Dolphin Coast residents are fed up with having to fork out thousands of Rands for damage to their cars caused by the potholes on KwaDukuza roads.
DA Ward 22 councillor Malcolm Hubner said he received numerous claim reports on a weekly basis from people whose cars had been damaged by potholes.
Most reports concerned roads belonging to the KZN transport department, notoriously the roads at the Umhlali circle and R102 near Ballito Compensation.
After numerous reports from the North Coast Coast Courier, these roads and a few others have recently been patched up.
Also read: The end of a bumpy ride on the Dolphin Coast?
“This situation was a major area of concern and there are many cases of motorists complaining about the state of the roads in the greater Salt Rock and Sheffield beach area with more and more cars being damaged by these serious holes in the roads.”
By law if damages are caused by potholes on the road or incomplete road work, motorists have the right to submit a claim for damages from the responsible party.
The outcome will depend whether the responsible party was aware of the problem and failed to fix it.
Hubner said he advised people to submit a copy of their ID, a quotation of the damage and photos to prove where the incident took place.
“Motorists would need to find out who the road belongs to. The first step would be talking to their ward councillor and we will advise them.
“I advise people to drop off their claims at the KDM municipal manager’s office in KwaDukuza or to send them to the transport department office in Pietermaritzburg. There is no set procedure in place and that makes the situation tricky.”
KDM media liaison Sipho Mkhize said KDM discontinued the process of claims for pothole related damages due to the process being abused by the public.
“Should a person believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the municipality is liable, they should prove that the damage was as a result of road works on a municipal road,” said Mkhize.
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