Upset family says ‘we’re not coming back’
The coast's ongoing problems have seriously irked the Gauteng family.
A MAN filling an inflatable swimming pool for his grandchildren this week was horrified at what poured out of the hosepipe.
Henry Tiedemann, who lives in Johannesburg and owns a holiday home in Margate, described the water as ‘muddy brown with a rotting or decaying kind of smell’.
He said the poor quality of the water was first noticed when their domestic worker tried to clean the bath.
He felt the water was not drinkable and posed a health hazard. “It’s far worse than it was last year. Does the municipality expect us to pay for mud?” he asked.
He said there was no way he would let his grandchildren swim and play in the dirty water.
Mr Tiedemann, who has been holidaying on the coast for more than 20 years, said the coast had, sadly, gone from bad to worse.
He mentioned the potholes, dogs barking all night long, power outages, and dirty drinking water.
“There are more potholes than tar in my street, the service at shops is poor, and you can’t take the children to certain beaches as they are filthy,” he said.
The gradual degradation of the town has upset him so much that he has put his home on the market and plans to holiday elsewhere. “There are great resorts in Jeffreys Bay and Cape St Francis,” he added.
“Margate has gone to the dogs. What are we paying rates and taxes for?”
Mr Tiedemann said his family would be sorry to leave the coast but he was not prepared to holiday under these conditions anymore.
No response had yet been received from Ugu District Municipality.
