MEC William Bulwane will on Thursday be under pressure to address key issues, as the state of Police, Roads and Transport will be under serious scrutiny when he delivers this budget vote. 

Bulwane’s department has been under serious scrutiny with a barrage of complaints from irate residents about dilapidating roads and questionable police services. He will further be expected to divulge more detail on the licence renewal grace period, which is set to come to an end on 14 April. His speech at the Free State Legislature sitting in the Fourth Raadsaal in Bloemfontein, comes ahead of the visit by the National Transport minister Fikile Mbalula on Thursday.

Mbalula, who is expected to be flanked by MEC Bulwane, will on Thursday do an on-site inspection and observe operations at the Lengau Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) in Bloemfontein.

It remains to be seen if MEC Bulwane will touch on the state's fleet across police stations in the province which were previously said to be in a state of disarray after complaints by anonymous sources that many of the vehicles were stuck or broken.

Also read: Breakdown of police vehicles in the spotlight - VIDEO

In 2021, OFM News reported that according to a source, police investigators at the Kagisanong Police Station in Bloemfontein, with about 30 investigators, were forced to share two vehicles, whilst the crime prevention officers were making use of a single vehicle to patrol the entire area with roughly 800 000 residents.

OFM News witnessed a large contingent of police vehicles that are stranded in Bloemfontein at various police stations, which include Kopanong, Kagisanong, and Bloemspruit, amongst others. The source said some of these vehicles only have minor issues such as worn brake pads, amongst others.

OFM News