These vehicles are not more than four years old, but some have rusted so badly that the doors have fallen off
Paul Kirk
Hundreds of armoured vehicles bought from a major British arms supplier are being scrapped by the South African Police Service.
The vehicles, called Scouts, are being taken out of service as they are not considered safe, economical, cost-effective or suitable for the purposes for which they were designed.
Instead police say they will use bakkies and cars for transport.
A visit to Durban Central police station revealed that dozens of the vehicles which cost about R800000 each were last week collected from all areas of the city and parked at the station awaiting disposal or destruction.
Several of the vehicles appear to be brand new and never used. However, all are in terrible condition.
Most of the vehicles have seemingly never been coated with proper metal primer. Though none are more than four years old, many have rusted so badly that the doors have fallen off.
One Scout the Mail & Guardian examined was made in 1999, but already had rust holes the size of a man’s fist. The rear compartment’s door intended to secure prisoners had rusted off its hinges. Rust on the body of the vehicle was so bad the fuel tank could be seen from outside the vehicle.
To save weight, the bonnets of the vehicles and several other body panels were made from fibreglass, which could be broken with only slight pressure.
Many of the vehicles had broken bonnets and rain had damaged the exposed engines. Several had broken axles but did not appear to have been involved in any accidents.
Durban police representative Captain Vishnu Naidoo said the vehicles at Durban Central police station are going to be sold or scrapped. He referred all queries to police headquarters in Pretoria.
Senior Superintendent Andrew Lesch, police representative on logistics, confirmed the South African Police Service would no longer be using the Scouts. “We have decided the Scouts are simply too expensive to keep repairing.
“In future we have decided to use normal bakkies for transport. If we need to use armoured vehicles we will use Casspirs or Nyalas. When we bought the Scouts we needed armoured vehicles and the Scout was much cheaper than a Casspir or Nyala.”
Asked if the vehicles were substandard when delivered, Lesch said: “I don’t want to be drawn on the issue and say something the manufacturers can use against us. All I am saying is that we will not be using the vehicles any more. I understand the vehicles are no longer being produced either.”
Lesch said it was very difficult to establish what the police had spent on the vehicles since the 1994 financial year when they were first bought.
However, in 1999 the company that made the Scouts, Vickers OMC, won a contract to supply 75 to the United Nations at a cost of R70-million, including spares and shipping.
The South African Police Service had 400 Scouts and if it bought them at the same price as the UN it would have cost R380-million.
When the M&G attempted to contact Vickers OMC, the company claimed none of the directors of the firm were available and no one else was authorised to speak to the media.