Durban - Deputy mayor of eThekwini Municipality Philani Mavundla says the remaining closed beaches in Durban will be opened by December 1, in time for the start of the festive season.
Mavundla is the chairperson of the city’s infrastructure and services committee, which is currently focused on ensuring that sewer infrastructure damaged in the floods is repaired. The sewage leaks have led to high E coli levels at some Durban beaches.
“The beaches fall under the parks department, and it is their mandate to speak on that, but as the unit that is in charge of the infrastructure that is impacting on the beaches, we are targeting that it is fixed (before the end of this month) and the beaches are opened by December 1,” said Mavundla.
His statement is in line with what head of water and sanitation Ednick Msweli said in an interview with The Mercury a few days ago.
He said the department was finalising the procurement processes and wanted to have contractors on site as soon as possible.
He set the deadline for the completion of the work at the end of this month.
Mavundla said a lot of work had been done to fix the infrastructure. He said the amount of work done was reflected in the number of the beaches that had been reopened owing to the water quality improving.
“We have fixed some pump stations and treatment works. This is not the repair work (upgrading of infrastructure) that is required, but it’s just to bring these stations to functionality,” he said.
He said the city’s water and sanitation department needed about R9.6 billion to fix and upgrade its infrastructure.
“We have done a lot of work to address some of the challenges. We will soon be inviting members of the media to go on a site visit to assess some of the work that has been done,” he said.
IFP councillor and infrastructure and services committee member Mzwethu Gwala said he was sceptical about whether the December deadline would be met.
“We have been asking for a progress report as a committee, but to date nothing has been tabled before us. When we ask water officials about the progress on fixing the infrastructure, they keep telling us it is difficult to do their jobs because their budget has been cut.
“We need billions to fix the infrastructure, and there are only 20 days left until that deadline. I do not see how it is possible to do something that needs billions in a few days,” said Gwala.
Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said last week he was confident this repair work would be finalised before the festive season because “we want our residents and visitors to have a joyous and memorable summer holiday”.
“We are pleased to report that the municipality has finalised this process, and a budget of over R250 million has been set aside to repair sewer infrastructure,” Kaunda said.
He said a contractor had already started to repair Ohlange sewer pump station. Leaks from the station led to the contamination of the Ohlange River and uMhlanga Beach.
“Work is also under way to procure additional pumps and generators, particularly for pump stations located along the coast.
“We also want to indicate that contractors have been appointed to fix sewer pipes that were damaged by the floods in all four regions of the municipality.
“We want to inform the public that currently the city has 13 operational swimming pools to enable residents and visitors to cool down as they enjoy the warm summer weather,” he said.
The city said the Westbrook, Bronze, Laguna, eThekwini, uMhlanga, eMdloti, Winklespruit and Ansteys beaches remained closed until further notice.