The premier of Mpumalanga, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, handed over a state-of-the-art firefighting vehicle this past week to the mayor of the Lekwa Municipality, Delani Louis Thabethe.
The MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) also attended the handover at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre.
According to a statement from the provincial government, veld fires can potentially endanger humans, livestock, and vegetation.
They said firefighting vehicles improve the capacity of municipalities to save lives through rapid response.
In accepting the vehicle, Thabethe thanked the premier on behalf of the people of Lekwa.
“We are excited that this is not about the shortcomings and not just support, but support in action,” he said.
“It represents an end to the Disaster Management Unit being treated as a stepchild of the municipality. We will procure another fire-fighting truck in the next financial year to ensure we respond better and adequately.”
According to the mayor, they have ensured Lekwa has skilled firefighters and appointed a chief fire officer.
Altogether, eight fire-fighting positions are in the recruitment stages.
