Durban - Intervention by the provincial government has delayed a decision on whether to approve the country’s first official naturist beach on the South Coast.
A decision on Mpenjati Beach was expected to be announced at Tuesday’s Hibiscus Coast council meeting, but instead interested parties heard that there would be further delays.
A recent e-mail from Siphokazi Jikela, the senior manager at the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, asked the Hibiscus Coast Municipality to supply all documents relating to the naturist beach.
“We request your good office to provide us with the relevant information in relation thereto, for example: What was the basis for approving the application for the nudist beach? Was there an amendment to a specific by-law? If so, was the by-law published for public comment?” said the e-mail.
It also requested documents on public objections and the council’s responses to them.
The department is preparing a cabinet memorandum about the beach.
Hibiscus Coast mayor Cynthia Mqwebu said the municipality would wait to see what the province was going to say. The department had been sent all the documents.
She confirmed that Mpenjati would be the first official naturist beach in the country, but said the decision to approve the 500m stretch was motivated by a desire to uphold the constitution and not discriminate against people on the basis of their beliefs.
“The area was used by naturists for more than 10 years before we received their application. We never received any complaints… There was no reason not to approve it.”
Municipal manager Max Mbili said this was not the first time the province had shown interest in the beach, as the KZN legislature’s economic development and tourism portfolio committee had visited it last month. It is said to be investigating the project’s potential to attract tourists to the province.
A group of pastors and other community groups, under the umbrella of the Concerned Citizens of Hibiscus Coast Municipality, have threatened to complain to the public protector if the municipality upholds its resolution to make the beach official.
“We welcome the provincial government’s intervention and we are eager to find out how the municipality is going to explain how they handled objections or how they allowed nudists to use the beach when the amended by-law hasn’t even been gazetted,” said the chairman, the Reverend Mike Effanga.
Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesman Lennox Mabaso would not divulge any information on the nudist beach at this stage.
The Mercury