THE delivery of two new fire trucks to Kouga Municipality is almost back on track following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, said the assembly of the vehicles, procured at a cost of more than R4 million, had been delayed as the service provider could not get hold of all specialised parts during level five of lockdown.
“The supplier has since notified us that the first truck will be ready for delivery by the end of June,” he said.
“The second vehicle will be delivered later in the year as some Covid-19 related constraints are still hampering its completion.”
He said the first vehicle set for delivery, was a 2.5 tonne 4×4 single cab, similar to the one added to Kouga’s fleet two years ago.
“These are smaller vehicles, ideally suited to off-road operations and fighting fires in informal settlements. We are grateful that this vehicle is scheduled for delivery at the end of next month, as fires in informal areas usually spike during winter.”
He said the second vehicle, scheduled for delivery later this year, was a 6 000l all-terrain 4×4 water tanker.
“This vehicle can also operate on rough terrain and has a foam concrete booster tank, which makes it a valuable asset for attending to burning vehicles or flammable substance fires.”
Hendricks thanked the Sarah Baartman District Municipality for contributing R1.47-million to the procurement of the vehicles.
“The new trucks will strengthen the capacity of our fire department to keep Kouga safe. We are grateful to the district for their support.”
- The Sarah Baartman District Municipality has, furthermore, handed over a Toyato Hilux fitted with a skid to the value of R725 000 to the KouKamma Municipality.
A skid unit is a complete self-contained firefighting apparatus – equipped with a medium pump, which will be able to assist in fighting the small to medium fires.
Other municipalities in the district that received fire fighting vehicles and equipment are Dr Beyers Naudé Municipality and Makana Municipality who each received two Ford Ranger bakkies fitted with skid units to the value of R1 206 928.30, while the Sunday’s River Valley Municipality and Sarah Baartman District Municipality each received a Toyota Hilux fitted with a skid unit to the value of R725 000.
The Blue Crane Route Municipality and Ndlambe Municipality received an allocation of R1 467 840 and R909 360 respectively.
Sarah Baartman District Executive Mayor, Councillor Khunjuzwa Eunice Kekane, said that “these vehicles should be utilised with the utmost care to ensure that they will be able to provide quality service to our communities.”
