The IFP has accused the eThekwini municipality of “turning a blind eye” to a malfunctioning sewage pump station in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, which has resulted in sewage spills onto the local golf course.
The party conducted a recent site visit to the Athlone Park pump station, where it found it was “malfunctioning and deserted”.
But the city denied that no effort has been made to repair the pump station, saying it was vandalised several times this year.
“The Amanzimtoti golf course was not spared, as muck was visible all over the grass and could be exposing the golfers and staff to hazardous materials. There was evidence of a backflow of sewage from manholes around the clubhouse and in the car park,” said Nessa Bhanprakash, IFP spokesperson for conservation and environmental affairs and tourism.
Bhanprakash claims the pump station has not functioned for two years, forcing the golf club “to construct an alternative sewer pit, which flows into the Isipingo River”.
“The IFP is deeply concerned that eThekwini municipality appears to have turned a blind eye to this problem for more than two years, endangering the lives of surrounding communities and local flora and fauna, due to sewage spilling directly into the estuary.
“The eThekwini authorities must stop playing with people’s lives and take immediate action to repair the Athlone Pump Station. They need to stop the hazardous flow of raw sewage into the Isipingo River immediately. People’s health is at risk. Moreover, these toxic conditions will impact negatively on economic activity along popular eThekwini beaches during the festive season.”
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city is aware of the problem at the golf course “and work is under way to get it back on track”.
“The pump station was vandalised several times this year, an electrical panel was purchased and installed, several pumps have been installed,” said Mayisela.
“Durban Electricity [company] repaired the damaged power supply. It is therefore untrue that the pump station has been offline for over two years.”
The golf club’s committee is expected to respond to questions posed by TimesLIVE Premium.
The latest sewage malfunction comes as the city is facing backlash over failure to maintain pump stations across the municipality, which has resulted in several beaches, with high E Coli readings, being closed.
The closure of beaches comes as the province pins its hopes on festive season spend to counter economic losses after the floods, the Covid-19 pandemic and the July 2021 riots.
However, a poll conducted by loans company Wonga revealed that local tourists were giving Durban a wide berth after issues around the safety of its beaches.
In response, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal acting CEO Nhlanhla Khumalo said he was concerned about the poll results showing the province is no longer the most popular Gauteng holiday destination.
All the beaches from Umdloti northwards to Sodwana are open and clean.
“There is a clear distinction between the City of Durban and the greater province of KZN, which has a myriad tourism attractions and offers holidaymakers a wide variety of activities during the summer season. Our beaches are still very much a popular attraction for holidaymakers and KZN boasts a coastline of 600km that goes as far as Sodwana Bay and Port Edward.
“The beaches that are closed are in Durban, stretching from Umdloti, Umhlanga to Laguna Beach and that is it. All the beaches from Umdloti northwards to Sodwana are open and clean. All the beaches from north beach in central Durban south to Port Edward are open and clean,” he said.
He said KZN was a destination that offered a wide variety of tourism experiences from Big-5 game viewing and safari experiences to adventure activities and numerous cultural and heritage sites.
Khumalo said according to SA Tourism, KZN is the fastest recovering domestic tourism destination in SA.
“Tourism Research insights indicate that KZN will get an estimated 760,000 domestic trips and 58 000 international visitors over the upcoming summer season. The combined spend from both domestic and international tourists is projected to be about R4.1bn this summer season.”
