We hope that eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda’s doctor will keep a close eye on him after his publicity stunt on Thursday when he and other ANC apparatchiks swam at a Durban beach in an effort to declare the city “open for tourism” this festive season.
That’s because, in braving the DA challenge to swim in waters which are often polluted, the mayor may have ignored his own municipal warnings about the critically high levels of E.coli bacteria in the water.
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The bacteria can cause severe stomach illness which, in some young or vulnerable people, can lead to hospitalisation or even death.
The reason the E.coli is there is because the city’s waste treatment plants are not able to process sewage, which has been pumped into the sea for months.
Even as Kaunda was frolicking for the cameras, Durban residents were posting videos on social media of beach sand littered with everything from faeces to soiled nappies. If the mayor is turning a blind eye to this to encourage visitors, he is being reckless in the extreme, as people could get sick.
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And, if they do, what’s left of eThekwini’s tourist reputation will be flushed out to sea with the rest of the sewage.
