Business owners operating along the Durban beachfront say they are hopeful about the future of their city after they experienced a busy festive season, which was made easier by law enforcement’s presence and management of the area.
But cultivating a positive image of the once thriving City of Durban is crucial and requires effort from everyone, not just the government, Jean-Marc Tostee from Surf HQ said.
Tostee said he’s had a busy festive period and start to the new year, and is thankful to the police for having a firm hand on the beachfront during the holidays.
“Look, I have nothing but positive stuff to say about our Metro Police and SAPS over this festive period.
“They handled the area excellently, from stopping alcohol from entering the beach, to ensuring big buses and trucks did not enter and cause traffic jams, they just managed the situation very efficiently.
“You could feel a sense of security in the air. It was positive to see,” Tostee said.
The long-time business owner, who has surfed Durban waters for decades, said the message around Durban needed to change, as there is a negative stigma about the beachfront.
Tostee said the media also needed to do a better job at getting an accurate message out to the public.
This was particularly around the E. coli problem, which is caused by pollution flowing down rivers and into the ocean.
There are tools available to keep people informed and ahead of the situation, including the Woz’Olwandle platform, which analyses real time data like wind and storm water flows to measure whether or not a beach is safe to use.
Besides Woz’Olwandle, Talbot, a water testing company, offers water quality results weekly on their Facebook for the six Golden Mile beaches.
According to Durban Metro Police statistics, 61 arrests were made between December 16 and December 26, 2023.
In terms of enforcing by-laws, for traffic, informal trade and nuisance, 3,049 fines were issued.
Attesting to the need for a change in Durban’s image, Tropicana Hotel boss Gavin Castleman, Chief Executive Officer of Gooderson Leisure, the parent company of Tropicana, said they had the best festive season in five years.
Castleman, also an avid surfer, commended the work of police officers on the beachfront during the festive period.
“Specifically to the Tropicana Hotel, we have had one of the best Christmas occupancies in five years.
“But besides that, kudos to the SAPS and Metro. The beaches were well managed in terms of no alcohol and no taxis or buses. Don’t take that in the wrong way, but the cops basically made them all park outside a zone and walk in to control the traffic flow.
“All our guests had full access to the beach and we were very positive about how things looked.
“We also had a very good surf, nice waves and conditions. We didn’t have complaints from our guests about the water, so all in all, we had a positive Christmas,” Castleman said.
But there are still some areas that require focus, Castleman added, speaking to the development of the new ‘funworld’ projects earmarked for the beachfront.
He said those projects needed to move along expeditiously, as it was important for the City to stay with the momentum it built over the course of last year.
“If you look around the beachfront, you can see things have changed. The new showers, the pools are back in operation and there are more police on the ground.
“But we have these empty spaces and those need to be developed quickly to help make this gem get back to where it used to be. I think with a little more time, effort and resources, Durban can be a great city again,” Castleman concluded.
IOL