Five municipalities in Mpumalanga each gained a fully equipped double-cab rapid response firefighting vehicle, courtesy of the Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane.
The handover took place at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre on October 19. The MEC for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Mandla Msibi, the respective executive mayors of the municipalities and that of the Ehlanzeni and Gert Sibande district municipalities were present.
The vehicles were handed over to the Lekwa, Nkomazi, Chief Albert Luthuli, Dipaleseng and Thaba Chweu local municipalities.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said Mpumalanga is prone to veld fires, with the potential to endanger human lives and the natural vegetation.
“The firefighting vehicles will improve the capacity of the municipalities to save lives through rapid response. We will not stop here, but work towards a budget for maintenance and to acquire vehicles for more municipalities.”
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She said this project came about after recently attending an imbizo in the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality, which has managed to build a state-of-the-art disaster management centre, but does not have the equipment to run it. “I consulted with the MEC for Cogta, and his department identified five local municipalities who are in dire need of this support.”
She also challenged the recipients to acquire more vehicles for themselves, which they pledged to do in the next financial year.
The Lekwa Local Municipality’s executive mayor, Cllr Delani Thabethe, said the handover represented an end to disaster management being treated like a stepchild in most municipalities. “We aim to pay more attention to procuring a firefighting truck in our next financial year. By the end of this year, we want to appoint eight skilled firefighters to join the female chief firefighter we have already appointed. So far, this vehicle will assist greatly in responding to household fires, veld and farm fires, and accidents on the R23.”
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The Nkomazi Local Municipality’s executive mayor, Cllr Phindile Magagula, said the new vehicle will assist in rapid response to especially houses that catch fire due to electrical faults in Nkomazi, which occur regularly. “We are planning on getting an additional vehicle in the next financial year that will support this one and to grow our disaster management centre that will serve communities as far as Mjejane. Nkomazi is prone to disasters, so we will not wait for another donation,” she said.
