The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has had its fleet of cars grounded after the city failed to settle vehicle lease payments.
This follows reports by TimesLive that the department’s chief of police staff restricted the use of state vehicles after the city’s petrol cards were blocked over non-payment.
In response, ActionSA MMC Candidate for Public Safety, Marcel Coutriers, called for full accountability from the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Executive.
“This glaring failure is gravely concerning. With the high crime rate in the City of Johannesburg, residents cannot afford to have even one vehicle grounded,” he said.
“The outgoing Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, cannot claim to prioritise public safety while vehicles needed to put officers on our streets are taken off the road due to the City’s negligence.”
According to Coutriers, this is a public safety crisis, not an accounting dispute, as when JMPD vehicles are grounded, patrols end, response times suffer, visibility declines, and criminals perceive less risk of being caught.
He added that the result is residents who already feel unsafe in the city are left wondering when help will arrive, and a city that cannot keep its metro police on the road cannot promise safer streets.
Coutriers expressed his concern that the issue is not new, noting that in December 2024, ActionSA warned about fleet services being suspended amid a dispute with Afrirent over outstanding payments.
“In June 2026, reporting again linked JMPD vehicles being grounded to a payment dispute,” he added.
“These recurring failures demand answers about the City’s financial management and contract administration.”
The MMC candidate said the JMPD must have the vehicles and resources to do its job, and called on the current MMC, Executive Mayor, and City Manager to urgently restore the fleet and prevent a recurrence.
JMPD could not pay for fuel
TimesLive reported that some petrol stations that would normally refuel JMPD vehicles confiscated the unit’s petrol cards because of non-payment, while others have blocked them.
The department’s Police Chief, Patrick Jaca, issued an internal memo restricting vehicle movement to preserve fuel and barred officers of all ranks from going home with state-owned vehicles.
However, since then, the situation has been resolved, and the CoJ mayor’s office confirmed that the fuel card issues had been resolved, and cards can be used at petrol stations again.
According to the city, the fuel cards were confiscated and blocked following a service disruption linked to its transition from one banking service provider to another.
The internal notice informed officers that the fuel card issue has been resolved and the cards have been unblocked; however, fuel-saving measures are still in place.
“Members must avoid private trips and ensure that departmental vehicles are used strictly for authorised official duties,” it read.
The notice warned that unauthorised use and vehicle abuse would be monitored, as would unnecessary idling of vehicles while stationary.
According to the mayor’s spokesperson, Khathutshelo Mulaudzi, Executive Mayor Dada Morero is aware of the disruption, directing the matter to be resolved urgently.
“The city is working to complete the processing of payments affected by the transition so that the fleet can return to full operation,” Mulaudzi said.
She added that this was resolved after the city and its new banking service provider met and reached an agreement on the way forward, including resolving existing and outstanding payments.
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