The City of Johannesburg said was aware of an incident of a red tourist sightseeing bus being used as dump truck for branches of discarded pruned trees.
The video, which was widely circulated on social media on Monday and has gathered over 150 000 views, shows how the stationary bus was being used to prune and load the branches from a tree in the leafy suburg of Houghton.
Outrage
The incident has caused outrage among social media users calling for the city to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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Ronald Harris, MMC for Community Development for the City of Joburg, said they were aware of the video footage of the incident, and are taking action.
“City Sightseeing SA, which is privately owned, pruned the trees so that its passengers would not be injured by low-hanging branches on its tour routes.”
No approval
“The company did not seek approval from Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, the custodians of public trees in the City, to do that.
“City Parks and Zoo is responsible for the pruning and removal of branches. There are processes to be followed as per the City’s by-laws when it comes to public trees,” Harris said.
He urged businesses including private individuals to consult City Parks and Zoo before embarking on any actions regarding pruning of trees in their neigbourhood.
“The branch pruning was not coordinated or approved by City Parks and Zoo. However, the City’s entity and City Sightseeing SA resolving the matter.”
Action plan
“An action plan will be agreed on so that such incidents will be avoided. We take note that there was no maliciousness intended when the company embarked on this action,” Harris added.
Joburg City Parks and Zoo said street trees are the property of the City of Johannesburg and are protected by the strict Open Space Bylaws, which prohibits the removal or disturbance of trees or planting of any vegetation without approval, of which permission must be obtained the city.
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