Keep your pants on... the KZN nude beach not yet given the go-ahead

Nudists will have to keep their clothes on for another holiday season.

The public protector's report on KwaZulu-Natal's first legal nudist beach is still a "work in progress".

A report on the beach was due this month after claims that the SA National Naturists Association's application to declare the 250m-long sandy stretch near Mpenjati Nature Reserve a legal nudist beach was not dealt with adequately.

However‚ public protector spokesperson Cleopatra Mosana said the report was not yet finalised.

"I cannot tell you when it will be released‚" Mosana said.

A year ago the Concerned Citizens Group‚ claiming to represent 30 churches and thousands of church members in towns along the province’s south coast‚ approached the public protector with a complaint that the municipality had failed to consult communities that would be affected by the decision.

South African National Naturists’ Association chairman Athol Lutge on Wednesday said the delay in releasing the report would affect nudists who had planned to frequent the beach during the July school holidays.

"The naturists associations are affected‚ especially the KwaZulu-Natal Naturist Association‚ because their events are basically on hold at the Mpenjati Beach‚" he said.

The KwaZulu-Natal Naturist Association had planned a sports day for its official launch‚ which was set for the Easter weekend last year.

"I have not heard a single thing from the public protector since January‚" Lutge said.

Ugu South Coast Tourism CEO Justin Mackrory said the delay had not had any "fundamental impact" on overall tourism in the area.

"In terms of our area‚ naturist tourism has or could represent a small portion of overall tourism revenue yields and as such our present destination marketing activity hinges around mainly value-for-money‚ family-orientated leisure experiences. If the public protector supports Mpenjati becoming an official naturist beach‚ we will include the site as an option within the broad basket of tourism experiences here on the greater south coast‚" he said.

The beach had been an unofficial nudist beach for almost 20 years until naturists made an application to the municipality to amend the bylaws to allow them to go naked on the beach without the fear of arrest.

At the first public hearing at Trafalgar in 2014‚ residents were divided‚ with some opposed to "drooping boobs and buttocks" on their beach‚ while others wanted to bare it all without fear of being caught.

-TimesLIVE