According to Themba Gadebe, Ekurhuleni Municipality spokesperson, a claimant must fill in a prescribed claim form and provide proof of negligence on the part of the municipality that resulted in loss or damages.
Prospective claimants should take note of the following when submitting a claim:
- The proof provided should indicate that the losses suffered are attributed to an act of neglect or omission on the side of council or any of its employees.
- Claims must be quantified by attaching the monetary value of the claim and proof that actual loss is equitable to the amount claimed. Proof includes pictures, invoices and proposed quotes.
- The information submitted by the claimant, together with a report from the EMM department responsible for the loss or damage, is submitted to council’s insurers, who will make a ruling on the claim.
- If accepted, the claimant will receive an offer on an agreement of loss that needs to be signed and returned to the metro’s insurance section for processing.
If the claim is rejected, the claimant will be notified in writing and reasons supplied for the rejection.
Submitting a claim does not automatically imply that the claim will be settled, however, if an applicant is in not in agreement with the ruling made on the claim they may appeal against the ruling in writing, stating which factors they feel have not been considered.
Payments for successful claimants will be made through the normal expenditure payment processing system.
The process is subject to timelines and processes which may take up to 30 days, depending on the authorisations that need to be obtained.
General liability claim forms and pothole claim forms can be obtained at the municipality’s insurance section, on the ground floor at the Sanburn Building, 68 Woburn Avenue, in Benoni.
