Home | News | GOVT BUYS OVER E20M CARS IN 1 000 PER-YR-PLAN

GOVT BUYS OVER E20M CARS IN 1 000 PER-YR-PLAN

11/01/2024 15:23:00 Stanley Khumalo and Sabelo Majola

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MBABANE – Thirty one cars have been bought by government at over E20 million to cater for ministers’ transport needs in the interim.

This is meant to cut costs associated with renting vehicles for government use. Unlike in the term of the 11th Parliament’s Cabinet, government was prepared for the incumbent ministers, as a fleet, which they shall use for a few months, was bought. This fleet, which comprises of 4x4 Isuzu D-Max Double Cab vehicles, will later be distributed to the 18 ministries and their departments immediately after government procures the Cabinet Ministers’ fleet. The vehicles for the incoming 12th Parliament politicians are Toyota Land Cruiser Prado LC Prado 3.0D VX (25X) or equivalent for each minister, Attorney General Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo, Speaker of the House of Assembly Jabulani Mabuza and Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini.

Also, the four Regional Administrators shall each be offered the same vehicles, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado LC Prado 3.0D VX (25X) or equivalent, while the Prime Minister (PM), Russell Mmiso Dlamini, shall be bought a Mercedes S500 or Range Rover, while his spouse will be afforded a Toyota Fortuner or C-class Mercedes Benz. On the other hand, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Thuli Dladla, will be bought a Mercedes E500 or a Mercedes CLS and a Mercedes GLE, while her spouse will be chauffeured in a Toyota Fortuner or C-class Mercedes Benz.

As government is waiting for the procurement and delivery of these vehicles, instead of renting vehicles for the politicians like in 2018, where Toyota Fortuner vehicles were rented at E3 500 per day, the 31 Isuzu D-Max Double Cabs were bought.The vehicles have been spotted in various ministries and also at the inter-ministerial complex for over two-weeks. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport Thulani Mkhaliphi, confirmed the procurement of the vehicles.

He said they were not part of the envisaged fleet to be bought through the fleet lease financing; however, they were bought through part of the E100 million budget for a new fleet. He said they would be used for a period estimated to be less than two months, before being transferred to be owned by ministries. Mkhaliphi said the move was part of efficiencies his portfolio had adopted. Mkhaliphi said: “They were bought for this special project, as we seek to maximise the use of our resources. Possibly, at the end of February, we shall have finalised our deal with the financier for the other fleet.”
The PS said government would buy 1 000 vehicles for the various ministries, which would be used to improve, among other things, service delivery. He said buying the new vehicles was far cheaper than renting them, as government would own the fleet.

He said in instances where renting vehicles was done, it was best when it was for a short period of time, as it became costlier over an extended period. He said another advantage was that buying a new fleet would ease the challenge of having vehicles not functioning for a lengthy period, as they would spend most of the time being fixed at the Central Transport Administration’s (CTA) workshop.

Fleet

The PS said government would be buying the new fleet in batches of 1 000 per year up, until they were all in a good standard. He said they had received the assurance of the Ministry of Finance that a budget would be availed for this initiative annually, up until the debt was paid off. It is worth noting that government has a fleet of about 3 500 vehicles, half of which has already exceeded its lifespan. In an effort to stop abuse of vehicles and the high expenses in managing the fleet, government embarked on pursuing a new model of procuring vehicles in large quantities.

This is because replacing the whole fleet at a go would have cost the taxpayer over E1 billion. The responsibilities, which shall now be outsourced, have been under the CTA, which has been a drain to government in terms of resources. The department, which had its trading account suspended in 2020, has been marred by corruption-related scandals, which included the theft of fuel valued at over E10 million, stealing of automobile parts and failure to fix the government fleet.

Despite that its core functions include purchasing, maintaining and disposing of government vehicles and other related equipment; as well as to provide fuel for government vehicles, it was failing to provide these services. It also rented vehicles for government ministries and departments. This department has five workshop facilities spread across the country and they are located in Mbabane, Matsapha, Nhlangano, Pigg’s Peak and Siteki. For the efficiency of the government machinery through provision of transport, the CTA has been responsible for a fleet of about 3 000 vehicles ranging from motor cycles, sedans, LDVs, trucks, tractors, to heavy specialised construction motorized equipment.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport, through the Eswatini Government Tender Board, issued an advert calling companies to express interest for government fleet leasing and financing.