The continued closure of some of Durban’s biggest beaches is a big blow for tourism and a missed opportunity for eThekwini Municipality to showcase its achievements following the April 2022 devastating floods.
On Tuesday the municipality announced that uMhlanga Main and Bronze beaches were safe for swimming, only to issue another statement later indicating that both beaches had been closed due to the recent heavy rains. The beaches had been closed the previous week following a pump failure at the Portland Pump Station.
While the municipality has been quick to describe the latest situation as “a normal occurrence after heavy rains”, it is clear that the City does not have the situation under control.
Is the municipality suggesting that Durban residents should be accepting of a situation where beaches are closed for swimming every time there are heavy rains?
It must be noted that the Durban July weekend presents the municipality with a unique opportunity to showcase the city to the multitudes of visitors from Johannesburg, Cape Town and other parts of the country.
The 2022 Durban July happened in the wake of the chaos following the April floods.
The City could afford to explain the closure of beaches due to the floods that had just occurred.
However, it has been more than a year since the unfortunate events of April, and the City should have used the Durban July weekend to showcase the strides that have been made in terms of infrastructure repairs.
Instead, through the closure of uMhlanga Main and Bronze beaches the municipality has given credence to the saying that “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.
This was, therefore, a missed opportunity, and once again the tourism sector will be the biggest losers.
It is time for the municipality to get on top of the sewage problem that affects the proper and efficient functioning of its beaches.
If a tourism revival is the central pillar of our government’s economic growth plan, then the City’s political leadership needs to start acting like it.
Cape Times