South Africa: Municipality invests in jetting and vacuum truck to improve service delivery

To improve sewerage and stormwater infrastructure maintenance, Govan Mbeki Municipality in Mpumalanga has invested in a new Werner Pumps combination jetting and vacuuming truck.

The municipality took delivery of the Nissan-mounted combination unit in December 2021, with the official handover taking place in January 2022. Rupert Pretorius, Assistant Manager of Fleet, says they are very impressed with the truck’s performance to date. “I’d definitely recommend the vehicle to anyone, municipality or private company, looking to buy a jetting and vacuuming truck,” he says.

Pretorius says that they took the decision to procure the truck via Werner Pumps because the company is listed with Transversal Contracting, which is responsible for the facilitation and management of transversal term contracts on behalf of government. This ensures that government supply chain management practices are aligned with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act (1 of 1999).

“We found that there was an extreme need for this truck because we had previously had to keep hiring a truck,” he says. The municipality decided that the cost of repeatedly hiring a combination unit outweighed investing in one and took the decision to acquire its own vehicle.

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“We had previously purchased a unit in 2018, but this is an upgrade in terms of spec,” says Pretorius. “It’s a large capital expense, but we view it as a long-term investment. It’s extremely beneficial to us in terms of being able to maintain the municipal sewerage systems, especially within rural areas. When we need to hire a truck, there’s a whole supply chain process, from putting in a requisition to obtaining quotations, getting an order, and then checking the availability of the truck. With our own truck, it’s immediately available to us, which is extremely convenient.”

The Werner Pumps 12.500l combination unit that Govan Mbeki Municipality ordered costs approximately R3 million and can be supplied with a Nissan or Toyota chassis. It comes fitted with the state-of-the-art hydraulically operated jetting and vacuum functionality. It offers a tilting 12.500 litre, 304 stainless steel tank with a hydraulically driven high-pressure pump with a capacity of 295l/min at 135 bar and a hydraulically driven vacuum pump, with 1700 m3/hr suction capability.

Sebastian Werner, MD of Werner Pumps, says that before handing over the unit, the company delivered operator training to the municipality. “We’re glad to hear the unit is working well and helping Govan Mbeki Municipality to improve its service delivery to local communities,” he says. “We’re also proud that our local municipalities are choosing to opt for our units, which are 100% manufactured in South Africa. We pride ourselves on offering trucks that are fit for purpose and that will be reliable and help local government to keep infrastructure in working order. We supply trucks to many municipalities throughout the country and to the companies that contract to them, and it’s always great to get positive feedback.”

The Executive Mayor of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, Cllr Nhlakanipho Zuma, said the Council took this positive initiative to buy the new Werner Pumps Impi combination jetting and vacuuming truck in response to sewer challenges in the district. “Our areas are troubled by sewer spills, which is an issue related to human rights,” he says. “This equipment will help us to address these challenges.”