CONSTABLE Sikelelwa Sifingo is a motor mechanic at the South African Police Service Garage in Maitland, Cape Town.
The 29-year-old constable from Khayelitsha describes herself as the doctor of cars.
“Motor vehicles are like my patients.
“A medical doctor will use a stethoscope and thermometer. I use a spanner to tighten any loose bolts and screws to keep them from moving,” said Sifingo.
She said she looks after vehicles booked in for her to work on.
“It could be repairs or to replace malfunctioning parts such as brake pads, cambelts, water pumps, etc,” said Sikelelwa, who services two or three vehicles a day.
Sikelelwa said she joined the police service in March when they were looking for junior artisans.
“This was after I had been unemployed for two years,” she said.
After matric, Sikelelwa studied motor mechanics at False Bay College in Khayelitsha.
She then applied for an apprenticeship at Barloworld Academy that took four years.
She said her love of fixing cars developed at an early age.
“I used to watch my father fixing his own car and I realised that I could later choose motor mechanics as a career,” she said.
