Fire Mutare City acquires fire ladder

MUTARE City Council has become the first local authority to acquire a fire ladder, a device used to douse flames in tall buildings.

A cursory research revealed that not even one local authority in the country has purchased a fire ladder since independence, while a few depend on donated second hand fire ladders.

Mutare City County used its participation in the Zimbabwe-Belarus Business Forum to acquire a fire ladder at a much cheaper cost of US$630 000.

Responses from past tenders by Mutare City Council had the same device pegged at US$1 million.

Acting Mutare Town Clerk, Mr Blessing Chafesuka who signed the transaction contract with the supplier, AfTrade DMCC in Harare early this week before Vice-President, Dr Constantino Chiwenga said: “This is an achievement for us as a city and we are proud of it. We will be making the initial payment for the machinery this week, and we will pay the remainder on delivery. We have no doubt that this will go a long way in securing the safety of our buildings and people as a city.”

Government entered into an agreement with the Belarus Government to promote business and investment between the two countries, hence the annual Zimbabwe-Belarus Business Forum.

Mr Chafesuka said: “During last year’s Zimbabwe-Belarus Business Forum, we managed to engage AfTrade on the sidelines of that meeting.

“We agreed on the supply of the device at a cost of US$630 000.

“As a local authority we sought authority from the Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) as well as our parent Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. After getting the necessary approvals, we engaged AfTrade, culminating in the signing of the transaction contract last week.”

Apparently, the Mutare City Council-AfTrade deal was one of the two deals signed at the recent Zimbabwe Belarus Business Forum, with the other one being an AVM Africa deal.

The Manica Post understands that the fire ladder is manufactured upon order and takes almost a year to produce, which means the local authority will receive the device next year.