Beaches cleaned up for festive season
By Tabisa Mntengwana
7 November 2008
IN preparation for the festive season and the tourists expected in town, Buffalo City is working around the clock to repair the Gonubie Boardwalk.
This is necessary after massive waves hit East London beaches in September, leaving them and roads along the coast covered in debris.
Over the past four weeks, the City has been working vigorously to ensure that residents and visitors will be able to use the boardwalk over the December holidays.
“We are optimistic that in December we will be able to re-open the boardwalk,” said the municipality’s senior communications and media liaison officer, Samkelo Ngwenya.
Gonubie Beach lost its Blue Flag status this year. “We have received the news … with natural disappointment, more so since we had undertaken a number of interventions and stringent steps to improve our situation, especially our water quality, which has since been resolved,” said Ngwenya.
However, the City did not expect any of this to affect tourism, as witnessed last season when “we received more visitors than our expectations”.
A number of City cleaners have been busy clearing away rubble and cleaning to make roads accessible. “What is left now is for the City to remove the rubble from sides [of beaches] and rubble from the sides and edges of the roads,” he said.
“Despite the fact that we have lost our Blue Flag status this year, we will as a City continue to maintain the standards in order to re-apply next year.” Currently Gonubie Beach is a pilot Blue Flag beach for the 2008/9 season and intends to regain full status in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
Constant monitoring as a proactive measure had been carried out this whole year, according to a press release.
In conclusion, the municipality reassured its visitors and residents that it “will bring a festive season that is memorable and reflective of the high standards and authentic beauty that our city and its beaches possess”.
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