Premier handing over keys
By Kopano Dibakwane
The five municipalities of Lekwa, Nkomazi, Chief Albert Luthuli, Dipaleseng and Thaba Chweu, received fully-equipped Double Cab Rapid Response firefighting vehicles which were handed over by Mpumalanga Premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Mbombela on Thursday 19 October.
The vehicles are said to be 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.
She also said that Mpumalanga MEC for COGTA(Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), Mandla Msibi, has played a pivotal role in ensuring that various areas receive immediate relief during natural disasters and that other municipalities will also receive the same vehicles in the future.
” Our Mpumalanga 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 with fire. We need to be proactive in so far as planning is concerned,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
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 information-driven response which is faster and more effective. Thank you so much for your dedication and relentless efforts in making sure that you selflessly service our people,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
Additional features on the vehicles include, medium pump, hydrolic rescue tools, boots and gloves, foreseeable entry, swift water rescue, emergency lighting, pressure kits, additional firefighting and rescue units for critical conditions, hazards, water and fire disasters.
