South coast tourism recovery 'hampered by water issues'
Hospitality association
Fedhasa's warned that tourism will suffer if the Ugu municipality fails to find
a solution to ongoing water supply headaches on the south coast.
It has blamed old infrastructure and burst pipes for the supply disruptions dragging on for years.
The group's Brett Tungay says they've received numerous complaints from hotels, resorts and restaurant owners.
He says post-pandemic recovery efforts in the industry are being hampered by water cuts.
"Tourism is one of the business pillars of the south coast and one of the biggest employers down there and it s a huge stress on the industry, Resorts, restaurants and hotels have to bring in bottled water, and water from other sources at a huge expense.
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"The tourism and hospitality industry have not had a good run over the last two years and these kind of stresses is very bad for business. That has a knock-on effect on employment in the rest of the south coast region."
The Department of Water and Sanitation's Kamo Mogotsi says they are trying to sort out these problems.
"There are a number of intervention projects, such as the addition of boreholes, and refurbishment and replacement of infrastructure installation which are underway and are aimed at restoring sufficient water supply. These projects are underway and are nearing completion."
