The coastline of Durban and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal is filled with sewage and other harmful toxins leading to the tourism industry on the brink of losing R25 million a day.
The Sunday Times reported that all indications are that tourists are likely to steer clear of Durban this festive season, with businesses across the KwaZulu-Natal province noting that bookings are slow.
According to the eThekwini mayor last year, over one million South African tourists made their way to Durban’s beaches for the December holiday season.
Tourism in Durban has become a major cash cow over the years, especially thanks to Johannesburg tourists who wish to spend some time in the sun by the sea. However, severe flooding earlier this year has set the province back economically and led to the beaches becoming soiled.
Independent tests conducted by the Sunday Times, in collaboration with Talbot, show that holidaymakers and tourist operators are likely to face high levels of E-coli, which could cause sickness.
Umhlanga, north of Durban, has kept its beaches closed. Duncan Heafield, the chair for the areas tourism association, said that it is currently losing R10 million a day due to the closure of its most popular beach, and it is likely to increase to R25 million a day when the peak holiday season hits from 28 November.
Political party ActionSA has also raised deep concerns regarding water quality in the area, saying that the eThekwini Municipality has no regard for the health of beachgoers.
Water test results from 3 November showed that the Country Club beach, for example, had an E-coli level of 1,267/CFU/100ml. The critical level is 500CFU/100ml; despite this – beachgoers remain, said ActionSA. The eThekweni municipality has not responded to findings of high E-coli levels.
KwaZulu-Natal has faced a string of bad luck and economic headwinds. The July riots of 2021 redirected business away from the province over fears of a repeat, while the April floods damaged critical infrastructure.
After the flooding, the government appointed an independent agency to manage the billions of earmarked rands for disaster relief to try and avoid corruption and looting of funds. Under the National Treasury’s Solidarity Fund, over R2 billion was raised as relief, but this has only trickled down to those who were affected.
Many crucial parts of the infrastructure, such as sewage pipes, electricity supply and roads, have not all been repaired back to their pre-flooding condition. The South African Roads Agency (Sanral) has reportedly, according to News24, yet to begin work on fixing roads in the area.
Roads in the area are crucial to trade across South Africa, with the national freight and logistics company Transnet operating at South Africa’s most lucrative port in Durban.
Read: Bad news for home loans in South Africa
Artmotion S.Africa
