A looming crisis in Johannesburg’s emergency services appears to have been averted this week, after an order for the provision of 48 new ambulances was signed on Thursday by the Gauteng government and the city council.
The city has only 19 ambulances serving more than 3-million residents. Up to now the council has been unable to get new ones until the provincial government sorts out a major legal dispute.
The dispute involves the provincial government and a black empowerment company that is contesting the appointment of another company to supply the vehicles.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, Mayor Amos Masondo said the provincial health department had assured him the dispute would not be allowed to hinder service delivery.
”The MEC for Health Gwen Ramokgopa gave us an assurance that the [court] case is a separate matter and she will not wait until the case is concluded to secure the ambulances,” said Masondo.
A third empowerment group, Fleet Africa, will supply 10 new ambulances before the end of August and the rest by December.
Masondo dismissed as ”hot air” a proposal that emergency services be downgraded below international standards because meagre and derelict resources meant the city was unable to cope.
The city was committed to upholding standards and emergency response times had fallen from 15 to eight minutes, said Sizakele Nkosi of the mayoral committee on safety.
City manager Pascal Moloi said the council had finalised five cases of senior emergency management chiefs who were suspended more than a year ago but were still drawing salaries. An arbitration committee decision is still pending in three cases.