Johannesburg – Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Alan Fuchs has made a shocking claim that 41 City of Johannesburg ambulances have been standing idle for six years.
MPL Fuchs said in all this time the ambulances, valued at more than R16 million, have been parked at the City’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) bases, losing value and not benefiting the community.
“Meanwhile, residents are subjected to a Gauteng provincial ambulance service that puts users at risk because of long waiting times,” the DA MPL said.
“The DA calls on the Gauteng MEC for Health, Faith Mazibuko, to conduct an immediate independent audit of all 41 ambulances, including their ownership, condition, current value, and repair costs.
“All provincialisation and asset-transfer agreements must be made public.”
Fuchs demanded that within 60 days, every ambulance must either be repaired and deployed, transferred to Gauteng, allocated to another lawful public service, or sold.
“Taxpayers cannot continue paying for government incompetence and indecision,” the MPL said.
“These ambulances were bought to save lives. Instead, they have been standing unused at the City’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) bases, losing value, and not benefiting the community.
“The root of this failure lies in Gauteng’s poorly managed provincialisation of ambulance services”.
Although ambulance services are a provincial constitutional responsibility, municipalities previously operated them on behalf of the province, explained Fuchs.
“When Gauteng took the function back in 2020, it assumed responsibility for operations, personnel, and dispatch services, but failed to deal properly with the municipal ambulances left behind,” the MPL stated.
“Six years later, the vehicles remain stranded.
“Why was there no binding plan to transfer, maintain, sell, or deploy them? Who decided that assets worth millions could simply stand and deteriorate? Why has no official been held accountable?”
Fuchs said the City of Johannesburg no longer has the budget, skills, or equipment to run a fully-fledged ambulance service, but was currently negotiating with Gauteng province for an operating license that will allow it to run an event-based supplementary service.
“In light of Johannesburg’s well-publicised financial crisis, is this even possible?” asked Fuchs
“An ambulance without paramedics, insurance, medicines, equipment, and a dispatch system is not an emergency service. It is an expensive parked vehicle.”
