Tshwane emergency services in crisis mode after grant cuts
The city has had to make emergency requisitions to buy its own supplies
The City of Tshwane’s emergency services are in crisis mode following a grant cut at the end of 2018 which, among other things, threatened oxygen and medicine supplies in the metro. Despite the diminished funds and the province saying it has officially taken over its emergency services, Tshwane still responded to more than 19,400 calls between July 2018 and January 2019. Tshwane has more than 3-million residents and those who cannot afford medical aid are dependent on emergency services provided by the state. The cut in the emergency services grant followed the move by the Gauteng department of health to completely take over emergency services in Tshwane, but this has resulted in a dispute between the metro and the province, which now has to be adjudicated by the National Treasury. In terms of the constitution, provinces are mandated to provide emergency services, but in Gauteng the metros provide the services on behalf of the province in accordance with a memorandum of agreement be...
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