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ActionSA calls on Zululand District to decentralise emergency vehicles to local municipalities. 

We are devastated learn of a fire that engulfed a shopping centre in KwaNongoma under the Zululand District Municipality, leaving many without work and business owners feeling helpless. 

We have also learnt that all emergency vehicles are centralised in Ulundi, making it difficult for emergency services to reach affected areas in time, therefore, we are calling on the Zululand District Municipality to adequately decentralise all emergency vehicles to local municipalities.   

The Nongoma Plaza is currently  in ashes after burning down last night due to the District Municipality’s failure to appropriately distribute emergency service vehicles amongst its municipalities resulting in the Fire Department’s late arrival at the scene of the fire.

It is alleged that the KwaNongoma Municipality has a single fire engen truck that has not been working since 2019. 

With the recent disaster that has occurred in KwaNongoma, it has revealed an underlying issue which has become common place in KwaZulu where many rural municipalities are often neglected or are not due to inadequate resourcing for their populations.

In an effort to protect the vulnerable and those who reside in rural communities, ActionSA calls on the Zululand District Municipality to perform a full planning and distribution of emergency amongst its local municipalities.

We also call on the KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Ministry to revisit its disaster management budget, and determine whether funds that are allocated to district municipalities are adequate for providing emergency services to KZN residents.

Issued by ActionSA