DA slams Tshwane’s ‘wrongheaded’ attempt to ban private firefighters following court defeat

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane has labelled the municipality’s attempt to shut down private firefighting services as “wrongheaded,” especially given the city's inability to provide adequate services itself.

The High Court in Pretoria recently dismissed an application by the municipality seeking to declare private firefighting services operating within its jurisdiction unlawful.

The municipality argued that fire brigade services are the sole responsibility of local government. However, this argument failed to convince the court. The presiding judge ruled that there is currently no legislation in South Africa regulating or prohibiting the existence of private firefighting entities.

DA Caucus Leader, Cilliers Brink, stated that the party welcomes the judgment, which affirms the rights of private and voluntary firefighting services to operate in the capital.

“It was wrongheaded of the Tshwane Metro to prohibit these services from operating, even as municipal fire services lack critical resources to fulfil their functions. This is affirmed by the cost order granted against the City,”Brink said.

The friction between the city and private entities reached a peak earlier this year when voluntary firefighters were prevented from battling a blaze in Klerksoord. This interference occurred despite evidence that Tshwane’s own fire brigade was in clear need of assistance at the scene.

The DA calls on Tshwane not to waste further taxpayers’ money by appealing the judgment, and instead seeks to cooperate with private and voluntary fire services.