by Lutho Pasiya
Durban - The eThekwini Municipality unveiled a state-of-the-art disaster management command vehicle on Tuesday, which, it is hoped, will assist authorities during emergencies.
Speaking at the unveiling, mayor Zandile Gumede said it was about time the municipality owned such a vehicle.
“As the municipality, we felt it necessary to acquire this state-of-the-art vehicle, as it will be instrumental in helping us to better manage and prevent emergency incidents from escalating into disasters,” she said.
“We will also use it as a joint operations centre when events are hosted in areas where there are no CCTV cameras. As we work towards our vision of being Africa’s most caring and livable city by 2030, we continue to look for new and innovative ways of ensuring that we deliver high-quality services to our communities.”
The approximately R9-million vehicle comes with a driver console with cameras inside, a mini-boardroom with telephones and DSTV, WiFi connection, mini-kitchen, lighting mask, CCTV equipment, server room and an operational centre with 12 consoles.
It can accommodate six people who will be able to give strategic direction on how any emergency incident should be handled, while monitoring it.
The mayor said the eThekwini Municipality was the first municipality in KwaZulu-Natal to own such a vehicle, which could also be used in the fight against crime.
“This is a starter kit in decreasing crime in our 110 wards,” said Gumede.
“A lot has been done to improve the lives of our people.
“However, we will still do more. In the near future we plan to procure other, smaller mobile units that will help us to manage and monitor emergency incidents and other activities effectively and speedily.”The command vehicle has been planned in a way that it will be able to have access to, and the capability of being stationed in any area of eThekwini, including rural areas.