Two Bits – 25 December 2015

Water – the shortage of – was uppermost in the minds of residents of the North Coast all year long in 2015.
Being the fastest-growing district in the entire country has its pros and cons. Yes, it’s great for business and future prospects and jobs and all that, but it also means that the roads, water, electricity supply and municipal services in general can’t keep up. Which leads to a lot of hair-pulling and name-calling, but the reality is that we are just going to have to take more responsibility for our own security of domestic electricity and water supply.
Looking back at the year’s issues of the Courier remind me of how much has happened in our not-so-little-any-longer neck of the woods.
Willard beach toilets were in complete mess in January, but the good news was that bikini fashions did not include the hideous boob tube for the foreseeable future. Bad land use practices were identified at the root of Hazelmere Dam’s startling 35% level, as well as the lack of rain. Evangelist Angus Buchan led prayers for rain, but the El Niño weather system’s deathlike grip on the clouds is keeping the whole southern hemisphere dry. La Piazza restaurant won our “Taste of the Dolphin Coast” competition, and lady cagefighter Amanda Lino rang up a string of successes in the ring.
In February, Salt Rock athlete and five times world surf ski champ Hank McGregor stormed to victory in a string of events on sea and river, including the Dusi and Klip River marathons. Ballito PLG Academy won a reprieve to take in pupils, but the high court warned them to get their house in order by the end of the year if they want to continue as the town’s low fee (relatively) school.
March saw the town’s biggest development launch of the year, with a R1.4 bn expansion of the Ballito Junction shopping centre into a 65 000 sq m regional mall. With cinemas and all the big national brands, it will change the face of retail on the North Coast.
On the sport front, Ashton rugby first team trounced Crawford La Lucia in a pre-match warmup to a Sharks match in Durban.
April saw the Urban Improvement Precinct get the go-ahead to run a pilot project in parts of Ballito. Some are immensely irritated to pay twice for a job to be done but the middle classes don’t fancy the traditional way of redressing poor service delivery, namely by throwing burning tyres and rocks into the road.
Some misguided members of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Front attempted a land grab of farmland alongside the N2. Tragically one died and three were injured when they were knocked down on the highway.
In one of the stranger stunts of the year, snake expert Neville Wolmarans spent a night in a room with three Mozambican spitting cobras, to prove they would not attack him. Neville and other locals featured in a brilliant National Geographic documentary on the black mamba, produced by local videographer Graeme Duane.
Snakes featured again in May when Desainagar resident Sangaran Moodley explained how his elaborate care of an anthill, revered as the home of a Hindu snake goddess, had safeguarded the health of his children.
Mismanagement of refuse collection contracts saw Shakaskraal awash in litter on more than one occasion during the year. Awarding of contracts to the lowest bidder is not always the brightest idea.
4 000 runners and cyclists turned out for the first Deloitte Challenge, a rebranding of the old Indian Ocean marathon, from Ballito to Durban, and former Prince’s Grant golf pro Johnny Baiocchi celebrated his 95th birthday!
Water shortages dominated the headlines through June and July. Faced with residents ignoring appeals to save water, the district municipality got everyone’s attention by imposing massive fines, only withdrawn when locals roused themselves enough to attend a protest meeting. Honestly, locals are so laid back they could shoot a movie of the living dead here without makeup or special effects.
But no, I joke, because locals were thoroughly stoked over the world-rated Ballito Pro surf contest that brought top surfers to the area. Small but good surf, great free music concerts and lots more attract visitors from around the country.
Sixteen people died in a horrific taxi accident at Shaka’s Head, when an overloaded, unroadworthy taxi crashed onto the rail track and was smashed by a train. The business community rallied and raised more than R100 000 to help the families of the dead.
August saw the Tongaat Hulett group announce two huge residential and commercial development projects, at Tinley Manor and Sibaya. Residents of sleepy Umdloti are gloomy about their future. But hey, if Ballito had to lose its small village atmosphere in the name of progress, so can they!
By September, the government had shaken itself out of its torpor enough to start raising the Hazelmere Dam wall by seven metres – only 10 years after it had been given the green light. Sheesh! Meanwhile Umgeni Water’s project to pump water from the Tugela to Stanger and Ballito should be finished by mid-2016.
Heritage Day weekend was a great success. The traditional celebration of King Shaka in KwaDukuza went off well, as did the Courier Orphan Fund bass fishing comp at Rain Farm, despite low dams. But the real crowd-puller was the first Strawberry Festival at Capenny Estates at Compensation. In fact they were overwhelmed by the demand. More than 6000 people pitched for a day in the country and they had to turn some away. Next year will be better, they promise.
In October we highlighted crippling management and patient care issues at Stanger Hospital, part of a national healthcare problem. Another problem that is getting worse is the head-on clash between taxi operators and lift clubs, bus services and competing taxi services such as Uber. Universal disquiet at the the taxi industry isn’t helped by the authorities’ apparent inability to deal with their anarchy.
20-year-old medical student Khanyisile Zondo from Hambanthi, Tongaat, won the coveted Miss Ballito contest run by Zimbali Rotary, and a forceful Manini Mbongwa took the Entrepreneur of the year title by proving that she could walk the talk with her fledgling events company.
In November, the traditional Christmas Fair again surpassed itself with superb organisation and good shopping value. Upper Tongaat farmer Anthony Goble won the nationwide Farmer of the Year award and a brand new bakkie for his progressive farming methods, and the Courier celebrated 30 years of continuous publishing.
December brought loads of matrics down for Rage. The heat was oppressive, but at least a few days of rain raised the level of the dam to 30%. Poor roads in the Foxhill area received their share of attention. All Salt Rock residents want for Christmas are a set of robots at Tiffany’s centre. With another shopping centre on the drawing boards there, surely someone has to sort the mess out.
And so we reach the end of another year. It is time to draw one’s family close and celebrate Christmas. Be safe on the roads, be safe in the water, and let’s look forward to a healthy and prosperous 2016.
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Christmas would not be complete without some really bad jokes:
Why did the pony have to gargle?
Because it was a little horse
Who hides in the bakery at Christmas?
A mince spy
What do you call a woman who stands between two goal posts?
Annette