More than just a tree
Residents refused to let one of the last trees standing be chopped down with the others. They protested in an attempt to draw the attention of the housing committee and raise awareness of the lack of service delivery.
Residents of Tornado Park Old Age Centre protested against the cutting down of trees in and around the centre while there is a lack of service delivery to other issues.
Numerous residents of the old age home came together to take a stand – after many of the trees in the area were already cut down. Residents refused to allow for one of the last ones that were still standing to be cut down with the rest, all in an attempt to get the
housing committee’s attention and raise awareness of the lack of service delivery in their homes.
Wayne Fritz, chairperson for the centre stated, “Nobody consulted with us regarding cutting trees whatsoever, we feel right now that is not a priority.”
He continued to say there is currently a drain that has been blocked for the past six weeks that hasn’t been repaired. In the past, there have been numerous other service delivery issues which the residents paid for themselves to have fixed.
He voiced his assumption on why the drain hasn’t been repaired due to it being underground. He stated the members of the housing committee do not respond to calls when they contact them regarding an issue either.
He added the excuse given to them by the council on why the issues haven’t been resolved is a lack of finances and contracts, yet there are finances to cut down the trees. He noted the trees are a form of shade for the residents and thus not an issue.
“Nobody worries about this, a tree that we feel is part of Tornado Park, this is our lifestyle, this is what it’s known for. They use ridiculous excuses such as ‘this tree needs to be cut down because it needs to be planted next to a river’,” said Fritz.
Gareth Brown, the Deputy Director for Communications and Stakeholder Management for the MMC of Human Settlement stated, “We are in the process of getting a panel in place for all our maintenance issues. We have had many challenges in this regard and that is why the maintenance issues have not been resolved, but we are working on it. As for the trees, we have an agreement with City Parks and they are cutting the trees.”
At the end of the day, the residents stood up for what they felt was right and they were able to save the tree.
“Everyone is very happy about it,” concluded another resident, Louise Peterson.
