Jeffreys Bay and other disgruntled Kouga residents are marching on Friday this week to the Kouga Municipality to hand over a petition detailing their complaints on service delivery and other related grievances.
March organisers have invited all other Kouga residents to join them on the ‘March for 100 Reasons’ that starts at 8 am at the Billabong Village on 6 February.
This march follows complete dissatisfaction by residents following the three-day black out in their town during this past festive season. A power line went down on the Saturday morning before Christmas Day causing a major power failure in JBay. Media reports said shops and businesses had to close doors and millions of Rands were estimated lost when visitors packed up and went to other towns to spend their holidays.
“We as proud residents of this beautiful town that we all came to love so much, will stand up and be counted during this march to show the KM that we are serious and that we have had enough,” one of the march orgnaisers, Gerhardt Fouche says. “We will also show the world that we will not sit back and accept this substandard service delivery that severely affects the tourism of this region.”
Fouche also said in a statement to the media that last year Jeffreys Bay re-established itself as one of the top surfing spots in the world and the town’s Winterfest in 2014 also established itself as one of country’s premier sporting and music events. But he said this last festive season saw many facets of the Jeffreys Bay infrastructure not being maintained and service delivery “spiralling downwards at an alarming rate”.
”As if the Eskom load shedding was not enough, with impromptu disconnections and no schedules available for JBay, other aspects affecting roads and bridge infra-structure then started showing signs of collapse.”
It was also widely reported in the media that retailers and restaurants reported dismal trading during the lengthy power failure, plus petrol stations ran out of diesel when business people with generators tried to keep their doors open for trading, There were also reports of sewerage spills onto two central beaches and also at Paradise Beach owing to pump stations not functioning.
Fouche said residents should participate in the march as “we will no longer sit and talk, now is the time to walk the talk.”
Nigel Aitken of the St Francis Bay Residents’ Association says the association is not organising a march from St Francis Bay but St Francis residents are welcome to join the march in Jeffreys Bay if they wish.
Fouche said those wanting to march need to make a banner and email their reasons they have issues with to km@jeffreysbayonline.co.za to be added to the ‘100 reasons’.
Programme, 6 Feb:
8 am Gates open at Bottom of Diaz St, 8:05
8.05 – 8.45 am: Signing of Petition.
8:45 am Welcome and Briefing
9 am March starts from Billabong Village
9.30 am Set up around Kouga Mun Entrance
9:45 am : Hand over of Petition to Koerat
Info: Gerhardt Fouche 082 464 309; Garth Ford: 078 234 9791
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