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South Africa: Pollution Claims Stir Up the Blue Waters Around Durban
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
David Christianson
Johannesburg
Although Durban's tourism numbers wobbled over the Easter weekend, it seems the issue of faecal contamination of the beaches had not yet affected the industry.
Four of Durban's six main beaches had their "Blue Flag" status withdrawn last week. Blue Flag is an international programme, originating in Denmark, which in effect certifies beaches that comply with 14 health, safety and comfort criteria, including water quality.
Durban's tourism industry expects to easily survive the economic downturn as domestic tourists turn to the KwaZulu-Natal coast in preference to more distant locations.
But pollution threatens that game plan.
In a furious attack on the local management of the Blue Flag programme, Durban City manager Mike Sutcliffe yesterday insisted that "our beaches remain the cleanest and safest ... in our country".
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He said Blue Flag manager Alison Kelly was "involved with some oppositional groups who have their own agendas to portray our city poorly. Kelly thinks the developing world must have different standards applied to our beaches." Sutcliffe accused Kelly of "double standards" and said he had written to Blue Flag "to request that she be removed".
A series of scientific reports have identified water contamination around Durban over the past three months. Last month, a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research report concluded that raw sewage spills were the cause of two instances of fish deaths in Durban harbour during the Christmas season.
The city refused to release a second report it had commissioned. However, another -- part of a project by scientist Mark Graham -- described some of the most polluted rivers in the city as "open sewers".
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