Nelson Mandela Bay’s prized Blue Flag beaches are under threat, with a municipal report warning that safety and security failures could ultimately cost the metro its internationally recognised status at key coastal sites.
Losing a Blue Flag status could lead to a decline in tourist arrivals, lower accommodation occupancy rates and significant revenue losses.
The report, tabled before council last week, painted a troubling picture of repeated security breaches at Kings and Hobie beaches, the metro’s most important beachfront attractions.
They have been targeted by vandalism and theft of late.
However, the damage is not isolated but recurring, forcing the city into a costly cycle of repair and replacement.
The Blue Flag programme is awarded only to beaches that meet strict environmental and management standards, emphasising user safety and the protection of facilities.
Any failure places accreditation at risk, regardless of performance in other categories, according to the report.
The criteria are based on four pillars of coastal management.
These are sound environmental management, environmental education initiatives, safety and security, and water quality standards.
The municipality has five beaches participating in the programme.
They are Kings Beach, Hobie Beach, Humewood Beach, Wells Estate Beach (pilot), and Bluewater Bay Beach (pilot).
Beaches in the pilot phase are given three years to identify and address any infrastructural and development requirements before being fully accepted.
The beaches are independently audited and must achieve a 4- or 5-star compliance rating.
An audit was done on January 7 for Hobie, Humewood and Kings beaches.
Issues flagged included:
- Basic general repairs, maintenance and infrastructure upgrades required;
- An additional beach wheelchair for the disabled at Kings Beach and Hobie Beach is needed;
- Additional lifeguard towers at beaches required;
- Lifeguard familiarity with disabled visitors and using a chair to be addressed’
- Regular thorough cleaning of beaches needed;
- Weekly small plastics cleanup needed to keep the beaches clean;
- Replacement of old signage; and
- Development of a dune management and protection plan.
All three beaches passed inspection and were found at the time to be compliant with the National Blue Flag standard minimum requirements.
However, the absence of security was identified as a thorny issue for Kings and Hobie.
“It was flagged as a threat that may result in the city losing its Blue Flag status for those beaches,” reads the report.
“The vandalism and theft of municipal infrastructure has escalated to such an extent that the city is required to repair or replace damaged infrastructure constantly.
“The lack of security at the two beaches may lead to the loss of the Blue Flag.”
The report was adopted at the meeting, and the municipality is expected to consider a series of recommendations to strengthen training, benchmarking and programme implementation, while also receiving regular updates on how security concerns are being addressed.
A budget of R63,166 is available for this.
Economic development, tourism and agriculture acting executive director Wandisile Makwabe said if the city did not maintain its facilities it would certainly lose out.
“We received a presentation from Glenn Pappin [regional representative] of Fedhasa [Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa] outlining the state of facilities and amenities, particularly along the beachfront, which are in a state of collapse and decline, affecting the look and affecting tourism in general.
“Some of these facilities actually have criminal elements, have vagrants and are vandalised and affected by them directly.
“An example would be Town Lodge being affected by Happy Valley.
“In response to that, we then directed the mayor and political head to direct the sport, recreation, arts and culture department to intervene immediately to stop that decline because the mandate rests with them.”
Makwabe said the budget had been found, but the one challenge the industry identified was the sport, recreation, arts and culture department’s reluctance to enter into public-private partnerships.
Makwabe said partnerships with the private sector were key because the municipality had limited budget and capacity.
“As an example, we asked for money from the Tourism Business Council of SA for tourism safety on the beachfront as a pilot project.
“We received that money, and we’ve asked the MBDA [Mandela Bay Development Agency] to assist, and they did.
“We’re training 30 tourism safety officers.
“We want to deter crime along the beachfront, and we can’t allow crime to deter the tourism industry.”
At the weekend, three children were seen clambering onto the roof of a locked, vandalised ablution block at Kings Beach while a nearby children’s pool lay abandoned and fenced off due to damage.
A Gelvandale couple, visiting with their child, said the area had deteriorated over the years.
“The skatepark was a good addition but it’s not maintained,” the father said.
“The jungle gym is falling apart.”
Another resident, a father from Kensington, said though he still felt relatively safe, the presence of unknown characters was unsettling.
“It’s not like before,” he said.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting kids roam freely here now.”
During a walkabout with Pappin, who is also the Humewood community policing forum interim chair, little visible policing was observed over two hours.
The area was also marred by litter, human waste and the stench of urine.
Long-time homeless person Thembekile Ngcala said theft, including cellphone snatching and car break-ins, was common.
“People come here to relax but crime is a problem,” he said.
Pappin said broken infrastructure needed to be repaired.
“We have Blue Flag beaches but for how much longer?,” he asked.
“Why should a resident of the Bay feel unsafe coming here to enjoy the facilities?
“Whether the municipality throws money into this or we do a private partnership, we have to get this area back to its heyday.”
He said people had been found living under the walkway of Hobie Beach.
“The smell of urine and faeces is evident.
“It is not hygienic.
“We had a lot of infrastructure stolen at the beachfront, specifically the solar lights that the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber geographical cluster had put up.”
He said Fedhasa had approached the Tourism Business Council of South Africa for funding.
“We started these negotiations in March 2025.
“We secured R3.2m.
“We are now training peace officers.
“They should be on the ground in the coming weeks.”
Ward 2 councillor Sean Tappan said he had received dozens of complaints about security at beaches.
Certain areas were dark at night as the lights did not work.
“There is one patrolling vehicle that is allocated to the Ward 2 beachfront for patrolling that I am aware of, but it also does Central and other areas when it is called out.
“This means that we do not have proper coverage along the beachfront.
“There is a lot of vandalism that takes place, lighting that is broken, aluminium railing, fencing, poles, anything that can be taken is taken.”
He said residents no longer felt safe to walk with their children.
“Businesses will obviously suffer from the lack of trade.
“Along the beachfront, roofs have been stripped, ablution facilities left in tatters.
“The whole Kings Beach park is totally vandalised.
“The small swimming pools cannot operate properly, even the pond in the front, the fountain cannot run properly, because those cables were taken.
“Usually, 60% of the crime that we experience is vandalism.
“It is from the homeless people living right from the harbour, and there is a whole bunch from the beacon to about Cape Recife.”
He welcomed efforts that led to the arrest of several suspects, including those captured on camera jumping over walls and stealing sliding doors.
He said losing Blue Flag status would not only be catastrophic for businesses in the area, but for the metro at large.
“It is a tourism attraction for Gqeberha.
“The Blue Flag status is critical for sporting events.”
He said turning the tide on safety and security would require a larger budget and more boots on the ground.
Summerstrand Neighbourhood Watch chair Ian Millar said crime stemmed from job losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“They have destroyed the area in terms of all the ablution facilities and all metal structures.”
Mandela Bay Accommodation Alliance chair Shena Wilmot said any compromise to a tourist attraction would have a noticeable ripple effect on the broader sector.
“Our city is far from its 2019 figures, where many other cities have surpassed those figures,” she said.
“Two of our biggest contributors to this are safety challenges and a lack of maintenance.
“When the two are put together at an attraction, it is devastating.
“Very sadly, in our city, there is a total disconnect between our municipality and tourism.
“This has contributed directly to the slow uptake in bed nights.
“Losing Blue Flag status would further weaken our recovery with tourist numbers.
“I think the biggest negative effect would be countless jobs lost in the industry.
“For a city dependent on the motor industry, we simply cannot afford to allow more industries to be compromised.”
Discover Mandela Bay project manager Shaun van Eck said the city’s biggest attraction was the beaches.
“In our tourism promotion, we speak about the beauty of our beaches, how long they stretch and so on,” Van Eck said.
He said the Blue Flag status was included on advertising material.
“It would be a step backwards if it had to be taken out of marketing.
“It would certainly be noticed if it happened.
“There would be questions as to why that happened.”
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
