Heritage sites in Nelson Mandela Bay are in a state of decay, plagued by vandals and vagrants.
The sites, meant to be tourism draw-cards for the city, have instead become deterrents, with operators choosing to either cancel or cut short some of their planned tours.
This is due to a lack of security and maintenance at some of the heritage facilities.
A report to the municipality’s economic development, tourism and agriculture department paints a gloomy picture of facilities that are being left to simply deteriorate.
The heritage department has a budget of R200,000 in the current financial year to maintain 18 tourism heritage buildings and facilities.
A Herald team visited several sites owned and managed by the city, and found that the fencing at some had been stripped and the general upkeep at many was poor, with the grass overgrown or trash strewn on the ground.
● The Emlotheni Memorial Park in New Brighton is surrounded by illegal dumping;
● There was a water leak at the Langa Massacre Memorial site;
● The Uitenhage Monument in front of the town hall, in remembrance of the men from the town who died in the two world wars no longer had barricades. Some parts are also covered in graffiti and there was trash around it;
● The three pools at the Springs resort are slimy and green. One of the swimming pools is filled to the brim with green water and the third pool has paint peeling off;
● At the Alms Bell in Bethelsdorp, the grass was overgrown, and there was graffiti on the walls and broken tiles on the bell tower. Vagrants were milling around;
● The Horse Memorial in Cape Road has recovered from the vandalism it suffered in 2015 but is surrounded by litter and the signage is unclear; and
● Fort Frederick in Central, while clean, is being used for sexual shenanigans, with a man and woman seen undressing as they walked towards it.
In a report to the portfolio committee, economic development, tourism and agriculture executive director Anele Qaba said the lack of security at most of the sites led to vandalism and the encroachment of vagrants.
He said the physical structures had not been maintained in a long time and there were no receptionists or gatekeepers to operate the facilities and welcome visitors.
“[There is a] lack of supporting basic infrastructure – at some facilities, there is no fencing, ablution [facilities], gates, etcetera.”
Qaba said there was no coordinated effort to manage the facilities by the city’s six departments – heritage, waste management, parks, cemetery, security and tourism – to ensure the resources were synchronised.
As a result, an interim task team comprising representatives of the six departments had been established to create synergy among them.
“The state of facilities can affect tourism,” he said.
“We had someone from the United Kingdom who was a potential investor looking at an investment here and he wanted to see the Horse Memorial.
“He came back and said the state of it was disgusting.
“If the facilities are not maintained and there are vagrants there, it shows the bad side of the city and it generally won’t be a good experience for tourists.”
Tour operator Lyn Haller, the operations manager at Umzantsi Afrika Tours, said several tours for tourists arriving on cruise ships had had to be cut short or cancelled.
Haller said she had been avoiding taking tourists on tours in the city centre since an incident in February when an Australian tourist was harassed by vagrants.
“This has been going on for many years. The fort is a big problem,” she said.
“I have been avoiding city tours, even although I used to love doing them, simply because of the situation in the city. There is no security around – the last time I did do a city tour it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
“You try to calm the situation down but you can’t because you yourself are not feeling safe and are traumatised.”
Haller said her business had been affected.
“A couple of tours were cancelled halfway through because of all the filth – the tourists asked to go back because of all the rubbish and filth and derelict buildings.
“Tourists didn’t pay to come and look at rubbish and derelict buildings and you can’t blame them,” she said.
“It’s imperative that we have security at these sites.
“We love this city and we love the diverse heritage, but now we are scared to go on township tours because there is no security.
“If we look at how many tours we have had to cancel because of the [closure of the] Red Location museum, we may have lost R10,000 a year – it’s not just about the colonial sites,” Haller said.
Nelson Mandela Bay heritage trust chair Grizel Hart said: “I believe tourists were disgusted with the way we treat our heritage sites and buildings.
“We have some areas that are looking good but some are looking shocking.
“It certainly isn’t putting PE out there as a heritage town.”
Hart said she was even more concerned as the 200year commemoration of the 1820 settlers in 2020 was fast approaching.
“We are expecting many people to come here next year to see their heritage and they are going to be absolutely shocked,” she said.
She said the municipality should keep all the cemeteries associated with heritage clean and green.
“The city should keep the 1820 cemetery clean and green.
“The Scottish Cemetery in St George’s Park is in a terrible state – all the big trees growing in the graveyard should be removed and all the thorn bushes should be cut away.”