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Local Councils Struggling To Procure Fire Fighting Engines

Local Councils Struggling To Procure Fire Fighting Engines

Zodiak has it that local councils in the country remain challenged to timely respond to fire accidents as most councils are lacking fire fighting equipment.

For instance, Chief Executive Officer for Mangochi Municipality Council, Abubakar Nkhoma claims financial constraints are contributing to the council's failure to procure a fire engine.

"Finances are a big problem here, Currently, we rely on Zomba City Council which is at a distance of about 120 kilometers for fire fighting response," said Nkhoma

However, Mayor for Kasungu Municipality Council, Socrates Jere says the council now has a fire fighting engine which is a donation from Japanese government but human resources is a problem.

Jere thus says, due to a spate of recent fire accidents, Kasungu has to outsource fire fighting response team from Lilongwe a distance of over 100 kilometers.

"Much as we have the equipment, human resources beside capacity is a challenge now to timely respond to infernos," Jere said.

As we speak, the country continues to grapple with fire which has seen properties worthy millions of Kwacha lost due to a lack of fire fighting equipment and response mechanism.

According to the Ministry of Local Government, procurement of fire fighting equipment relies on local councils as the ministry role is to provide policy direction for councils to implement.

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Last modified on Tuesday, 03/08/2021

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