Durban - A DA councillor has called on eThekwini residents to stay away from beaches that have been opened by the city until the water quality has been verified by independent experts.
The warning from councillor Sakhile Mngadi comes after the city announced that several beaches had been opened after the water quality improved.
The beaches that were reopened include Point, uShaka, Addington, South, Wedge, North, Bay of Plenty, Battery, Country Club, Brighton, Reunion, Pipeline, Toti Main, and Warner beaches.
The beaches were closed after high E.Coli levels were detected due to sewage leaks. The city said the sewer infrastructure had failed as a result of flood damage.
Mngadi said that a few weeks ago he had released a statement that exposed the dramatic 82% decline in tourism in eThekwini Municipality and the serious economic effects this would have on the city.
“I also said that the city’s response would be to gradually claim that seawater quality is improving and they would open beaches prematurely to mask the gross negligence of the ANC-led coalition in this city.
“Yesterday my projections came true when the city announced the opening of beaches within the Bay of Plenty. Considering the fact that the DA reported on how 80% of our sewage is going back into the oceans and how 17 of the 23 major pump stations do not work still, why is eThekwini putting people’s lives at risk?
“For now, my advice to residents is to stay away from the beaches until independent tests can verify the claims of the city. Treat all information regarding this as unverified until independent scientists can provide unbiased reporting.
“In an ideal world I would love to have this be true, but common sense and what we know about the state of the city’s infrastructure makes this highly unlikely,” he said.