Ballito’s beach toilets – target of much criticism over peak season in December – are much cleaner but still in relatively bad shape.
With Easter on our doorstep, the Courier checked on the state of these essential facilities and found them to be surprisingly clean.
Although all but the recently revamped Salt Rock Beach are in dire need of a revamp, one can clearly see the toilets are cleaned often and in some cases smell strongly of bleach.
The rotten apple of festive season, Willard Beach, has been repainted on the ladies’ side, is clean and everything seems to be in working order.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the men’s side that still boasts vulgar graffiti, urinals wrapped in restrictive red and white tape and a nauseating stench.
The cleaning staff seem to be doing their job, but why has the municipal civils department not kept their end of the deal?
Provision was made in the 2014/2015 budget for upgrading the Ballito beach toilets.
The Thompson’s Bay facilities are probably the cleanest of all but falling apart.
Beachgoers who need to use the toilet should avoid Clarke Bay with its broken toilets seats and doors, topped off with a constant flow of water on the floor.
Municipal services are doing a good job keeping the toilets clean but once again, maintenance issues have been left for the fairies to fix with the stroke of a magic wand.
The Ballito beach boardwalk has lately been another bearer of bad news, having been deemed unsafe due to recent violent incidents, as well as neglected maintenance.
However, a walk along the boardwalk at midday paints a different picture.
The boardwalk does need some attention and a bit of TLC in certain areas, but the tourists are happy and enjoy their leisurely strolls and swift jogs along the beach.
“The boardwalk is great and is just long enough for a good walk,” said Irish tourist, Mike Ford, who is visiting his family on the North Coast.
Johannesburg resident, Robert Webber agreed but said there were “one or two eyesores that need mending”.
Cllr Marsh said a new maintenance plan needs to be pursued urgently.
Marsh encouraged people to report loose planks or broken poles to the beach manager, Steve Honneysett on 083 652 5021.
“The beach manager will issue the necessary job card to the civils department to get the work done; but this is where the major challenges will always lie. When two departments are involved there is always the chance of miscommunication. The municipality is short of funds, so which department needs to budget for the maintenance of this little treasure remains to be seen,” said Marsh.
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