A national repair shop set up by the government through the Ministry of Finance is helping save on maintenance costs for state vehicles.
National Director for State Asset Management Martinho Lopes said after it was established there had been a 40% reduction in maintenance costs for state vehicles in the 2014-2015 period.
“We have the materials and the complete equipment, so if there are broken vehicles we will repair them immediately,” said Lopes.
However, to avoid any manipulation, he said the mechanics carry out a complete inspection before proceeding with repairs.
In the event that the shop runs out of materials then the team of mechanics refers the job to another private repair shop.
Since being established in 2014, vehicles from 10 ministries and several secretariats of state had been submitted for repairs at the shop.
“It is a pilot project, but if we succeed then we will ask others ministries to implement it,” said Lopes.
The repair shop, which employs 18 mechanics, has so far conducted maintenance works on about 2000 vehicles, mostly from the Ministry of Education.
This year the government allocated $1.8 million to the State Asset Management.
National MP Josefa Alvares Soares said she considered the project a good initiative to reduce car maintenance costs.
“It is a good initiative because every year we have more cars and higher costs for maintenance and this is a good way to save on expenses,” she said.
To ensure the future sustainability of the repair shop, she also called on the directorate to ensure appropriate management was in place.
