SOWETAN | Fire engines bungling risks lives

A couple died on Sunday. They burnt to death in their home in a fire that ravaged the Zandspruit informal settlement, Honeydew, western Johannesburg. 

This is the latest known deadly blaze to hit Johannesburg’s poor communities. On average emergency officials attend to more than a hundred such fires a month in the city. However, their job is made extraordinarily difficult by a shortage of fire trucks which would allow them to adequately attend to the such emergencies and hopefully, save lives. 

To help manage the situation, Emergency Services Management operates on a rotation system where  trucks are dispatched on a weekly basis to different areas depending on arising needs.  At last count in May, the city needed 40 more trucks just to function within acceptable standards.

But attempts to buy more trucks have been stalled by a quintessentially South African problem of administrative bungling. In May 2022, Marcé Fire Technology was awarded the contract to procure firetrucks.

The deal was signed in August, under a DA-led coalition government and a media launch held in January this year with a promise that new engines would hit the streets in May next year. 

But it was not to be. The current coalition government led (well, sort of) by Al Jama-ah  has seemingly abandoned Marcé. 

We are told the company has failed to produce a bank guarantee certificate, presumably the final piece of documentation before they can be allowed to do the work. 

And so, it is back to the drawing board. MMC for public safety Mgcini Tshwaku has told this publication the tender would be re-advertised and the search for a service provider started yet again.

Whether the reasons for the cancellation of the contract stand up to scrutiny seems academic at this stage.

Of most importance is that this decision is a major setback for a city that desperately needs equipment to attend to dangerous fires that happen all too often.

Community members in Zandspruit have told us how on Sunday evening, they called for firetrucks only for some to arrive with little or no water to put off the blaze.

Officials put this down to low water pressure from local hydrants.

Whatever the reasons, ultimately this situation demonstrates yet again that inefficient bureaucracy does not occur in a vacuum nor is it victimless. 

In fact it carries devastating consequences especially for vulnerable communities.