Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Executive Mayor Cllr Nikiwe Num convened an urgent meeting on Sunday, 30 July to establish the readiness towards curbing veld fires during the fire season.

The meeting was attended by Mayors of JB Marks, Cllr Gaba ka Qhele, City of Matlosana Cllr James Tsolela, Members of the Mayoral Committees (MMCs) responsible for Community Safety, Municipal Managers, Chief Fire Officers, Fire Association members, and Senior Managers.

This meeting follows after the District, Local Fire services and partner associations has been hard at work dosing off fires, during this year’s fire season which began in May, and is expected to end around September 2023.

This past Saturday, 29 July the North West Fire Protection Association (NWFPA) members, Working on Fire, JB Marks Fire Services and volunteers were on scene of a massive veldfire in the Rooipoortjie farm district, approximately 10km outside Potch, which claimed the life of Hennie Willemse (59). Large numbers of livestock and thousands of hectares of land was also impacted during the fire.

“We take this opportunity to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased; as the JB Marks municipality we will make time to visit the home of the deceased,” said Executive Mayor of J.B. Marks Gaba Ka Qhele.

During the month of July alone, the Maquassi Hills area lost an estimated 10 000 hectares and JB Marks, 54 000 hectares of grazing land, due to fires.

“Our ability to curb and respond to veld fires is of high importance, as this has dire and direct implications to people’s lives, our economy and Gross Domestic Produce,” said Mayor Num.

As of 29 July 2023, the Fire Danger Index (FDI) in Dr Kenneth Kaunda district has been placed on Red, which denotes extreme danger conditions to the spread of wildfires. The District, Local Municipalities and its partners are on high alert and full standby for firefighting.

“We really appreciate the leadership provided by the District and Local Municipalities during these very difficult times, and commit to work together towards our common goal of veld fire mitigation, and ensuring Maximum initial attack on any fire,” said Eric Stoch, Provincial chairperson of the Umbrella Fire Protection Association.

Community members are requested to refrain from spreading unverified rumours and hoax calls related to veld fires.

“Recently we have seen social media post’s saying ‘people are sleeping on the job’ and ‘JB Marks fire department does not have diesel for its fire trucks’. Such statements are not just false, but malicious and cause panic amongst our communities. We appeal to members of the community to refrain from sharing such unfounded false statements,” said JB Marks Cllr Mkhabela, MMC for Community Safety.

It has been established that many community members, especially in rural areas do not comply with various legislation, such as to establish fire belts on the perimeters of their farms and dwellings. Some drivers also throw out cigarette butts out of moving cars, which contribute to starting veld fires.

Within the next five days the local Executive Mayors will be meeting with their local Firefighting teams, to establish if, and where there are gaps and areas for improvement within the firefighting system. The final local reports will be shared with the District Municipality for consolidation and processing with Province and National Counterparts.

Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality will host a Fire Mitigation Summit in November 2023, where all matters relating to fire mitigation will be presented, debated and consolidated into the District Fire Strategy. “We support the initiative of training more young people in veld fire mitigation. As we build-up towards the Veld Fire Mitigation Summit; municipalities will use the upcoming budget adjustment processes to priorities and argue for much needed funds towards veld and uncontrolled fires,” said Mayor Num.

Community members are encouraged to use the following numbers in the event of any veld and uncontrolled fire:

Matlosana Municipality Area:     (018) 464 8020

Maquassi Hills LM area:               (018) 596 1400 / 1111

JB Marks LM area:                         (018) 293 1111

Dr KK District Municipality:         (018) 406 7000

All Emergencies Nationally:         112