ZIWAPHI • VOL 4 NO 8 • 23 April - 6 May 2010
CAUGHT! Police vehicle gets second-rate tyres
KWAMHLANGA
A police vehicle has been caught on camera in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga, where it was being fitted with second-hand tyres which most motorists would not touch.
Fixing old tyres and selling them for as little as R80 each has become a flourishing business for foreigners who hawk the tyres next to the Moloto road near the KwaMhlanga Cross Road Plaza.
On Wednesday, this reporter spotted a Toyota Quantum from the police jacked up and ready to be fitted with skorokoro tyres.
A policeman had driven up alone in the vehicle and could be seen chatting to a woman carrying shopping bags nearby while the tyre service men fitted the second-hand tyres.
Motorist David Skhosana (34) said he would not touch what he called "these rejected tyres". _“They are a death trap and I wouldn't buy them, even if they are being sold at lower prices. Human life is more important than bargains,” said Skhosana.
One of the foreigners who work at the informal business, known only as Mlungu, said: “The police are bad customers because they always demand a credit service from us. They sometimes come in with police vehicles to pick up tyres on credit to fit onto their private vehicles, but meanwhile they still owe us for services rendered for the state vehicles. Others have threatened us, saying we do not have passports or permission to sell second-hand tyres.”
When contacted for comment, KwaMhlanga Police Station spokesperson Sergeant Nonhlanhla Kgosana said: “We are not aware of the allegations. They will be seriously investigated.”
She did not want to answer a question about whether it was lawful for police vehicles to be fitted with skorokoro tyres, saying: “Please, I am busy. You can expect me to phone you back soon.”
That did not happen, though, and she did not answer further calls to her cellphone.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Leonard Hlathi also did not answer his cellphone.