The DA in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality is appalled at the municipality’s minimal intervention in dealing with fire incidents.
- On 26 August 2022, a veld fire broke out in Potloodspruit Lydenburg and there was no assistance from the municipality. Three days later, a pensioner died as a result of excessive smoke inhalation from this fire.
- On 25 September 2022, a house at Hoppe Inn, a residential village 4 kilometres from town towards Dullstroom, burned to the ground as the municipality failed to dispatch the fire emergency services.
- On 6 October 2022, 6 dwellings in Mashishing informal settlement burned to the ground. The municipality dispatched two bakkies with 700 litres each in a tank fitted on the back. However, these vehicles offered little assistance due to their limited capacity.
- On 9 October 2022 another dwelling at Hoppe Inn was destroyed by a fire, again the municipality failed to send the fire emergency services.
As per section 156(1) a Municipality has the executive authority to administer firefighting services. In Thaba Chweu, the only firefighting services offered by the municipality are 2 Nissan bakkies, each equipped with a firefighting system existing of a tank with a capacity of 700 litres of water and a petrol driven engine to supply energy for pumping.
If this system is used at full capacity, it might pump for 10 minutes before the tank is empty. This might be best suitable for a mild bush fire, but will never suffice to extinguish a house on fire or anything beyond that.
It is also concerning to note that these two vehicles are serving Lydenburg, Graskop, Sabie and urban areas surrounding these towns.
As per section 84(j) of the Structures Act, the District Municipality, which is Ehlanzeni District Municipality in this regard, is responsible for offering firefighting services to the entire district.
The local municipality has certain responsibilities with regard to delivering a service but the District Municipality stays the responsible custodian for the rendering of a service. If the local authority has the capacity to render a service, which In the case of Thaba Chweu is not an option, then the district can be adjusted to local authority as per section 85 of the same act.
We will escalate this matter to the DA Spokesperson on the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in the province, Trudie Grove Morgan MPL to engage with COGTA MEC, Mandla Msibi to urgently attend to this matter.