Durban - The racist views of Sodwana Bay Guest House owner, Andre Slade, are poisoning things for tourism in the area, with an industry marketing body expressing fears the fallout could cost jobs.
The similarly named Sodwana Bay Lodge has felt the wrath of a couple of would-be guests who have cancelled their bookings in the mistaken belief that Slade owned the lodge, about 6km away.
Read: Racist Sodwana guest house owner unrepentant
Slade hit the headlines recently for refusing to book a Durban woman and her 12 cousins into his guest house in September, with an e-mail later stating the business did not accommodate “blacks or government employees any longer”.
On Wednesday, more than 1 000 ANC supporters marched on Slade’s establishment where they protested, while the new Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Sihle Zikalala, met local business people and the area’s traditional leaders to discuss Slade’s racist rants, including comments in the media.
The MEC also lodged criminal charges against Slade, who now also faces possible eviction.
The owner of the Sodwana Bay Lodge, Richard Scott, who has owned the business for 20 years, said on Wedensday night there had also been abusive telephone calls from people who had wrongly believed that Slade’s Sodwana Bay Guest House was the Sodwana Bay Lodge.
The ANC Youth League had sent out a WhatsApp message about Wednesday’s march.
“The message said the march was going to start at the Sodwana Bay Guest House, but said it would end at the Sodwana Bay Lodge,” Scott said. Although the message was later corrected, “the damage had been done”.
He believed Slade had been operating the guest house since 2007 while the Lodge was established 24 years ago.
Chairman of the Elephant Coast Community Tourism Organisation, Waldo van Schalkwyk, condemned Slade’s views and said it was unfortunate that innocent parties were now suffering.
“That’s very sad because that sort of thing affects tourism and leads to job losses,” said Van Schalkwyk on Wednesday.
“People need to understand where they are booking,” he added.
Van Schalkwyk said Slade had refused to join the Elephant Coast Community Tourism Organisation, which marketed the area around the world. The cost of that came from member businesses.
“He was invited to join but said he wanted to work outside the system. We have distanced ourselves from rogue operators. We are waiting for the full extent of the law to take its course.
“We have a country with a constitution and laws and we call on the system to enforce whatever it is going to do. This will also set a precedent. You can’t have people saying the type of things this man has been saying.”
On Wednesday an unrepentant Slade tried to explain to a group of journalists why blacks and whites were different.
He told them he was the king on Earth and that he and his partner, Katarina Kizani, had a crown on their heads while black people had none.
He has previously used the Bible to justify his views.
Chairman of the provincial House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi Phathisizwe Chiliza, expressed disgust at Slade’s utterances, saying it was wrong for black people to be degraded in their own land.
He told the Daily News that the House had convened a meeting on Wednesday where Slade’s racial remarks were discussed, and it was agreed he must he must be evicted from the property, which is on Ingonyama Trust land.
The trust administers land traditionally owned by the Zulu king for the benefit of the Zulu nation.
“It’s a great disappointment that to date we still have white people who behave like this. This shows that it’s going to be difficult to find a solution to this.
“At the meeting we applauded the KZN Economic Development and Tourism Department for its prompt action against this man and for all that he stands for.
“We unanimously agreed that the establishment must be closed down. This man must leave Ingonyama Trust land and go and stay with his family wherever he won’t have black people around him,” Chiliza said.
He said the department’s prompt action was all that was standing in the way of the community taking the law into its own hands.
“Sadly, white people with racist tendencies enjoy food prepared by black people. They wear clothes washed by black people and their homes are kept clean by black people, yet you have individuals like this man.
“We hope that the law will take its course and this man will be removed from that establishment to make way for, perhaps a recreational facility.”
Daily News