Kouga’s ‘hands tied’ on St Francis erosion

Municipality lacks funds to tackle encroaching disaster

THERE is nothing the Kouga Municipality can do to fix the St Francis Bay coastline, which is eroding by more than a metre a year, it says. This is despite a report commissioned by the municipality and compiled by beach erosion experts being handed to the municipality two years ago.

The erosion has caused sections of road just metres from the houses and an entire section of the beach parking area to collapse into the sea.

Suggested solutions in the report by Worley Parsons include beach nourishment, sandspit (a small sandy point of land or narrow shoal that projects into the sea) protection, offshore breakwaters, and the installation of groynes (artificial structures that prevent the sand from washing out to sea), with costs varying between R22-million and R140.4-million.

But municipal spokeswoman Laura-Leigh Randall said while they understood the urgency of the erosion issue, their hands were tied as they did not have the money to deal with it.

“What is happening at St Francis is not an isolated incident,” Randall said.

“It is also happening elsewhere in South Africa and the world. It is linked to global warming, rising sea levels and developments that took place at a time when there was limited understanding of the impact coastal developments have on the environment.

“There is no easy, cheap or guaranteed permanent solution to the problem.”

Randall said that while the council would like to tackle the problem, it could not divert funding from its core servicedelivery mandates to do so.

St Francis Bay Residents’ Association chairman Wayne Furphy said the residents were frustrated.

“We are disappointed at the lack of progress the municipality has made [regarding] the coastal disaster we are facing.

“The council is obligated to deal with this disaster in a responsible and timely manner,” he said.

But Randall denied that no action had been taken to fix the problem, saying people were divided on how to deal with it.

“There are various role-players involved, including private property owners and other sector departments such as Environmental Affairs, and there is disagreement as to their respective roles and responsibilities.”

She said the report had been tabled in November and a task team was established to study it and advise the council.

DA Ward 12 councillor Ben Rheeder said he had begged Kouga mayor Daphne Kettledas and municipal manager Sidney Fadi to take action and guide the council on what should be done about the erosion, but they had ignored his suggestions.

“The report said we lose 1m to 1.2m of our beach every year,” Rheeder said.

“In October, we had to beg them [municipality] to put drums in the parking space at the Anne Avenue beach entrance because it was collapsing into the sea.”

He claimed the council kept shelving the report and avoided discussing it.

“The beach is a critical element in attracting holiday-makers.

“The gross deteriorating spit/dune near the Kromme River mouth safeguards the total canal system [where homes cost up to R20-million],” Rheeder said.

Furphy said: “St Francis Bay contributes some 25% of all rates paid to the Kouga Municipality, and as such expects to be given the services it pays for.

“The residents’ association is endeavouring to work with them to deal with these issues, but there needs to be intent to do so by both parties.”

Furphy said the residents’ association had collected R400 000 for an environmental impact assessment on the beach by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.