THE announcement this week by eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo that Durban beaches have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag status flies in the face of the furore that has exploded in the media and social media following litter and rubbish left strewn across areas of the beachfront last weekend.
This week, local businesses located along Durban's Golden Mile hit back, threatening to pack up and leave if proper law enforcement by authorities was not executed to curb littering and the use of the beachfront areas as public toilets.
Fed up business owners like Matthew Hancock, of Afro's South Beach, said littering had been an ongoing problem in the area for many years. “No matter how many dustbins are in the area, these are not used,” he said.
“There is a feeding scheme run by Addington Hospital, and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am the lawn adjacent to my business is filled with people waiting to be fed. As soon as they have their last bite, they drop their plates on the ground. If we have a strong South Wester, it all lands up by the restaurant. I have no problem with them being fed, it is the rubbish they leave behind that's the problem. People vandalise my property and use it as a toilet. We have to scrub the floors every morning over the weekend to clean up. It's like a treadmill, we don't seem to get anywhere. People have a complete lack of respect. We are trying to uplift South Beach, but are being pushed back for every step forward,” he said.
Junaid Patel, owner of My Diners, North Beach, said it was impossible to stop people coming to the beachfront and breaking bottles and drinking in public. “It was not as bad the past weekend, but there is still the issue of beggars worrying customers. Not even the security company at the beachfront seems to be helping.”
Patel said during December, when the beachfront area is cordoned off, the problem is not as bad. “This should help with the upcoming December festivities, but why can't this happen all year round?” he asked.
Samantha Smallshaw from Surf Riders, South Beach, said the area outside Addington was filthy all the time.
“Taxi drivers come and park off and people party and get drunk. It's bad by the circle by Addington Hospital and in that area. Thankfully the cops have worked to clean out our area with the new car guard system. You get offered drugs as you drive through that area, it is mayhem. It's drug infested, and dirty, with Monday being the worst day of the week, where people are still seen partying and drunk,” she said.
Bike and Bean's Viki Ferreira said littering affected the area she was situated in the same way it did at North and South Beach, with people displaying uncontrollable behaviour. However, since the matter had been splashed all over newspaper headlines and was the source of vigorous debate, she said she had noticed a major improvement this past weekend.
Announcing the Blue Flag Status awarded to uShaka and Westbrook beaches by the Blue Flag programme, Nxumalo said it was a proud moment for Durban, especially as pilot status, a stepping stone to reaching full Blue Flag status has also been awarded to Umhlanga main beach, Umgababa, Umdloti main beach, Umdloti tidal beach and Brighton Beach.
Nxumalo however condemned the littering of public beaches and appealed to holidaymakers and residents to use the receptacles provided and become responsible for their waste and the environment.
“He said the municipal cleaning staff members had been working tirelessly to clean up the beachfront areas and said measures had been put in place to control this unacceptable behaviour in future. “With the implementation of the Nuisance and Behaviour in public spaces By-Law 2015, hopefully this can be kept under control,” he said.
Meanwhile, Save Our Berea has slammed the trashing of the beachfront in a post on its Facebook page, calling the behaviour of revellers unacceptable and anti-social. “That citizens using the beachfront as a facility for which they pay rates, are required to dodge the broken bottles, the human faeces, the vomit, the refuse and the passed-out drunks is totally unacceptable. It is ludicrous to introduce strict new nuisance by-laws when our authorities have shown a total lack of ability and political will to enforce any semblance of civilized behavior up to now. It is not an exaggeration to say that the anti-social elements have hijacked our beachfront without seemingly any resistance from the authorities,” said Cheryl Johnson.
The new by-law will come into effect in the first part of 2016. In the interim, Metro Police officers will be trained to effectively enforce it. Other transgressions covered by the by-law include consuming alcohol or being intoxicated in a public place.
