A Plantation resident has been left fuming after his claim to have the thatch roof of his lapa damaged by tree branch repaired by the municipality was rejected.
According to the property owner, Enrico Schoeman, in January 2017 a huge tree branch fell onto the family’s Ash Avenue property, causing about R20 000 worth of damage.
His electric fencing was also damaged.
The issue was reported to the metro and the municipality’s parks department acted swiftly in response to the disaster.
The metro removed the tree and covered the cost of repairing the damaged electric fence hassle-free.
A claim for the damaged lapa was later filed and submitted to the municipality’s insurer, but was subsequently denied.
Following their swift response to the disaster and repairing of the electric fence, Schoeman hoped the municipality would also take responsibility and arrange for the lapa to be repaired.
But that hadn’t been the case, as the municipality’s Insurance and Risk Management Section had this year disputed liability and told Schoeman his application had been declined.
The letter, dated March 2, 2018, reads as follows:
We acknowledge your claim in respect of damage allegedly caused by a tree that caused damage to the boundary wall, electric fencing and roof of lapa.
We have investigated your claim against the municipality, and according to the claim form we received, the branch broke and fell onto the property. The municipality cannot be held liable for the incident and that an incident of this nature occurs regularly and all precautionary measures were taken.
In light of the above, we regret to advise that your claim will not be entertained by Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality and any legal action will be defended.
- Unfair treatment
Schoeman feels like he has been unfairly treated, but he still holds out hope the municipality will reconsider its decision and fix the lapa.
He still maintains it is council’s responsibility to take care of trees and ensure they are not putting citizens’ lives and property at risk.
Schoeman added several trees in the suburb were found to be overgrown and others with rotting branches, and municipal crews cut them down.
“It’s up to the municipality to remove branches before they can do any harm,” said Schoeman.
The complainant stated he has already appointed a lawyer to take legal actions against the metro because it failed to have the trees in the leafy suburb trimmed prior to the incident.
He said the lawyer has already approached the metro and they are awaiting feedback.
“It is sad that I had to fork out a lot of money to pay a lawyer to pursue the matter since the parks department refused to take responsibility.”
No comment received from the metro at the time of going to press.
ALSO READ:
Take note and observe Ekurhuleni’s tree protection by-laws …
Follow us:
For more #hyperlocal news at your fingertips, visit Benoni City Times, Springs Advertiser, Brakpan Herald, African Reporter and Kathorus Mail.
