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Herald Reporter

Fire tenders from Belarus were bought under a bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe following a request from local authorities and with their chief fire officers approving the specifications, Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister, Dr Marian Chombo, told the National Assembly on Thursday.

“The ministry would like to advise that adequate consultations were made with various stakeholders, including local authorities and the Chief Fire Officers Forum of Zimbabwe (CFOFZ),” she said.

Dr Chombo said local authorities made a request to Government for the international procurement of durable and affordable fire tenders and other emergency service vehicles. 

“They submitted specifications that suited local environments which were forwarded to potential suppliers in Belarus,” she said.

“The CFOFZ approved the models which they believed best suited their operations as they are fitted with the requisite technology.” 

Dr Chombo said the prevalence of fires had destroyed lives and property.

“Meanwhile, the ministry has given instruction to sub-national structures of the civil protection systems in this country to come up with an inventory of all emergency services in order for us to come up with a record of skills,” she said.

Dr Chombo said local authorities were required to protect lives and property and provide relief throughout emergencies.

Government had carried out physical visits to determine the suitability of the equipment and had negotiated for staggered payments.

The money, she said, would be paid from devolution funds and it was Government’s priority to ensure that all local authorities were capacitated to carry out effective service delivery.