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Freeman Razemba Crime Reporter
The Central Mechanical & Equipment Department (CMED) will next week start installing trackers on all Government vehicles to monitor their movement, collecting information on vehicle performance and behaviour of drivers.
This is in line with the Government’s cost-containment measures, announced by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube in the 2019 National Budget Statement.
The policy seeks to ensure the safety of Government workers while operating vehicles, promote efficient and effective use of Government vehicles, prevent abuse and to establish standards and procedures for all employees who drive Government vehicles.
In an interview yesterday, CMED chief executive officer Engineer Davison Mhaka said they had approved a tender to install the tracking system starting next month.
“To ease the management of this fleet, CMED has harnessed the power of technology by placing all pool vehicles under a vehicle tracking system that enables the organisation to monitor and control each vehicle. By so doing, CMED will be in a position to enforce directives from Government, for example, to ensure that such vehicles are left parked at offices after work.
“This is possible because the tracking system has a switch on/off facility which CMED remotely uses to enforce Government directive. The tender for the tracking system was floated in March 2019 and was awarded to a local company at the end of May. Installation of the system will start in July 2019,” he said.
“Prior to this new policy position, these vehicles were under the custody of various Government ministries. In line with the new policy position, CMED ought to compile a consolidated asset register.
“To that end, Treasury will soon issue a circular to all concerned ministries asking them to register their vehicles with CMED,” he said.
Eng Mhaka said the trend the world over was to ensure that vehicles were used for Government business only and not for personal use.
“Over and above that, the tracking system also offers the following benefits; it safeguards Government assets as driver behaviour is monitored in terms of speed, braking habits and fuel consumption and stolen vehicles are recoverable through the system’s remote control switch on/off facility,” Eng Mhaka said.
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