Margate clean-up sparks action
The move to ‘make Margate great again’ has called for positive action from authorities.
LAST Friday’s clean-up of Margate beach led to Councillor Dave Watson calling for an emergency meeting with senior authorities from Ray Nkonyeni Municipality on Monday this week.
The call for an urgent meeting came after broken glass, beer bottles and litter were found strewn all over the beachfront less than 12 hours after the big clean-up. The beach was, however, cleaned up quickly by municipal workers the following day.
Friday’s successful clean-up saw a small army of local businesses and individuals uniting to spruce up Margate’s beachfront, ahead of the upcoming holiday season. The move to ‘make Margate great again’, has been led by businessman Stephen Herbst and his team.
Mr Herbst, a passionate South Coaster and owner of Comfort Cool Air Conditioners, whose Facebook post about the poor state of Margate caught the attention of many South Coasters, made front page news in the Herald.
People became increasingly concerned that season was almost upon us and the beach and its facilities were not up to standard.
Mr Herbst said the initiative began when word spread after he posted on Facebook that he and his staff were planning to go down to clean up and repair some of the broken infrastructure.
“I was taken aback at the overwhelming response and support for #makingMargategreatagain from both businesses and private individuals,” he said.
In response to the articles posted on the Herald’s Facebook page about Cllr Watson’s call to take control of Margate beach, some of the readers wrote:
* “Law must be implemented, the town is turning into a trash zone. Municipality is ignoring all of this. One time I parked on the side of the road and a hooker tried to open the door. We can’t live like this!” wrote Sandile Diya
* “Close the streets… give the residents a permit to enter. Make all vehicles pay. Lawlessness means not only trashing but breaking down what taxpayers must build again and again. Make them open their coolboxes, take their alcohol and they can collect it again when going home. If the authorities start doing that, this nonsense will hopefully stop. How difficult can it be?” wrote Yvonne Strydom Smit.
* “I was there on Sat. Where the traffic officers were just standing and watching what was going on, talking to the taxi drivers. Not once was anyone taken to task regarding the littering. Nothing will happen if the law isn’t enforced,” wrote Justin Klusener.
Mr Herbst is now calling on everyone to support the clean-up at Uvongo beach this Saturday, December 3 at 9am. Everyone is asked to meet at the parking area near the restaurant.
No show at urgent meeting
Deeply concerned about the lawlessness which has descended on towns, Cllr Watson called for the urgent meeting with municipal manager Max Mbili and the heads from the departments of Community Services and Community Safety on Monday afternoon.
Cllr Watson said Mr Mbili had sent him a message indicating that he had instructed the heads of the departments to attend the meeting.
He said a fruitful meeting was held with Mthandeni Ndwalana and Tony Davis of the Department of Community Services and reported back that the heads would try their best to meet the needs within the budget.
However, Sbu Nzimande and Superintendent Jackson Mzindle of Community Safety, along with Mr Mbili failed to pitch. Cllr Watson even gave them the benefit of the doubt and patiently waited two hours for their arrival.
“I really wanted to meet with Mr Mbili as this is a matter of urgency. The MM obviously felt it was neither necessary nor important to attend this meeting and that the crisis was not profound,” said Cllr Watson.
He said the meeting was important as he wanted to not only discuss issues faced at the beachfront, but seasonal plans and road closures.
Cllr Watson has now written an open letter to the Mayor Nomusa Cynthia Mqwebu and Mr Mbili.
Cllr Mqwebu responded to the open letter by saying that she was really sorry about what is happening at the beach. “I am prepared to have a meeting with community of Margate but I am at a Salga conference and will be able to set a meeting when I gets back,” she said. She added that she would also talk to the officials about a way forward.
Bevis Fairbrother, manager of the Herald urged people to work together with Ray Nkonyeni, the Margate Business Association and formal structures rather than run off on a tangent calling for ridiculous action like rates boycotts and such.
That’s just a recipe for disaster, – Bevis Fairbrother
He said the real issue is that our beaches are being used and abused by mobs who don’t seem to care too much for the environment or respect anyone else.
“I agree with some of the posts on our Facebook page that our beaches are there for everyone to enjoy, but we all have to play by the same rules. We should welcome the large crowds over the festive period, and should even be going out of our way to see that they have a fantastic, but safe time. Everyone should leave Margate with happy memories.”
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