Cape Town – The City wants to charge Mangoyi Mgoqi R2 100 for a permit to erect a bench honouring her heroic father Silumko Solomon “Solly” Mgoqi, who drowned while rescuing a 5-year-old girl in Camps Bay last year.
The child survived but Mgoqi, 60, a teacher for over 20 years, drowned at Maidens Cove on January 4.
The Khayelitsha resident had been playing with his grandchildren on the beach when he saw a child who appeared to be drowning, and rushed to her rescue.
Mangoyi said: “This has been a frustrating process because I have been emailing and emailing and nobody responds. When someone eventually responded it was nothing useful, just another dead end.
“I initially made contact with the City in July, after I saw one of these benches while driving and thought that this would be the perfect way to remember my father. I wanted to do something lasting for him.
“Over a year, and there has been no communication and no direction.
I feel like I’ve got my back against the wall.”
The City said Mgoqi’s initial request was processed by the recreation and parks department, which had evaluated it based on location, cost and City approval.
“At the time, the desired location fell within the road reserve which unfortunately is outside of our jurisdiction,” said Mayco member for community services and health, Zahid Badroodien.
The City said there was a grass area along Camps Bay Beach under management of recreation and parks, where a memorial bench could be erected and that Mgoqi could apply.
“Memorial benches have recently grown in popularity along the coast, and many families have been successful in erecting memorial benches for their loved ones.
"This has been at their own expense, in consultation with the City for all of the relevant approvals (including size, signage, location, materials, maintenance and care, etc).
“It is also important to note that a permit must be obtained for installation of a memorial bench. The permit costs R2100.”
Mgoqi said she was disappointed that she had to go to the media to get assistance. “It has taken me a year just to get that answer.”