Government garage at Rundu spends N$1m on spare parts

The Rundu Government Garage, which services vehicles for both the Kavango East and Kavango West regions, has spent over N$1 million on spare parts in the past 10 months in an effort to maintain and revive its ageing fleet.



This was confirmed by the garage’s senior artisan foreman, Samuel Gebhardt, who explained that the purchases covered a broad range of parts for Toyota, Isuzu, and Nissan vehicles. The bulk of the expenditure went towards essential running parts such as filters and service kits, which have allowed the facility to operate for nearly seven months without placing new orders.



“We try to stock up because we are very far from major suppliers. This helps keep repairs moving,” Gebhardt told Namibian Sun.



Thanks to improved stock levels and capacity, the garage now handles 70% to 80% of all repairs in-house, significantly reducing its reliance on outsourcing. “We’ve been working to build internal capacity to cut costs and reduce downtime,” he added.



Currently, over 30 government vehicles are undergoing repairs at the facility, while another 21 have been declared redundant and placed in the garage’s auction yard, awaiting disposal.



This follows a directive from Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi, who earlier this month ordered all government garages to submit lists of unusable vehicles within two weeks. The Rundu garage complied with the directive, submitting its list on 10 April 2025.



Each vehicle was evaluated using strict technical inspection criteria, including assessments of mileage, accident history, and overall condition. The final decisions were based on government policy, which classifies a vehicle as uneconomical to repair if the cost of repairs exceeds 50% of its book value.



“Most of these cars are write-offs from major accidents. Fixing them would cost more than they’re worth,” Gebhardt explained.



While the auction process is underway, Gebhardt expressed concern about the slow pace of vehicle replacements. “We fear we’ll dispose of 20 or more cars and only receive two or three in return. That would cripple operations,” he cautioned.



Nonetheless, he praised the ministry’s leadership and expressed faith in its efforts, noting that the region’s limited but hardworking fleet has continued to meet operational demands.



In 2023, the Ministry of Works and Transport raised more than N$105 million by auctioning off redundant vehicles. Minister Nekundi has emphasised that while government is not in the business of selling cars for profit, recovering value for the fiscus remains essential.



The ministry aims to complete the disposal process within three months. Once garages submit their lists, requests for write-off approvals will be forwarded to Treasury before the vehicles are auctioned.