Durban - It was another sleepless night for Durban residents on Saturday, when the city’s Moses Mabhida Stadium played host to the Impucuzeko Maskandi Festival.
Now in its fifth year, the festival - dubbed the “World Cup” of Maskandi - was supported by provincial and local government this year and the 2016 line-up featured stars like Phuzekhemisi, Thokozani Langa and Amagezamahle.
It was supposed to finish at 10pm, but loud music and revelry continued into the early hours, raising the ire of Morningside residents. They vented their frustrations on the Facebook page Everything Morningside Durban.
At 11.33pm, Innes Road’s Kirstin Mondahl-Thomas wrote: “Still the music persists. Just had the police removing 8 drunk men from having a party outside our house in their taxi registered to Gauteng. A woman and 2 young children in the van. Peeing all over garage doors and running in front of cars in the road with their beer bottles in hand. Events like this are bringing bad things to our town (sic).”
Later, Nicola Stacey Jackson wrote of the music: “It’s still playing now at 3.31am and it’s louder than ever.”.
Graeme Harris wrote: “Second weekend in a row”.
Last week The Mercury reported that late-night Vodacom Durban July parties went on for four days and left residents and business owners irate.
Ward councillor Martin Meyer received complaints from residents on Saturday night and said the problem had been widespread. Last week he expressed frustration at having tried several times to get the city to deal with noise complaints in his area. He said he would take up the matter again on Monday.
City spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa told The Mercury on Sunday the city was not aware of this weekend’s issue but would investigate. “The metro police will be tasked to investigate the complaint and serve contravention notices, if deemed necessary,” she said.
She encouraged the public to promptly report noise pollution when it took place so police could intervene and cited the Nuisances and Behaviour in Public Spaces By-law of 2005, which states: “No person may permit noise or sound from a private residence or business premises in his or her control to be audible to users outside of such premises to such an extent that it reasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment by an owner or occupier of his or her property.”
This excluded “places of entertainment as defined in the planning scheme on zoned premises where noise or sound is normally associated with the normal use of such place and in accordance with the conditions of authorisation of that business”.
It goes on to prohibit the “disturbance or impairment of the convenience or peace of any person” between 9.30am and 7am from Sunday to Thursday, and between midnight and 8am from Friday to Saturday. Mthethwa said there were strict penalties.
*By-law non-compliance can be reported to 031 361 0000.
*The Mercury could not reach the organisers of the event for comment on Sunday.
The mercury