As the Mandeni municipality readies itself for an influx of festive visitors, Tugela Mouth residents expect more of the same problems which consistently plague the town.
The small seaside village remains at the mercy of beach revellers who operate with little oversight, leaving the community with almost no recourse to address their difficulties..
Where other seaside hot-spots are forced to deal with a few weeks of beach parties and revelry every year, it is an almost daily occurrence in Tugela Mouth.
The town, which includes one of the municipality’s three main beaches, has ideal access from Mandeni on a largely unmonitored road with no need to travel on any highways.
In communication to the municipality seen by the Courier, residents have consistently pleaded for more policing but such complaints have often fallen on deaf ears.
“We are obviously glad that there will be more officers this festive season, but a few weeks of roadblocks does not solve the larger issue. Last year it was the same thing, with parties returning unabated as soon as the festive policing ended. Why can we not get year-round assistance?” asked the Tugela Mouth Ratepayers Association (TMRPA).
As for the festive plan, Mandeni will assign eight officers to the town and entry road for monitoring, with an extra four coming from the provincial Department of Transport.
The permanent four security guards (two per shift) will also double for the month.
At long last the boom gate at the entrance to town will be repaired as well.
This was meant to be maintained by the municipality following a court judgment won by the TMPRA in 2019, but has remained broken after being vandalised soon after last year’s festive season.
In that time, the TMRPA asked if they could erect their own boom gate which could be manned by municipal officers, but say they never received feedback.
“We feel we have done everything right. We tried communication which did not work, and so we had to go to court, but it has ultimately changed little in the long term. Now we are back to square one and it is becoming more difficult to live peacefully in this community,” said the TMRPA.
The court victory was hailed as a potentially huge precedent setter for seaside towns across the province, but the same issues remain for Tugela Mouth residents.
Mandeni municipality has not responded to repeated queries from the Courier.
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