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CXPRESS
NEWS & VIEWS
2 December 2020
Blue Flags abound in and around the bay as Plett retains its eight-strong status Plettenberg Bay is bathed in blue once more after dominating this year’s national Blue Flag awards, with six of the coastal holiday town’s beaches receiving this esteemed stamp of approval last week - YOLANDÉ STANDER reports NCE again Plettenberg Bay not only boasts the second-most Blue Flag beaches in the Western Cape, but also scaled the podium’s second step when tallying the totals countrywide. The town went head-tohead with some of South Africa’s biggest coastal areas and was only edged out of the lead by major city centre Cape Town, which managed to secure 10 sites. Bitou tied for second with Hessequa, which also received six Blue Flag awards. Plett also outshone other major coastal centres including Nelson Mandela Bay, which only managed three Blue Flag sites and Kwazulu-Natal’s Ray Nkonyeni, which received five awards. Plett’s Blue Flag beaches
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BEST OF THE BLUES: Robberg 5 Beach is the stalwart of Plett’s Blue Flag recipients, 2020 being the 12th consecutive year for it to receive this coveted international stamp of approval Photo: Yolandé Stander
this year include for the 12th consecutive time Robberg 5; for a 10th time Keurboomstrand, for the ninth year Nature’s Valley; for a seventh time Lookout Beach; for a fifth year The Dunes, and Singing Kettle Beach for a fourth consecutive year. Local operator Offshore Adventures added to the awards after both their vessels, Robberg Express and Oceanic Express, received Blue Flag accreditation. This comes after Plettenberg Bay, after its 11th nomination, won a World Travel Awards title as Africa’s leading beach destination last month. This year none of Knysna’s beaches received Blue Flag status; Brenton-onSea was the only beach
with this approval last year. Thesen Islands, however, received two Blue Flags in the marina category. The only other Garden Route town that managed to obtain Blue Flag status for some of its beaches was Mossel Bay, which now has five Blue Flag beaches. • The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), declaring that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meet its standards. The Blue Flag trademark is owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries. For additional information, visit www. blueflag.global.
Bitou mayor and senior municipal officials quick to visit victims of Qolweni fire N the afternoon of Monday November 30, Bitou Municipality released a statement to announce that, around 2:45am that morning, a fire was reported to have razed a section of Qolweni, leaving 24 shacks burnt to the ground. “About 33 families were affected by the fire,” ac-
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cording to the statement, which claimed that details pertaining to the cause of the blaze were not clear at that stage. “It is alleged, however, that it could have been an accident.” Bitou mayor Peter Lobese, accompanied by councillor Xola Matyila the ward councillor for the
affected area - addressed the victims of the fire at 8:30am on Monday. Senior officials from various departments were also present at the meeting. Material to rebuild some of the shacks was said to be available and would be issued with immediate effect to accommodate sev-
eral of the families. A plan also outlined how Bitou Municipality would assist affected residents in the interim. “Some fire victims will be accommodated in the temporary relocation area (TRA) on Minaar Land to avoid placing families in halls due to Covid-19. Res-
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idents temporarily housed in the TRA will have to be beneficiaries of the Qolweni 169 project.” The mayor promised to engage the Home Affairs department to deal with the loss of identity documents and birth certificates, and said that school uniforms would be provid-
ed to affected scholars by the municipality. The statement concluded that the community members were very pleased with the prompt intervention of the mayor and his team of officials. • Visit the gallery at www. cxpress.co.za to view more images of the devastation.
