
Another worker opined that they were ready to accept the transformation of CTA
to CTO. “As long as we will keep our work, we accept the transformation,” he
said.
On Thursday, the nation woke up to headlines that the Public Accounts Committee
(PAC) had reported the GTM to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) that he needed
to be removed from the position. The committee accused Khumalo of allegedly
colluding with a supplier, professional misconduct and dishonesty.
Reacting to the PAC’s calls, a confident Khumalo said he was waiting for a
formal charge before addressing the matter.He said he, and his team, was ready
to vacate office if they were found guilty of the allegations. He said for now,
PAC findings were just baseless claims aimed at protecting the corrupt.
“I will not respond to these fabricated allegations, and I am not scared of
them. All I am waiting for is to get formally charged before I can react and
respond,” he said.
“If they want to remove me from the office, they should proceed, but
everything should be factual, not one-sided. I can tell you now we are suffering
because someone was getting protected and the truth will soon be out,” Khumalo
said.