Banana Beach is unappealing

WITH the holiday season fast approaching, the Banana Beach community is having to take maintenance matters into its own hands. Frustrated at the deterioration of the small seaside suburb, residents calling on the municipality for assistance.

The tatty signboards at the entrance to Banana Beach need to be replaced. Other signboards are obscured by overgrown vegetation – those travelling south are unable to see the turn-off to the hamlet. In the parking area, a large pile of sand and rubbish welcomes visitors. Piles of debris which washed up onto the beach after the recent heavy rains have not been cleared and the women’s ablution block is in need of urgent repair.

The train which derailed there three months ago has left sections of the wooden walkway leading to the beach badly broken. Due to this, beachgoers are forced to cross the railway line and make their way down a treacherous and stony path to the walkway. The walkway is also missing planks, is unstable and is potentially dangerous to walk on.

On Tuesday morning, staff from Suntide Beach Club were seen hard at work. Although Suntide Beach Club built the walkway a few years ago, the municipality had promised to help maintain it, along with the rest the beach. Gerhardt Mynhardt, general manager of Suntide Beach Club, said thick wooden planks had been brought in, and its maintenance team was starting to repair and treat the wood, and trim the overgrown bush. He explained that they had met with municipal managers about two weeks ago, but nothing had transpired since their meeting. He added the managers estimated the walkway would cost R30 000 to fix, but he questioned this figure.”They don’t have to reconstruct the walkway, just add some support,” he said.

Mr Mynhardt said the municipality seemed to concentrate on Blue Flag beaches and forget about the smaller ones. He pointed out that the resort was fully booked for the festive period so it was vitally important to prepare for the upcoming season. “The community is willing to help the municipality but they have to come to the party, we can’t be expected to do everything,” he said. “Everyone is paying a lot of taxes and we are not getting the services.”

Hibiscus Coast Municipality spokesman, Simon Soboyisa said the Department of Community Services would attend to the overgrown vegetation on the path to Banana Beach and the clearing of driftwood before the end of this week. Mr Soboyisa said with regards to fixing of the women’s ablution facilities, the municipality had started the process of supply chain management in order to appoint a service provider. “The issue of fixing the signboards will be referred to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Transport,” he concluded.