Residents band together for tourism

MARGATE residents, along with the municipality, organisations and the police, are working hard to make it the cleanest and most attractive small town – not only in KwaZulu-Natal, but in South Africa at large.

And while there were challenges a few years ago, Margate is slowly recovering its image as KZN’s hidden treasure where people can have an enjoyable stay.

That is the message from Jo-Anne Wentzel, chairperson of the Margate Business Association, who says she will not swap Margate for any town in KZN, let alone South Africa.

She is one of the many locals who have been working tirelessly at sprucing up the image of their town.

Others behind the effort of luring tourists include the local police, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, local businesses and individual residents.

The end result is a town that does not only look clean, but is safe for both motorists and pedestrians.

“When you see senior citizens walking around freely without any sense of fear, that is a sign that we must be doing something right, and that is the way we would like to keep things here,” said Wentzel, who is also a member of the Margate CBD Community Policing Forum, speaking of the lack of crime.

The sentiment was echoed by Surina Smuts, vice chairperson of the Margate Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, who added that the beauty of Margate lay in the sense of ownership of the town by its residents, and the collective desire to see it thrive.

“It is not a question of if we become the best town, but is a matter of when we are declared the best in the country,” she confidently told The Mercury.

Stephen Herbst, a local entrepreneur, said the special feature of Margate was its people, who would do just about anything to protect the image of their town.

Although born in Johannesburg, Herbst, who arrived in Margate in 1991, regards the town as his place of birth.

A self-confessed travel enthusiast who has visited places as varied as Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape to the Kruger National Park and Walvis Bay, he readily admits that of all towns he has visited across the country over the years, Margate ranks among the best.

“Just wait and see what projects we have in the making because in the coming weeks and months this town will be much livelier,” he said.

Herbst believes that the pandemic gave them sufficient time to relook at how they had packaged the town in the past, and how this could be improved.

Also maintaining the peaceful environment along the town’s beachfront are officers from the municipal policing command centre on Margate Beach.