Margate’s magic under threat

When one thinks of the South Coast,  Margate usually comes to mind immediately

Unfortunately, at the moment it’s litter and sewage that greets visitors to the town’s
main beach.

While the beach needs a clean-up (not helped by recent floods) it’s the stench that is so off-putting.

One long time South Coasters and keen environmentalist described the situation as a crisis.

Another local said it was only the famous palm trees, splendid weather and picture-perfect sea the coast was experiencing that was ‘saving’ Margate this holiday season.

Certain beachfront business owners said main beach foot traffic had been down during June and July.

“It’s put extreme pressure on these as well as the vendors who rely on the extra holiday trade,” said one.

To make matters worse, there is no bathing allowed at the main beach,

Paving is lifted everywhere on the beachfront.There are two reasons for this.

The first is that. understandably. shark nets have been lifted due to the wonderful Sardine Run the coast is this winter. The second is that the beach is contaminated by sewage.

“lt’s not a small amount of sewage. We are talking about trillions of litres of raw sewage which is flowing directly onto the beach and into the ocean,” said a concerned local.

A pointed out that the signboard at the lifeguard tower doesn’t indicate that sewage is the problem.

It simply states: ‘Swimming is prohibited due to shark nets removed’.

To make matters worse, it is believed that further up Margate’s Nkongweni River, the main pump station and manholes have been reported to be overflowing with sewage for months.

Municipal buildings on the beachfront are in desperate need of maintenance, according to some, and a visit to the area by the Herald revealed the extent to which these matters needed to be addressed.

There’s the matter of litter and public drinking, with alcohol bottles being found on the beach (and nearby) despite the ‘no drinking in public’ signs.

The Herald spoke to a few people milling around the beachfront and asked them their thoughts.

Some merely shook their heads in disappointment.

“It’s heart-breaking. I came here as a child, and back then it was the best place to visit. But, yeah, this is Margate,” said a visitor.

These concerns were directed to both Ugu District Municipality and Ray Nkonyeni Municipality.

However. no response was received before going to print,

* It must be noted that this article is not referring to the much-awaited major repairs to sections of the beachfront caused by the flash floods some three months ago.

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