Beaches Beaches Everywhere

 

I am not really sure one can use beaches as a measure of how unequal our society is or how people are treated by a city that carries a very loudly proclaimed slogan as "The City that WORKS for YOU."

Before I get into the stuff that concerns me, some context.

I love my city. Cape Town will always be home. I live in an area that, on a good day, is fifteen minutes’ drive from the city centre. The nearest shopping mall is five minutes’ drive from home. Driving the wife to work is, on a good day, a seven to ten minute drive. The nearest beach is also at best a twenty minute drive and I have choices. So in the bigger scheme of things I am, I guess, privileged.

Over the last few weeks I've been out driving to places to take pictures. I did the south peninsula on one day and days later went a little further on the False Bay coast to Monwabisi, Macassar and the Strand.

Couple of days ago the wife and I went around the Deep South again and after a stop in Kalk Bay and Hout Bay, we ended up at Clifton's main beach just before sunset. The beach was very busy. It was beautiful there. No wind and a simply stunning sunset with families basking in what was no doubt a beautiful "day at the beach".

The pictures I took a few weeks back at Macassar and Monwabisi paint a very different picture from what I saw at Clifton. The deck chairs were been packed up and the volley ball nets were been taken down. One group of players were still playing on though. There are clearly lots of economic opportunities on the Atlantic beaches, maybe much more than on some of the False Bay coast beaches. There was once a pavilion at Macassar. It is gone. Locals say it was systematically “taken” and dismantled by “the people”. There are remnants of a pavilion at Monwabisi. Much of it has been destroyed by the weather and the South Easter has covered much of it in sand. The question is why. As much as the Atlantic seaboard and the False Bay coast all fall within the City of Cape Town's area of control, the differences are stark. 

What's left of the the life savers containers at Macassar

Monwabisi under the sand 

Why has some of the False Bay coast been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair and complete neglect while the Atlantic Seaboard is always seemingly well maintained and looked after.

In 2021 Blue Flag status was awarded to ten beaches around the Cape Town Coast. "Beaches that received Blue Flag status are Bikini Beach, Camp’s Bay, Clifton fourth beach, Fish Hoek, Llandudno, Melkbosstrand, Mnandi, Muizenberg, Strandfontein and Silwerstroom". Some of those on the False Bay coast are most notably close wealthier SLM suburbs.

I did NOT speak to the family on Clifton beach. Maybe I should have. I would also like to know what is required for a group of people to play sports on a beach. This could so easily be set up on Macassar if it is so easy to set up on Clifton.

A few days ago Cape Town experienced one of the hottest days of the season. The temperatures peaked at close to thirty seven degrees in the shade. Thousands flocked to the beaches around the peninsula. In scenes that have played out many times before, thousands converged on one particular site, the Sea Point swimming pools. A video showing masses of people waiting to get in did the rounds. Again, curiosity got the better of us and we decided to go see for ourselves, albeit the next day. There were no crowds. The barricades were still up and strict control measures were still in place for crowd control. I chatted to a security guard who gave us a version of what happened.

The capacity at the Sea Point Pavilion is a thousand people. That capacity was reached by 5am that morning as there were guards on duty to control the crowd from midnight already. There were people that had “set up camp” the night before to ensure they got in. During the course of the day there were three moments one could call flash points, the most serious when a old lady in a wheel chair was nearly crushed against the barricades. Fast action on the part of security prevented a tragedy.  Once capacity was reached no one would be allowed in unless a group of fifteen left to create space.

The questions abound. This is not the first time for this to happen and it will not be the last. The biggest question in my mind is why put yourself and your family through that level of inconvenience just to get to a swimming pool. After all, the “city that works for you” should be able to provide suitable amenities in every community, even the ones like Atlantis, Strand and as far as Malmesbury. Why will a mass of people converge on what is known and rated as one the best of its kind in the world, just to get into a swimming pool.

Well one can go and give the simple answer and say it’s because they do not have the facilities where they live. And it could well be true. However what is very clear to me is that there remains a huge gap between those that have and those that do not. And as long as that gap is there, those that do not have will go to any length to get what they believe is rightfully theirs, even if it’s just to get into a swimming pool. And yes. I do believe the beaches around Cape Town is a perfect metaphor to reflect the inequality in our society. Question is how do we bridge that gap and build equitable communities where people do not have to queue from ungodly hours of the morning for primary healthcare, old age pensions and to get into swimming pools for a fun day in the sun.

I wish I had the answer.