THE City of Bulawayo is facing a critical shortage of ambulances and fire tenders amid concerns by councillors in the country’s second largest city.
Residents in the city have also been irked by delays in responding to emergencies.
This is revealed in the latest council minutes on fire and ambulance services in Bulawayo.
Bulawayo chamber secretary Sikhangele Zhou reported recently on the challenges faced in the fire and ambulance services department.
The councillors also indicated their observations on the delays that residents experienced when either fire tenders or ambulance services were needed.
According to the report, councillor Ntando Ndlovu raised concern over unavailability of ambulances and fire tenders in Cowdray Park.
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“He witnessed an incident where an ambulance took 45 minutes to arrive at a scene.
“He sought clarity on the number of ambulances allocated to the Cowdray Park satellite station, taking note of the size of Cowdray Park compared to other suburbs,” the report read.
“There is urgent need to source specialised ambulances equipped with life-saving apparatus in addition to the ordinary ambulances available.
“He noted with great concern that some ambulances auctioned by the city council were now operating as commuter omnibuses.”
The report also indicated that Ndlovu proposed that the disposal committee verifies reports on non-serviceability of vehicles recommended for disposal.
Councillor Dumisani Nkomo sought clarity on the proposed acquisition of ambulances.
Another councillor, Aleck Ndlovu, according to the minutes, sought clarity on the issue of a fire tender which attended a scene in Nkulumane.
The tender reportedly used part of its water to put out a fire and emptied the remainder before leaving the scene.
“He also highlighted the issue of broken down vehicles across all council departments, raising concern on the efficiency of the mechanical workshops which had resulted in vehicles being parked for long periods without receiving any attention,” the report said.
“There is a need to seriously investigate the situation. He suggested that an inventory of all broken down vehicles be carried out and a second opinion on the status of the vehicle sought.”
In response, Zhou said the local authority had an average of six ambulances operating at a given time.
“The city required an optimum of 30 ambulances. There is one ambulance dedicated to Cowdray Park which is stationed at the Cowdray park satellite office.
“In the event that council ambulances are not available, callers were given the numbers of private ambulance service providers.
“The city is in the process of acquiring four ambulances and additional staff had been requested to operate the ambulances.”
He said the six ambulances operating were fully equipped with all the required resources.
There were also indications that the four ambulances had been paid for and would be fitted with the required equipment before delivery from Japan.
Council noted that the process of delivering ambulances would take six months.
“The issue of auctioned vehicles found running on the streets is also a serious concern to council.
“It is a requirement that the new fire tenders be driven with full tank of water or an empty tank. This is meant to ensure stability on the road when driven at a high speed,” the council minutes said.