The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State has slammed the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) for dragging its feet in addressing the Mangaung Fire Services, which, according to the party, is in a dire state and requires a budget of R60 million.
DA Councillor André Snyman conducted an oversight visit recently and revealed that the state of the Fire Services calls for an immediate intervention from the municipality, noting that we are entering the dry season where fires commonly break out. According to him, mismanagement of funds over the years has brought the fire services to its current state.
“The training facility in Bayswater is in a poor condition and needs to be repaired. Another big concern is the understaffing at the Central Station. The standard at this station calls for one station officer, a captain, and 30 firefighters per shift, currently they have one station captain and eight firefighters per shift. In Mangaung, we need a total of 259 operational staff, we have 83,” he said.
Snyman additionally mentioned that firefighting requires sufficient equipment, which Mangaung does not have. He said, “In terms of the fleet, only three fire engines are operational in Mangaung, there are no grass fire bakkies, the Central Station relies on an unmarked and unequipped bakkie, there is only one rescue unit, one ladder truck with an expired disk, and one working pumper.”
Responding to the matter, Mangaung municipal spokesperson Qondile Khedama said that although they are operating on a small budget, provisions have been made to deal with the concerns raised by the DA. “We are operating on a shoestring budget, we have started the process of advertising posts and that is going to happen across all departments. The city manager mentioned that we are too bottled up in management so with these posts we will be prioritising people on the ground.”
He concluded by reassuring residents that the municipality is prepared and adequately supported in the event of a major disaster, stating: “When serious incidents occur, the provincial disaster management team steps in to provide additional support when needed. So far, we have not faced a situation where we were unable to manage fire outbreaks.”
Clement Matroos
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