MK Party says urgent action needed as eThekwini closes four beaches over sewage pollution
EThekwini Municipality closes Blue Lagoon, Battery, Country Club, and EThekwini beaches for public safety. MK Party calls it a governance failure, demanding immediate action and national oversight
Image: File Picture
The eThekwini Municipality has closed four bathing beaches – Blue Lagoon, eThekwini Beach, Country Club Beach, and Battery Beach – after water quality tests detected pollution, the City confirmed on Friday.
The municipality said the beaches would remain closed as a precautionary measure to safeguard public health pending further testing and investigation.
A dedicated team, comprising senior municipal management, has been established to investigate the source of the pollution and implement appropriate mitigation measures, said the municipality.
''Holidaymakers are reminded that 19 other bathing beaches remain open, all monitored by lifeguards and supported by a 2,000-strong Metro Police contingent, working in collaboration with the South African Police Service to ensure a safe and enjoyable festive season.''
The MK Party has condemned what it called the “continued collapse of sewerage and wastewater management” in eThekwini, describing the beach closures as the latest example of a chronic governance failure.
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said sewage spills and failing wastewater infrastructure have turned Durban’s coastline into a public health hazard and caused “serious economic harm to tourism, small businesses and livelihoods, especially during the festive season”.
Ndhlela said the contaminated beaches pose “real risks of gastrointestinal illness, skin infections and other waterborne diseases to residents and visitors alike”.
He argued that despite years of warnings, repeated sewage overflows, court interventions, and public outrage, the municipality has failed to fix fundamental infrastructure problems, including collapsing wastewater treatment works, dysfunctional pump stations, ageing sewer networks, and a lack of consequence management.
The MK Party called on the Minister of Water and Sanitation to intervene immediately. Ndhlela said, “The Minister cannot continue to issue policy statements while one of South Africa’s major metros repeatedly allows untreated or partially treated sewage to flow into rivers and the ocean.”
He added that emergency stabilisation of failing wastewater infrastructure, independent oversight of water quality testing, and firm action against those responsible for the ongoing crisis were urgently required.
The party said it would lodge criminal charges and open cases with SAPS against the Mayor, the City Manager, and other responsible officials for the alleged unlawful pollution of the environment and gross negligence in managing sewer and wastewater systems.
Ndhlela confirmed that the MK Party would also lodge a formal complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), highlighting repeated sewage contamination of public beaches as a violation of constitutional rights to a safe environment, dignity, and access to basic services.
“Durban’s coastline is a public asset and an economic lifeline, not a dumping ground for sewage caused by incompetence, neglect, and political paralysis.
''The people of eThekwini deserve a municipality that fixes infrastructure before it collapses, not one that reacts only after beaches are closed and damage is already done,” the MK Party said.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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