Parks Department's unnecessary work cost ratepayers R150,000

Cape Town's Parks Department performed unnecessary tree cutting at a local park during August. Two contractors performed the job, Stoddard's and Sunshine. It took a morning. I estimate work of this scope costs R100-150,000.

From a horticultural aspect, the cutting was excessive and damaged the trees and their landscaping and environmental purpose. Around half were moderately cut, the remainder severely. Pruning was inconsistent - some trees were left with more growth, others inbetween and a third cut so severely that all that remains is a fringe on top. 

All this is indicative of inexpert, unprofessional work and no supervision.

As is typical of soft city contracts, apparently Parks did not provide a job specification. There was no supervision of the cutters and no supervision by Parks of the contractors. From the nature of the pruning and the manner Stoddard's and Sunshine performed the work, the workers' were largely unskilled. 

I contacted Parks manager Jacques Cedras and mayoral committee member for Community Services Patricia van der Ross and and Water mayco Zahid Badroodien for an explanation. Cedras promised to respond that week but didn't. There was no immediate response from Van der Ross and Badroodien.

An expert at Stodels told me trees that are over-cut may die from stress. But if they must be drastically cut, it ought to be in thirds, separated by a period of time to allow them time to recover. The park's trees weren't.

With no response from either Cedras or the others and following my further emails escalating the matter, three weeks after the initial contact Van Der Ross' assistant, Riaan Plaatjies, said he'd let me know the time for a site meeting. He didn't. I believed they were stalling and replied so.

However, Plaatjies did write that due to roadworks in the area, trimming the trees was to allow the "paving [sic] machine" to pass beneath them. 

When I rejected this explanation for reasons already given including that trees on the park itself were cut where roadworks machines could not go and that trees elsewhere in the neighbourhood where roadworks was also being done were not cut, Badroodien finally responded.

He was aggressive and sarcastic of my local knowledge. He said he'd had a meeting with "experts" and was satisfied with their explanations (same as those Plaatjies gave). He accused me of failing to attend the meeting, the meeting I hadn't been informed of, and irrelevantly, his other meetings too. Therefore, by his reasoning, I allegedly showed no interest in the community.

On Friday September 27 the work reached roads at the park. Where they'd already been, uncut trees with relatively low-hanging branches that also reached across the roads had not been an obstruction. This was proven when the Bomag asphalting machine approached and passed beneath our tree's particularly low-hanging branch. This branch was lower even than allegedly offending trees' that had been cut. Parks had not instructed us to cut it down, another reason why their explanation was nonsensical.

Low-hanging branch in foreground; pruned trees to right and background 

As the Bomag approached the branch, the operator slid the platform upon which he sat to the left, avoiding the branch. The platform can slide left or right independently of the machine. Work was not interrupted at all.

There was no reason to remove that branch, or cut any tree. The city's reasons for cutting the trees - to remove branches for roadworks machines - was evidently false even before the machines reached the park: Trees on the park itself were cut where machines could not and would not go; trees around the park and individual trees were inconsistently cut, some hacked away to nothing and others with branches left overhanging the road, and trees in the neighbourhood where there was roadworks were not touched.

Stoddard's and Sunshine were paid a lot of money for a morning's work. Unnecessary work. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The trees needed pruning, but this is not why the city says they were cut.

The City of Cape Town's Code of Conduct for Councillors states inter alia "Councillors must perform their functions in good faith, honestly and transparently". Councillors also have an oversight role of the administration. Oversight means to question, to apply their minds, not to accept everything they're told by so-called experts and anyone else.

While Patricia van der Ross, whose portfolio includes Parks, was silent, she condoned the lie her assistant Plaatjies and Badroodien conveyed to me. They were misled by choosing to remain ignorant of the real facts, and misled me, a member of the public and electorate. Neither them acted in good faith, honestly and transparently. 

Worse, Badroodien rudely reacted to me bluntly stating the facts and my exasperation with their obstruction and obfuscation. While I permitted him leeway - turnaround is fair play - he disparaged my local knowledge and misrepresented my concern for my community where my family has lived for 60 years. Their conduct, his especially, was unethical and unprofessional.

None of this would've mattered had they been right but it was obvious from the start nothing about this case was square. Was there something else perhaps, a complaint about trees from Cleansing or an influential resident (precedent for that in another case), or charity work for contractors?

It's not the first time either. About three years ago the city - Roads that time - ripped up healthy vegetation on the verge adjacent the park and planted succulents. I and city's main and landscaping contractors told them it was inadvisable and inappropriate to the area. I predicted that within six months most of the new greenery would die. That came to pass. Also, an irrigation pipe was laid but never turned on and eventually damaged. I estimate the total cost for this 150m length of project was R200,000. All wasted, the site turned to seed. Then too the city, councillors included, played me for a fool.

Trees being ruined is a concern but this incident is more than that. It always was. It's about the lack of skills, job specifications and supervision, and (not) allowing contractors to do what they want (at the same site Parks allowed casual workers to sit in the sun for most of the time they were on site). It's evident in Parks but I believe it's city-wide. 

It about the lack of political oversight where politicians are not fulfilling their roles to hold the administration to account. Instead, they accept what they're told by officials who might have something to hide. Gullible, inexperienced, naive and unskilled are among the words that describe it. 

Applied to this incident, no-one - none of the people mentioned above - thought to ask what was reasonable and what a Bomag could and couldn't do. Yet they insulted and dismissed those - a resident, me - who did question.

I believe neither Van der Ross and Badroodien possess the qualities citizens want and need in a councillor. Badroodien especially, is hubristic. But all of them - bureaucrats - are like that, too important to deal directly with citizens and their concerns. Taking us for fools. But next election they'll seek our support.