Only half of the Western Cape's 30 municipalities will be ready for this year's fire season, and most will have to cope with outdated equipment and massive staff shortages, Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi warned on Tuesday.
And there is concern that an agreement between the National Treasury and Fifa to allocate funds for extra emergency services staff ahead of the 2010 World Cup does not include funding for training of fire service staff.
While disaster readiness plans for 2010 will accelerate improvements in host cities such as Cape Town, little is being done to prepare outlying areas for fires, floods and other natural disasters.
Although new ambulances have been bought and are already "on the road" in the Western Cape, Dyantyi said more needed to be done to address the needs of the fire service in and outside of the World Cup host cities.
Schalk Carstens, provincial director of Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, said Fifa's focus was on host cities and that not all municipalities would benefit from 2010 preparation plans.
The City of Cape Town's fire service, already struggling with staff shortages, responds to an average of 700 medical-related calls a month...
Although the city council has made 54 appointments and will next month hire 30 trainee firefighters, six forestry staff, 54 seasonal firefighters and 13 reservists, it still has a long way to go to fill its 600 critical vacancies before 2010...
And there is concern that an agreement between the National Treasury and Fifa to allocate funds for extra emergency services staff ahead of the 2010 World Cup does not include funding for training of fire service staff.
While disaster readiness plans for 2010 will accelerate improvements in host cities such as Cape Town, little is being done to prepare outlying areas for fires, floods and other natural disasters.
| 'Lack of planning is a major challenge' |
Schalk Carstens, provincial director of Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, said Fifa's focus was on host cities and that not all municipalities would benefit from 2010 preparation plans.
The City of Cape Town's fire service, already struggling with staff shortages, responds to an average of 700 medical-related calls a month...
Although the city council has made 54 appointments and will next month hire 30 trainee firefighters, six forestry staff, 54 seasonal firefighters and 13 reservists, it still has a long way to go to fill its 600 critical vacancies before 2010...
"Lack of planning is a major challenge. We have dedicated this Provincial Advisory Forum meeting (to this)." Municipalities that did not plan ahead for these disasters would spend up to triple the amount on damages, Dyantyi said.The rest of the article (Cape Times) is all bla bla bla we've done so well...
Recent disasters, including fires and storms, had cost the province "billions of rands"
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