COMMUNITY members were apprehensive about the proposals for the South Durban beach upgrade which were presented in Wentworth on Tuesday, 25 November
The first night of the second round of public consultation meetings was met with dismal attendance in Wentworth.
The number of concerned community members was dwarfed by the municipal officials and contractors present, as a verbal and videographic presentation showed development proposals that have been one year in the making.
Click here to view the proposal video.
South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) co-ordinator, Desmond D’Sa said the community welcomes any development that will improve their livelihoods and add to the aesthetics of the area, but the beach upgrade will become a white elephant if nothing is done to improve the access routes. “All the entrances to the area need to be looked at before tourists will come here. Solomon Mahlangu and Badulla drives and Quality Street are dangerous roads with so many trucks and the area is rundown. How can we get tourists on our beaches if they have to pass through all this first?
Canals and rivers flowing into the ocean are also in a poor state. Nothing is being done to stop rubbish flowing downstream and a recent water quality study showed some alarming facts. Will chemical industries be dealt with regarding their run-off into canals and rivers? They haven’t in the past,” said D’Sa.
Community members seemed to be of the same mind as D’Sa. “One thing I have picked up during this meeting is that urban management in its entirety is the issue,” said Themba Msomi from the municipality’s economic development department. He said all the line departments need to be called in and mechanisms put in place to ensure this is done. “Irrespective of what is done, if urban management is not dealt with, you won’t get the impact you want. Without that, you will not get value for money for whatever we do,” said Msomi.
Comment below and tell us what you think of the proposals.
The next meeting is tonight, 26 November from 6.30pm to 9pm at Merebank community hall and the final meeting is at the Bluff National Park Golf Course on Thursday, 27 November from 6pm to 8.30pm.
