The DA in eThekwini is greatly concerned about the recent closures of more than 13 beaches due to high E.coli levels, as these beaches are mostly the main drivers of the municipality’s tourism industry.
We have written to the Acting City Manager, Musa Mbhele to request the publishing of all water testing results, on a weekly basis.
The closure of the beaches is indeed sounding alarm bells for the future of eThekwini Municipality’s tourism industry, future business attractions and investments. Tourism, one of the few tradable commodities the city has to offer has again been dealt a massive blow.
Umhlanga, a multibillion-rand investment tourism node has seen its beaches closed for a lengthened period of time due to lock down, the UPL incident and excessive levels of E.coli found in the water.
The knock-on effect has resulted in a reduced number of local and international tourists to our shores which has impacted the hard-hit tourism industry even more. A number of bed and breakfasts and hotels have noted a reduction in bookings with their usual guests now seeking alternative holiday destinations with concerns of these facilities having to close and employees potentially losing their jobs. Furthermore, restaurants are the lifeblood of the industry and are also facing the same fate. As was quoted by a resident today “Durban without its beaches is nothing”.
Environmentalists, and organizations are up in arms that eThekwini has allowed sewer and effluent to pour into the Umgeni River and other rivers for years. Attempts to get the city to treat the matter urgently by invoking Section 36 mechanisms have failed seemingly redirected by the previous City manager, Sipho Nzuza.
The bleak quality of life for residents in this city has become synonymous with the in-adept political leadership in eThekwini. Woes of raw faeces spilling onto pavements, houses with overflowing manholes, rivers filled with effluent and sewage, broken down pump stations, contaminated drinking water, toxic estuaries and rivers is the order of the day.
The DA’s site visits have just been the tip of the iceberg in uncovering the rot that this municipality has descended into. The Democratic Alliance urges aggrieved residents to report the violations for investigation and will take the matter up with provincial and national government portfolio committees.