Durban - Councillors have called on the eThekwini Municipality to communicate regularly on the state of the city’s beaches as silence will undermine tourism this festive season and drive the tourists elsewhere in the country.
The councillors said it is important that tourists are aware that more beaches are open than those that are closed, saying beaches are central to the city’s tourism.
Some beaches in the city still remain closed following the rise of E coli contamination caused by leaks of sewage into rivers and beaches after the sanitation infrastructure was damaged by the storm in April.
DA councillor Yogis Govender said it was important that the council gives a regular update on the testing and what is happening with the beaches that are still closed.
“We need regular updates. Children are finishing exams and would want to go to the beaches, asking whether the tests are being done regularly and the outcomes of those tests,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Philani Mavundla, who chaired the exco meeting, said Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda should take the lead in these regular communications.
“The mayor's face must be everywhere on this.”
Mavundla recently revealed that he believed the remaining beaches would be opened by December 1.
ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala said the city must communicate better. “One welcomes the input made by the parties. The concerns are coming from a good place. We are all Durbanites. We are looking forward to a bumper season.”
Madlala said: “We have done ourselves a disservice. The narrative is that our beaches are closed, but there are more beaches that are open than closed. We are starving ourselves of tourists. The mayor's office must take a centre stage, and everyone must know which beaches are open. We will run a vigorous communication so that everyone knows.”