Community concerned by delayed tree felling in Kloof
The municipality says the process of cutting down the tree is currently underway and proceeding as planned.
A KLOOF resident’s frustrations rooted in the eThekwini Municipality’s delayed action to fell a tree remain unresolved.
This after the resident said they “have heard the same from eThekwini [Municipality] for the past year” in response to the municipality clarifying that the cutting of the tree has now been stalled due to “delays in the supply chain management process”.
The municipality’s marketing and communications director Mandla Nsele said: “The process is currently underway and proceeding as planned, and it is expected to be concluded in due course.”
The concerned resident said they reported the tree on the corner of Alamein Avenue and Buckingham Road in Kloof on a municipal verge about a year ago as they viewed it as not only “a public health and safety hazard” but also as a risk of damaging power lines and water pipes.
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“The tree has been here since the mid-80s according to a few neighbours. It has for at least the last 18 years been a nesting tree for woolly neck storks. However, in the last year no new nests have been built, this is because the tree died over a year ago. The tree has started breaking apart and a few large branches have already fallen off. Not only is the tree a risk to the many residents, domestic workers and school children who walk past this tree every day, but municipal power lines and water lines are also at risk of being damaged should some of the larger branches break and fall off or if the tree falls down totally if we have strong winds.”
“The tree was reported to eThekwini Parks Department over a year ago, and I have periodically questioned the status of the tree removal, only to be informed that due to eThekwini metro’s Supply Chain complications no progress has been made,” said the concerned resident.
The municipality did not give an exact timeline for when the tree would be cut.
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