On October 9, 2017 there was a storm in Alberton. Between 10am and 12pm the wind blew so strong that it uprooted the tree on the pavement in front of my house in Glen Drive, Verwoerdpark.The wind blew the tree onto the boundary wall and the electrical lamp post. We phoned the municipality’s Parks Department and the Fire Department to come and assist with the fallen tree as it was resting on the boundary wall, the driveway and the lamp post.
On October 10, 2017, we reported this incident to the Parks Department. A lady told me that an inspector will be dispatched to inspect the damage. On October 31, 2017, we went back to the department to enquire what was happening, because nobody came to inspect.
We were then given a form to complete to claim for the damaged wall. The Parks Department needs to remove the tree and its stump before the wall can be fixed.
The EMMs response reads:
We acknowledge your claim in respect of damage allegedly caused by a tree that caused damage to the boundary wall.
We have investigated your claim against the municipality and according to the claim form we received, it’s due to a storm and the wind which blew and uprooted the tree, causing it to fall.
The weather conditions are a natural event which cannot be prevented and is not due to any negligence on the part of the municipality.
In light of the above, we regret to advise that your claim will not be entertained by EMM and any legal action will be defended.
To this Van Schalkwyk replied:
We are disappointed about the response and want to warn others, in case they face a similar problem, to not put their hope on the EMM to be of help to them.
It was such a blunt response. They’re not even trying to understand or help us remove the tree. Hopefully, someone else does not go through this ordeal, because they won’t get any help.
Richard van Schalkwyk
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