People on the boardwalk between Muizenberg and St James on the False Bay coast on 1 May 2020, in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
The eThekwini Municipality angered many residents of Cape Town on Wednesday, when it wished the Mother City a “speedy recovery” after it had to close some beaches due to a sewage spill.
Cape Town announced that it was closing a section of Fish Hoek Beach from Monday until further notice.
On New Year’s Day, a section of Strand Beach on the False Bay coastline as well as Small Bay in Blaauwberg were also closed.
The sewage spill was allegedly overflow caused by a blocked sewer pipe that has since been cleared.
ALSO READ: City of Cape Town temporarily closes some beaches due to sewage spills
KwaZulu-Natal has recently experienced its own sewage issues on its beaches.
A collapse of sewerage infrastructure in the province led to many sewage spills on eThekwini’s beaches.
In August, the municipality closed 11 of its beaches due to high levels of E. coli.
ALSO READ: Widespread calls for closure of Durban beaches
On Wednesday, eThekwini tweeted a message from Nkosenhle Madlala, chair of eThekwini’s governance and human capital committee.
It said: “Wishing our colleagues in Cape Town a speedy recovery as they battle sewer spillages in some beaches. Running a Metro is complex, with many challenges, even if you have been spared from the devastating floods last year”.
It is unclear if the municipality was trying to be spicy, but social media users were quick to point out the insensitivity of its tweet.
“How low can eThekwini Municipality go? Such tweets give us a bit of insight into the kind of leadership in office. Sies,” tweeted one person.
“Who approved this tweet? Using official comms channels for petty feuds now?” asked another.
“This tweet is unnecessary. You cannot mock others like that. Cheap politics. PR gone wrong,” said Andile Fakude.
Others were quick to point out the apparent hypocrisy of eThekwini’s tweet.
“Cheap shot. Your beaches were closed during festive. Lot of lost revenue,” one comment pointed out.
“Fix your own mess before posting silly tweets,” said another person.
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