eThekwini Mayor vows public safety first as city reopens beaches

The eThekwini Municipality has assured bathers that public safety remains its number one priority, asserting that it will not keep beaches open unless it is safe to do so.

This assurance follows the municipality’s decision to greenlight the reopening of three beaches that were recently closed due to water pollution. The city held a media briefing on Monday at the North Beach Pier to provide a status update on the current condition of its coastline.

READ: eThekwini records zero drownings despite record festive crowds

The briefing comes in the wake of a damning court ruling handed down last week. The ruling revealed that in 2022, the eThekwini Municipality unilaterally reopened five beaches despite high levels of E. coli being present in the water at the time.

While the city's warm beaches remain the primary driver of tourism, the municipality has faced immense pressure from the business sector to keep them operational especially during peak periods.

eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba emphasised that public health safety will always be the top priority, noting that closures are a necessarypart of municipal governance.

“I wish to reiterate that the temporary closure of beaches due to water contamination is both lawful and necessary. The City of Cape Town recently closed Camps Bay Beach following a raw sewage spill, demonstrating that this is standard practice across municipalities.”

To ensure the safety of visitors during the busy festive season, Mayor Xaba announced that the municipality has ramped up its water testing protocols. The frequency of testing has been increased from once every two weeks to a weekly schedule.