Of the more than 40,000 vehicles in the South African Police Service (SAPS) fleet, nearly 7,000 are currently unavailable.
This was revealed by the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, in response to parliamentary questions posed by the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron.
The DA MP requested details on the allocation of vehicles in each province, as well as information about their condition and availability, and when unavailable vehicles would return to service.
According to the acting minister, the South African Police fleet currently consists of a total of 42,648 vehicles, comprising several categories.
“The fleet per vehicle category comprises, among others, 12,331 automobiles, 23,129 light commercial vehicles, 2,328 minibuses, 1,489 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), 1,332 trucks, 607 multi-purpose vehicles, 556 armoured vehicles, 522 panel vans, 278 buses, 74 recovery vehicles and 2 emergency vehicles,” explained Cachalia.
The acting minister also provided Cameron with a breakdown of each vehicle’s allocation, broken down by province, which is as follows:
| Province | Total |
|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 4,046 |
| Free State | 2,541 |
| Gauteng | 7,439 |
| Head Office | 10,157 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 5,226 |
| Limpopo | 2,485 |
| Mpumalanga | 1,875 |
| North West | 2,197 |
| Northern Cape | 1,636 |
| Western Cape | 5,046 |
| Total | 42,648 |
Interestingly, the SAPS Head Office in Pretoria oversees the largest fleet, much larger than any provincial fleet.
This office is responsible for setting national policing policy, directing operations, and providing administrative and strategic support to provincial commands.
Of the nearly 43,000 vehicles in the police fleet, 6,925, or more than 16%, are currently not operational due to maintenance or repairs.
Thousands of police vehicles out of action
According to the acting minister, the most common reason for police vehicles to be out of action right now is mechanical repair.
Other reasons include panel-beating, while nearly 500 vehicles are currently also being serviced.
Cachalia broke down the reasons for unavailability per province, which are reflected below:
| Province | Mechanical repair | Panel-beating | Service | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 848 | 84 | 51 | 983 |
| Free State | 361 | 50 | 73 | 484 |
| Gauteng | 1,242 | 353 | 47 | 1,642 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 1,164 | 98 | 154 | 1,416 |
| Limpopo | 270 | 59 | 69 | 398 |
| Mpumalanga | 258 | 31 | – | 289 |
| National Head Garage | 80 | – | – | 80 |
| North West | 343 | 12 | 21 | 376 |
| Northern Cape | 352 | 35 | 7 | 394 |
| Western Cape | 647 | 170 | 46 | 863 |
| Total | 5,565 | 892 | 468 | 6,925 |
Currently, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are the most hamstrung provinces, with more than 3,000 vehicles out of action in those two provinces alone.
Regarding the actual repair costs, the acting minister noted that details can only be finalised once the required maintenance or repairs have been completed.
These costs are managed and controlled through applicable National Treasury fleet-management and spare-parts contracts.
“Fleet maintenance was outsourced through the National Treasury RT46-2020-1 contract via WesBank for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2026, which was extended to 30 June 2026,” Cachalia revealed.
“With effect from 1 July 2026, the South African Police Service participates in the National Treasury RT46-2026 contract via Afrirent, with the contractors utilising accredited merchants on their database.”
As a result, the contract is currently in a transition phase from WesBank to Afrirent, with certain police fleet vehicles being transferred between the two service providers for the finalisation of the repairs.
Responding to Cameron’s questions regarding the timelines surrounding these vehicles’ return to service, Cachalia noted that these are determined on a case-by-case basis.
“It depends on the nature and extent of the repairs required, the availability of spare parts and the completion of work by the relevant service providers,” he explained.
“Vehicles are returned to operational service as and when the required repairs are completed.”
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