EDWIN MOYO
GWERU-Gweru City Mayor Cllr Martin Chivhoko has applauded the government for purchasing fire tenders, as they were going to ensure fast and efficient attendance to emergencies.
The fire tenders were bought for US$450 000 each, according to a report which was tabled today at the official commissioning of these vehicles in Gweru today.
” We have noticed that we can’t have a fleet of fire tenders without ambulances to attend concurrently at the accident scenes.
“Hence, we are in the process of procuring two ambulances this year and two more next year to make them four. So, it is our hope that these will assist the city’s emergency services.
“We are proud as today; we celebrate a milestone of resilience and transformation as we institutionalize devolution. We are happy that today, we are reaping the fruits of the devolution. It is through the devolution funds that today we are celebrating these three fire tenders
“We have 51 firefighters amongst them we have 8 women the rest are men. I encourage women to also join the firefighting team as you can see that we have 32 youths, which is also a good number. I call upon youths to consider fire fighting as a profession,” he added.
Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Mudha Ncube said, government had since increased devolution funds in the 2024 budget for disbursement to local authorities
“Government has since increased its devolution funds in its 2024 disbursements.
“City of Gweru has so far received US$634 million and 81 million was channeled towards the procurement of fire tenders.
“My appeal to council is to invest a lot in disaster preparedness for the safety of the City. Also, we need improvement in water supply for all the residents to get the precious liquid,” said Ncube.
