PLANNING STARTS FOR FESTIVE SEASON

LAST week’s seasonal planning meeting was well attended by Ndlambe Municipality, the SAPS, emergency services, councillors and members of the public, but those present brought up the same issues as at all previous meetings.

The intention was to craft a plan for Port Alfred and Kenton-onSea for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Seafield and Boknes/Cannon Rocks would establish their own plans in a separate meeting.

The SAPS, headed by cluster commander Brigadier Morgan Govender, said there simply were not enough officers to enforce drinking laws, and that the SAPS would focus on preventing public violence, drinking and driving and other crimes such as housebreaking.

Govender also explained that his cluster now included areas further afield, such as Hamburg, and his force would therefore be more spread-out than in previous years.

As for public drinking, a hot topic every year, Govender said he did not have the manpower to arrest perpetrators, but that the SAPS would step in if such drinking led to crimes.

Deputy director of community protection services for Ndlambe, Fanie Fouche, was at pains to point out that this was not tacit permission for people to drink.

“As long as people do not infringe on the rights of others to enjoy themselves, and also do not break bottles and leave rubbish on the beaches, we have to accept that people will be drinking,” he said.

With an estimated 30 000 plus visitors to the area, specifically on New Year’s Eve and the following day, Fouche said ablution facilities, as well as access to the beaches, was a priority.

“Access to the beaches by emergency vehicles is a priority, so we are reintroducing the oneway system on our streets leading to the beaches in Port Alfred,” he said.

Tim Cockbain, of the Port Alfred Residents and Ratepayers Association, said that marshals were not adequately trained to cope with enforcing traffic rules.

In response, Fouche said training would be intensified this year.

The same went for lifeguards, who will be stationed at all swimming beaches in Port Alfred, as well as in Kenton.

The question of fences being installed at the traffic lights at the intersection of Causway and the R72 to prevent people crossing into the krantz area, which Fouche insisted was not a “drinking area”, was not accepted by some present.

The Ndlambe infrastructure directorate was not present to answer the question of whether the resurfacing of Beach Road would be completed before the holiday season, which would cause a dramatic change in the way West Beach and Kelly’s Beaches would be accessed.

Fouche also said anyone caught setting off fireworks without licences or other permission would be breaking the law and would be punished.

ANC councillor Stwiga Njibani asked why drinking rules were not imposed during the university boat races, but were at New Year’s. He questioned whether it was not racist.