Six months after the City of Joburg launched the start of the manufacturing of much-needed fire trucks, it has now abandoned its contractor and is preparing to re-advertise the work to new bidders.
This means it may take much longer than the initial May 2024 deadline for new trucks to hit the streets.
The city which battles about 120 fires per month, especially in informal settlements, needs at least 40 more fire engines to function adequately.
Yesterday, MMC for public safety Mgcini Tshwaku, told Sowetan they had decided to re-advertise the tender.
“The city has taken a decision that the tender will be re-advertised so that we can go back into the market and search. There was no supply of the bank guarantee [certificate by Marcé, the company which had been awarded the contract in January],” Tshwaku said.
“The team is working on the re-advertising and to ensure that those engines are bought. I am desperate like you. I want those engines. I am making noise on a daily basis. It’s winter and we have a lot of shack fires. So trust me, I am very [desperate]. I am talking to the chief of [EMS] on a daily basis.”
Former MMC for group corporate & shared services Leah Knott who was part of the team that approved the initial contract to Marcé said the tender could not be re-advertised unless approved by council.
“They cannot re-advertise outside of council process once a contract has been awarded and everything has been tied up,” Knott said.
On Sunday, two people died when a fire gutted shacks at the Zandspruit informal settlement in Honeydew.
Zandspruit community leader Jongile Dlamini said the fire started just after 10pm in a couple’s double-storey shack and the first truck that arrived at the scene did not have water.
He said it took the second fire truck another 45 minutes to arrive after the first one.
“The community battled the fire and were relieved when the first truck arrived but it did not have water. The community used buckets to fetch water to put it out.
"The second truck did not have enough water as it ran out before the fire was put out. The community had to continue using buckets to draw water to try and put it out. We were even using soil.”
Dlamini said the community was hurt and disturbed because of what happened.
“How do you have a fire truck that has no water. How do you have a fire truck that does not have enough water. The two people – a couple – were burnt beyond recognition,” he said.
Dlamini said the fire which burnt down 21 shacks could have been contained quicker if the fire trucks were well-equipped.
Another community leader said a community member had driven to the Cosmo City fire station, about 3km away, but there was no fire engine.
Joburg emergency services spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba said they received a call at 10.08 and by 10.16, they had responded to the incident.
"When we respond to fires in informal settlements, we deploy a water tanker because people in those areas use hydrants as water sources and that reduces the water pressure during an emergency.
“The pressure of the water hydrants in the area was low and so the truck has to go to the nearest water hydrant to refill. There are about 4,000 litres of water that the fire truck can take and that only lasts about 4-5 minutes,” Radebe-Kgiba said.
She said a team would visit the area on Friday to check the water hydrants and raise awareness about fires.
As of May, the city was running on 16 engines for its 30 fire stations. To respond adequately to emergencies, the city should have 92 fire and rescue vehicles, which are a combination of 13 different categories.
From time to time these vehicles are prone for repairs and maintenance and other mechanical challenges and their availability differs from day to day. Currently the city has a shortfall of about 40.
The EMS rotates the fire trucks on a weekly basis depending on arising needs in different areas.
In May 2022, the city, led by a DA coalition, awarded the tender to Marcé Fire Technology and the contract was signed in August and then mayor Mpho Phalatse launched the programme to much fanfare in January.
After a change in the city’s administration, the company was asked to present a bank guarantee certificate and was given until May 15 to do so which it has not produced.
Marcé managing director Jan Steyn said he could not get into detail about the contract as they had not received any communication from the city on the status of the contract.
“We have had negotiations but couldn’t reach any financial agreement. But since then, we have not received any formal communication from them about the contract,” Steyn said.
In 2019, the Johannesburg high court set aside a tender valued at over R500m that was awarded to TFM Industries to supply the city with 92 specialised fire and rescue engines.
The city had paid R172m for the trucks but they were never delivered.
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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