Bulawayo gets Belarus fire tenders

THE Bulawayo City Council yesterday received four new fire tenders acquired from Belarus under controversial circumstances by government using devolution funds.

This adds to the fleet of fire tenders for the city.

Commissioning the fire tenders, Bulawayo Metropolitan Provincial and Devolution Affairs minister Judith Ncube said the delays in attending to fire incidents in the city were a cause for concern.

"In procuring these fire tenders from Belarus, the government of Zimbabwe realised that the fire tenders will be key in helping to maintain public safety, protecting property, and reducing the risk of fire-related incidents," Ncube said.

"It is the government's role in liaison with the local government to ensure fire safety and prevention. They provide continuous water supply to fire incidents, which is essential for controlling and extinguishing fires," she said.

Ncube called on council and residents to ensure the equipment is protected.

Meanwhile, Bulawayo mayor David Coltart raised concern on the increase in the number of calls the fire brigade responds to.

"As we continue to record an increase in the number of fire calls, in the past five years, the fire brigade responded to 2 513 fire calls, with the highest being 675 in 2021.

"This year, we have seen an increase in the number of property fires and veldfires," Coltart said.

He said residents should adhere to the information shared in awareness campaigns to try and mitigate the incidents.