Parties on Durban’s beachfront no fun for residents
Durban - Durban residents have raised concerns about revellers partying at all hours on the city’s beachfront and the amount of litter, including alcohol bottles that are left strewn across the area.
As the lockdown levels eased from Level 3 to Level 1 last week, residents said there appeared to be an increase in revellers drinking and partying in public places along the beachfront in contravention of the city’s nuisance by-laws.
DA eThekwini councillor Sharmaine Sewshanker, who lives on North Beach, said the beachfront area did not seem to be affected by the lockdown as drinking in public had been taking place even during level 3.
“The beachfront and promenade is supposed to be a safe space for families, children and the elderly but of late it feels quite dangerous,” she said.
Sewshanker said she noticed South Beach had also become “dangerous” in the late afternoons, despite the lockdown rules, as taxis carrying people who were drinking seemed to continue to party disregarding the curfew.
“As residents, we need more enforcement, the by-laws need to be enforced as it is the most important rule to uphold societal laws. If we get the small things right, the bigger things will also move in the right direction,” she said.
Sewshanker said more training should be given to law enforcement manning call centres as well as enforcement officers on the ground especially when it came to the nuisance by-laws.
A Bluff senior citizen, who had come down to North Beach for breakfast with her husband on Sunday, said despite the condition of the beachfront, it was “still better than Anstey’s and Brighton Beach”.
“We can’t go down there because there, it is scary the amount of youngsters just drinking and getting rowdy,” she said.
Upper Highway resident Robin Soulsby, who also visited the Durban beachfront on Sunday morning, said he was “disgusted” by the poor state of the beaches from Pirates Beach to Blue Lagoon.
“The promenade and grass areas were strewn with litter, broken bottles, take-out containers, bones and general rubbish. It looked like dustbins had been tipped out. Litter was everywhere, I haven’t been down to the beach in a while so it was sad and tragic,” he said.
Soulsby said the beach was even worse with litter, plastic, dead chicken, broken glass and surgical litter including latex gloves, masks and a medicine bottle, which seemed to have been buried in the sand dunes.
“It’s disgusting! How are we to fill up our hotels and get tourism going after the lockdown and attract tourists when our beaches look so untidy? It is an absolute disgrace eThekwini – shame on you for allowing the beachfront to look like this, even worse that it was over a weekend,” Soulsby said.
Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said he was disturbed by the number of people who were contravening the city’s by-laws.
“The by-laws do not change, even with the Disaster Management Act taking effect, we still have to adhere to laws of the city and the country,” Sewpersad said.
With the eThekwini region still a hot spot for Covid19 cases in the country, he said he was concerned by the public’s disregard for the law.
“We have seen an increase in large gatherings and house parties; this weekend we had reports of night vigils, people in cars spinning tyres and firing shots in the air at funerals!
“People are not listening. We urge the public to report these violations as we are still working to not only enforce the law but flatten the curb, Covid19 regulations and our municipal by-laws will be enforced,” he said.
Regarding drinking and partying along the beachfront, Sewpersad said Metro Police enforcement officers were targeting drinking in public places.
“This type of enforcement will continue as some people are just not heeding the by-laws. Drinking in public is a by-law offence within the municipality and it includes the public parks, beaches, roads.
“The by-laws and signs are posted along the beaches, yet we still find people contravening the by-law by people taking cooler boxes with alcohol to beaches and parks, all along the coastal beaches, from Tongaat to Umkomaas,” Sewpersad said.
eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said while cleaners were deployed to the beachfront, it was the responsibility of the public to ensure they placed their litter in bins.
“Again, we plead with residents and visitors to our beaches to please make use of the litter bins provided. They are there for a reason. The city is calling upon all its stakeholders to dispose of litter responsibly because the municipality will never win the war against litter alone.”
Mayisela said the litter was not only unsightly but it also impacted on the road infrastructure because rubbish often ends up being washed into the stormwater drainage system, which becomes clogged leading roads to be flooded in heavy rains.
He said the rubbish also washed into rivers and the ocean, causing harm to marine life.
Regarding the medical waste, he said a team would be dispatched to investigate the matter.
The by-laws state:
— No person may consume any liquor or be in a state of intoxication in a public place or cause or permit to be caused any disturbance or impairment of the convenience or peace of any person by shouting, screaming or making any other loud or persistent noise or sound, including amplified noise or sound, from Sunday to Thursday, between 9.30pm to 7am and from Friday to Saturday, between midnight and 8am.
– No driver or person in control of a motor-vehicle may permit any amplified sound or noise to emanate from the motor vehicle such that it is audible at a distance of more than 50 metres.
– No person may within a public place, deposit, dump or discard any waste or litter in a manner that detracts from the cleanliness of such public place or which causes a nuisance; and anywhere other than in a receptacle provided by the municipality for that purpose.
Sewpersad urged members of the public to report any contraventions of the municipal by-laws or Disaster Management Act to 031 361 0000.
The Mercury