The eThekwini municipality is ready to welcome 1000 of visitors expected to flock to Durban for the Easter holidays. eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says everything has been put in place to accommodate and welcome visitors.
This year’s Easter holidays come after three weeks of disruption by municipal workers, which disrupted services. During the strike, there were piles of uncollected refuse on many street corners. Water infrastructure was damaged.
Irrespective of the backlog caused by the strike, Kaunda says they have been working around the clock since the suspension of the strike two weeks ago to welcome visitors to a clean city.
Kaunda says 98% of services have resumed.
“I am pleased to report that all basic services have been fully restored. The reports we receive from various services and delivery units show that the service delivery backlog is gradually being reduced. While the majority of workers have returned to work, there is still a huge backlog that the city has to gear up for considering the longer period in which services were interrupted.”
He says Durban will always be the first choice for visitors.
“The eThekwini municipality continues to be a major tourist attraction, especially during the holiday seasons, ensuring that holidaymakers have memorable Easter holidays. Our team has put in all stops to ensure a fun, safe, and incident-free long weekend, especially to welcome congragants. With over 65 000 accommodations in our hotels, the accommodation rate is 69% during this period.”
Kaunda says police and other law enforcement agencies will be deployed in hotspot areas to curb crime.
“Our integrated safety plan ensures that our residence and visitors include the following: Multi-disciplinary static and mobile road blocs and conducting foot and motor circle and vehicle patrols and tourism precincts. High-visibility patrols on national and secondary roads and areas identified as crime hotspots in this city. We will conduct foot and motor circles at the ranks and on our beaches.”
After beach closures due to poor water quality last year, Kaunda says all beaches and swimming pools will be open for visitors.
“We are pleased to announce that most of our bathing beaches are open and safe for swimming. Our beachfront is open for public swimming, and there are both facilities on the beaches and swimming pools. However, we are concerned with persistent adverse weather condition which have resulted in the cancellation of the Life Saving SA Championships.”
