North Coast Set for a Magical Festive Season
A bumper Festive Season is expected on the North Coast of South Africa. Thanks to a proactive community partnership and seasonal readiness plan, the region is ready and raring to welcome incoming holidaymakers.
The North Coast is a unique destination for living, working and visiting. Whether it’s the sea views, beaches and coastal forests or the bustling entertainment, fast-paced development and entrepreneurial energy, there really is something for everyone on this coastline.
“We look forward to welcoming our regular visitors as well as those who may not have visited for some time due to the pandemic,” said Jade Harding of the Ballito Urban Improvement Precinct (BUIP). “There has been so much exciting change in the area in the past few years and we have been focused on ensuring that we are ready to extend a warm and pristine welcome. Great news is that three of our beaches have been accorded Blue Flag status for the 2022-2023 season, and this is evidence of the exceptional quality the North Coast delivers and testament to all the hard work behind the scenes.”
The Blue Flag beaches are the popular Blythedale, Thompson’s Bay and Willard Beaches. With water and sanitation services causing concern across the country, the North Coast stands out as a welcome bright spot. Not only are the beaches subject to stringent weekly water quality testing by the independent and accredited laboratory testing run by BN Kirk, but the area also boasts one of the few private suppliers of water and sanitation services through the Siza Water Company.
“Our Blue Flag beaches are certainly points of pride, but it is important to know that all of our beaches are consistently tested to ensure ideal rated water quality for swimming, surfing and fishing. Regular water sampling undertaken by the UIP is enabled in partnership with a number of North Coast living estates,” added Harding.
Shyam Misra, CEO of the Siza Water Company further confirmed that water and sanitation infrastructure is in good shape heading into the season. “We serve about 80 000 people on the North Coast, which expands to up to 200 000 people for five to six weeks of the year during holiday peak seasons. We have infrastructure that allows capacity to manage this service delivery and the ability to quickly respond to maintenance issues as they arise,” he commented.
The Ballito UIP is a private sector partnership that works in close partnership with the KwaDukuza Municipality to bring out the best that the area has to offer. Thierry Leclezio from the Ballito UIP explained, “The UIP operates in partnership with the municipality and we offer supplementary services from security to the upkeep of public spaces. Our cleaning and greening staff start at six in the morning, picking up litter, addressing maintenance issues and making sure that the places for which we are responsible look neat.”
“We start preparing for the season in August/September to get things in order, coordinating with the municipality to ensure that the beaches are tidy, that we have the necessary security in place and that any special maintenance projects are complete. There is a big engine driving this whole thing and a really collaborative approach,” said Leclezio. “Recently, when debris washed up on shore due to high seas, we all gathered and cleaned the beaches – stakeholders, municipal and UIP staff – and the beaches became very quickly accessible again. That is just one example of how we work together.”
This proactive and collaborative approach is hard and smart at work on the North Coast. It extends to early detection and repair of road infrastructure from pothole to robot identification and operations. Everyone involved in making the region a wonderful destination is working together to ensure the best possible experience for everyone who makes it their destination.
