Mbombela - The delayed registration of ambulances is the reason behind the shortage of the emergency vehicles in Mpumalanga three years ago.
According to the Auditor General's report for the 2006/2007 year, vehicles bought for use as ambulances were kept in storage for an entire year while waiting to be converted and registered.
"A number of people may have lost their lives in 2006/2007 because of the shortage of ambulances while vehicles were kept in storage," said Fish Mahlalela, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), during a sitting on Wednesday.
Mahlalela said all vehicles procured should be delivered ready for use to avoid delays in service delivery.
Head of the department, Dr Johnson Mahlangu, said problems had arose that year because the tender process was handled by the national Department of Roads and Transport. Another challenge was that the government garages took long to register vehicles in the name of departments.
He said there was a need to improve the conversion of ambulances because they were essential for services delivery.
