Promise date: 26 November 2022
Due date: 1 December 2022
Source: Facebook video
Promise outcome: Broken
The eThekwini PR machine worked overtime on Thursday (1 December) to prove that the city’s beaches were safe despite fears about bacteria in the water caused by sewage.
Both mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and deputy city manager Dr Musa Gumede swam in the sea to signal that the city was ready for an influx of visitors during the festive season.
This came after the opposition DA in the city challenged the mayor to join them for a swim at Umhlanga main beach on Friday. On Thursday, Gumede braved the water at Umhlanga while Kaunda took a dip at North beach.
What might have been lost amid the politicking is that the mayor did not keep his promise. Barely a week earlier, Kaunda said: “The city will continue to work hard to ensure that, come the first of December this year, all our beaches will be open. We still stick to that commitment and we are going to fulfil such a commitment.”
All plans are in place for the festive season. We are ready to host visitors. More beaches are open and we have a lot to offer to residents and visitors. Today, eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda demonstrated his swimming skills to officially declare festive season open.Woz'eDurban. pic.twitter.com/xY0ckhm79r
— eThekwini Municipality (@eThekwiniM) December 1, 2022
However, in an interview with eNCA’s Sally Burdett on Thursday, Gumede confirmed that all beaches were not yet open.
According to beach status information, published on the city’s website and dated 2 December 2022 these beaches were closed for swimming: Addington, Brighton, Laguna, Reunion, South, Thekwini, Umdloti, Umhlanga, Westbrook and Winkelspruit.
The city did not respond to our enquiry by the deadline.
Verdict
Since all beaches were not open on 1 December, we rate this promise as broken.
– Track My Mayor
Track My Mayor is a promise tracker aimed at increasing accountability at local government level. It was established with support from Code for Africa’s