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The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) has awarded Blue Flag status to eight popular Cape Town beaches for this summer season, with two others awarded pilot Blue Flag status.

Bikini Beach, Camps Bay, Clifton 4th Beach, Fish Hoek, Llandudno, Melkbosstrand, Muizenberg and Silwerstroom are the beaches that will fly their Blue Flags high this season. Pilot blue flag status was awarded to Mnandi and Strandfontein.

WESSA evaluates each beach with a rigorous 33-point checklist across four essential categories to award the prestigious Blue Flag status. These categories include: Environmental Education and Awareness; Water Quality; Environmental Management; and Safety and Services.

Among the criteria are universal access, effective waste management, availability of interpretive signage and control of domestic animals, e.g. dogs on beaches. Only beaches meeting these high standards earn the coveted Blue Flag recognition.

Mayco member for community services and health Patricia Van der Ross says this is a wonderful achievement for the Recreation and Parks Department, as well as Cape Town as a whole.

“As we wade deeper into the summer season, our beaches and recreational facilities will be bustling with residents and visitors. A lot of hard work continues behind the scenes to ensure that we are summer ready, and that residents and visitors alike will enjoy our world class amenities and facilities.

“Details of our lifeguard deployments and general summer safety plans will be made public in the coming weeks, as we count down to the start of the festive season, and this Blue Flag announcement is a most welcome boost,” says Van der Ross.

The Blue Flag season kicks off on Friday, 1 December, and will run through Wednesday, 31 January across all accredited beaches.

However, at Camps Bay and Muizenberg, the season will extend until the end of March next year, giving beachgoers even more time to enjoy these pristine shores.

Just remember, too, that South Africa is a country of diverse people, which means there are multiple ways of having fun. And while I am not an advocate of causing environmental stress just to have a party, comments comparing Clifton parties to the ghetto can get lost.

Earlier this month, videos of a huge crowd jolling on Camps Bay and Clifton’s 4th Beach went viral on social media. They appear to be students partying hard ahead of their final exams, which irked local residents, who complained about the “noise” and the “decline of property values”.

Some even jumped the gun and claimed that the world-famous beaches were being turned into a “ghetto” and likened it to Durban’s South Beach.

Then the former DA MP Phumzile Van Damme chimed in, reminding us all that the beaches belong to everyone and if there are no laws broken, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

LMAO. Some people just hate to see black people having fun. Those are PUBLIC beaches. Go buy you a house with a private beach. You do not own Camps Bay and Clifton beaches, South Africa does. Rest. https://t.co/EDwfNPaVcL

— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) October 26, 2024

Eish, some tolerance would be nice. There is a time and place for everyone.

[source:news24]