THE residents of The Bluff united in demanding change when they embarked on a march to voice their mounting frustrations with the poor service delivery and continuous collapse of the community on August 23. Almost 200 protesters turned up to the Fix The Bluff march, waving placards and marching shoulder-to-shoulder demanding for immediate change and an improved vision for the community.

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Allison Schoeman, organiser of the march, said the march was a consequence of a failure of open forums where citizens are able to voice their concerns and as a demand for accountability from eThekwini Municipality.

“Our voices are often silenced in community platforms if our views differ from the prevailing narrative,” said Schoeman.

The protesters marched from Beach Road to the old boxing club on Tara Road, presenting their memorandum of change to Ward 66 councillor Zoë Solomon.

The memorandum highlighted the grievances of the community, including increased crime, neglected roads, collapsing infrastructure, pollution, decay of public spaces, unsafe beaches, illegal dumping and municipal service delivery issues.

The memorandum also cited that initiatives such as soup kitchens, free shopping events, and unregulated welfare handouts, while well-meaning, are directly attracting transient populations into the community without the infrastructure to manage them.

“Each issue raised in this memorandum directly impacts the safety, health and dignity of The Bluff residents. The municipality has a constitutional obligation to allocate budget and resources to address these failures. When essential services are withheld, it is not simply a matter of bad governance, it is a violation of constitutional rights. We therefore reject the hollow excuse of ‘no budget’. A budget that does not meet the baseline of constitutional rights is, in itself, unconstitutional,” said Schoeman.

Residents believe that with the municipality’s backing and their collective power, they can reclaim their community and stop the decay.

“The Bluff community will no longer tolerate excuses while our Ward visibly deteriorates. We are aware of our rights. We are prepared to pursue them through peaceful protest, petitions, formal engagement and, if ignored, through the courts under both the constitution and Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act,” said Schoeman.

Solomon accepted the memorandum from Schoeman and the protesters and ensured she would take the memorandum to the relevant departments.

“The march brought together a truly diverse group of residents, across race, culture and background, united by a shared cause. There was no division, only solidarity. I was humbled and inspired as I looked out at the crowd; the hope in their eyes left me close to tears. It was a momentous day for The Bluff and I believe this initiative will continue to grow until half The Bluff is marching together for change,” said Schoeman

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