Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality was among the five municipalities that received fully-equipped Double Cab Rapid Response firefighting vehicles, which were handed over by Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane. The handover was held at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Mbombela on Thursday, October 19.
The vehicles are aimed at improving the capacity of fire-prone municipalities to save lives and natural vegetation through rapid response.
Premier Mtshweni-Tsipane said, during the handover ceremony, that the vehicles must be ready to be utilised by communities at any given time while kept in good condition and jealously guarded.
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She also said that Mpumalanga MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mandla Msibi, has played a pivotal role in ensuring that municipalities receive immediate relief during natural disasters and that other municipalities will also receive the same vehicles in the future.
“Our Provincial Disaster Management Centre has served the people of Mpumalanga with excellence, especially when we are faced with life-threatening natural disasters. Our province has a number of isolated and rural communities; as Mpumalanga, we are engulfed by fire. We need to be proactive in so far as planning is concerned,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
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She said that the province is handing over critical tools to deliver services in various municipalities.
“We must formulate active partnerships with academia and throughout society to enable us to better collate data and develop an information-driven response that is faster and more effective. Thank you so much for your dedication and relentless efforts in making sure that you selflessly serve our people,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
Additional features on the vehicles include a medium pump, hydrolic rescue tools, boots and gloves, foreseeable entry, swift water rescue, emergency lighting, pressure kits, and additional firefighting and rescue units for critical conditions, hazards, water, and fire disasters.
