Cape Town - Anglers upset about the state of beaches on the False Bay coastline targeted mayor Patricia de Lille, who was on a tour of False Bay on Sunday, to protest against the lack of safety, council neglect and run-down facilities.
De Lille was at Muizenberg, Strandfontein and Mnandi beaches on Sunday to promote the city’s beach safety campaign. On her second stop, in Strandfontein, she was greeted by a group of anglers who voiced their frustration about the dilapidated infrastructure and the fact that beaches along the False Bay coastline were not well maintained.
Many of them are recreational anglers who fish until the early hours of the morning.
The anglers said the coastline, stretching from Muizenberg to Gordon’s Bay, was not safe for them because there was an increase in robberies.
Some had been killed while fishing. In June, Alvin Allies, from Northpine, was gunned down in a botched robbery while he and a friend were fishing at Strandfontein in the early hours.
The anglers said many more had fallen victim to crime because not enough was being done about safety, especially at the designated recreational spots used for fishing.
Fisherman Peter John Breda, from Mitchells Plain, said about six months ago his vehicle was broken into while he was fishing.
“I park my car on the road and I must walk over a dune, and as soon as I got to the other side they broke into my car. They stole my battery,” Breda said.
He said such incidents happened on a regular basis.
Previously anglers had access to a parking area close to the fishing spots, but an access road, dubbed “Broken Road” because it was riddled with potholes, had since been closed due to its poor state. This had forced fishermen to use the general parking area at the pavilion.
Anglers are not allowed to fish near the bathing spot and have to walk about 200 to 500m from the pavilion to fish.
“If we go far away from our vehicles, they get broken into. We also get robbed and murdered. There have been murders of fishermen on the beaches. It’s all about safety; they (city) have got to protect us, my person and my property,” angler Andre Arendse said.
“I don’t want to ride on the dunes. Make it accessible. We want access that is going to be controlled. We don’t mind paying a fee if there is a guy that’s going to be looking after our vehicles.”
Fisherman Michael Stockenstroom said it was strange that the beach had been awarded Blue Flag status with its infrastructure in a poor state. “They’ve got infrastructure all the way down from Muizenberg which you can’t use because it’s vandalised and it has not been repaired in months,” Stockenstroom said.
“Go to Macassar and you’ll see the place is in a bad state.”
Beaches are awarded Blue Flag status for excellence in safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards.
In a brief discussion with the anglers, De Lille told them to put their complaints in writing and send them to her office.
“You can jump into the sea in protest. It won’t matter if it’s not in writing. If you have contacted people from the city who haven’t done their work, I want to know,” De Lille said.
She took exception to a poster about a story which said there was E.Coli at False Bay beaches and regarded it as “taking a political stance”.
She said the water had been tested on Saturday and it was safe for use.
“I didn’t come here to read banners. I came here to do my work. Whether a beach is Blue Flag, white flag or pink flag it doesn’t matter unless you put the matter in writing and send it to me,” De Lille said.
Cape Times