Prostitutes and hustlers a menace in Margate
There is concern about the age of the prostitutes, who are often very young.
PROSTITUTES, who brazenly ply their trade day and night throughout the town, and unregistered car guards, who constantly harass residents and visitors, are becoming a major concern in Margate.
The South Coast Herald has received a number of complaints about the situation and AfriForum has taken up the matter. Chris Fourie, the AfriForum community co-ordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, said his organisation had requested a meeting with the Hibiscus Coast Municipality management, the Municipality Law Enforcement management, the SAPS management and the state prosecutor to try and resolve the problem.
A visitor to Margate told the Herald that he and his family had been embarrassed and upset by prostitutes recently. They had just arrived in Margate and were travelling slowly through the central business area, looking out for the block of holiday apartments where they had booked accommodation. Suddenly the car was surrounded by young women who blatantly propositioned the driver. What made it even more distressing was that there were children in the vehicle.
According to many Margate residents, the prostitute problem appears to be getting completely out of control. Prostitutes can be found on almost every street corner in the central business area – and not only after dark. They are there throughout the day as well.
“They are so brazen. You can’t help but notice them. They are there all hours of the day,” said a South Coast resident.
A Margate woman said she was particularly concerned about the age of some of the prostitutes.
“They seem so very young. Many of them are clearly under-age. Some are hardly more than children. It really is horrifying. Something really needs to be done,” she said.
The South Coast Herald has also received complaints from visitors and residents who said they were frequently annoyed and even intimidated by pushy, scruffy hustlers who were setting themselves up as unregistered car guards, particularly along the beachfront.
Mr Fourie said that Hibiscus Coast Municipality community services head, Sibusiso Nzimande, had spoken about this issue at a recent Margate Business Association meeting. He had assured the meeting that law enforcement officers had dealt with unregistered car guards. However, the car guard problem, like the prostitute problem, remained unresolved, he said.
The South Coast Herald asked the Hibiscus Coast Municipality for comment but received no response.
