DEAR Editor,-
I have recently returned from the Africa Bike Week in Margate where my biking buddies and I had a great time as we normally have at this annual event. As we were a large group from the George, Knysna and Cape Town area in the Western Cape, we stayed at various bed and breakfasts, flats, etc.
A small group of us stayed at a bed and breakfast called The Mdoni and it was very nice, but the roads in the area were in an extremely poor condition with many potholes. Some of these potholes were very dangerous, especially for a motorbike at night. However, as we travelled around the area (Umtentweni, Port Shepstone, Margate, Ramsgate, etc), I noticed that the road surfaces everywhere are in a very poor state.
Not only were there many, many potholes, but the surfaces were generally lumpy, uneven and broken. The KwaZulu-Natal South Coast has always been a lovely holiday area, attracting thousands of tourists, so why does the municipality allow the area to go backwards to this degree? Is the Margate area following the downward spiral of many other municipalities in our country?
In addition to what I have mentioned above, the whole area looks neglected. The pavements are dirty, the tap water does not look at all good and there appears to be an absence of cleaners on such an important long weekend. Surely the municipality can lay on additional cleaners for such an occasion?
The last point I wish to raise is security! Some of my friends had jackets, etc stolen out of their bike panniers. The bikes were parked in an underground parking lot, under the building they were staying at, which was supposed to be a secure building. I ask the question, should there not be additional security at night in the streets on a weekend such as this? And then there is the matter of one of the visitors being stabbed and robbed.
With an event of this magnitude, security must be stepped up with guards at night and not only during the day. We all know that security becomes a problem at such an event, how much more do the bandits living in the area know?
Please spend some of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money to address these issues. Maybe salaries must be reduced so that there is enough money in the kitty to pay for the repairs?
I will now end my list of complaints, but wish to let you know that I will not be visiting the area again. I am sure there will be others thinking like me.
IAN VAN ROOYEN
