Disabled first for Jeffreys Bay beach

PHOTO CAPTION: Jakkie Pieters, chairman of the Eastern Cape Provincial Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities, his assistant Sonnyboy Mahlangu and Kouga waste and environmental manager Gcobisa Dadamasi visit the new deck at Dolphin Beach.

 Disabled first for Jeffreys Bay beach

JEFFREYS Bay will be rolling out the red carpet for disabled visitors to its main beach this festive season.

A disabled-friendly ramp and deck, believed to be a first for South Africa, were completed at Dolphin Beach just ahead of International Day of the Disabled, celebrated on December 3.

Kouga Executive Mayor Booi Koerat said the facility would be officially opened on December 7 as part of the municipality’s Blue Flag celebrations. Dolphin Beach was recently awarded Blue Flag status for the ninth consecutive year.

Koerat said the ramp and deck had been built at a cost of some R85 000 through the municipality’s partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Working for the Coast programme and the local branch of the Association for the Physically Disabled (APD).

“The aim was to give people in wheelchairs access to the beach without them having to depend on others to get there,” he said. “The deck is just above beach-level, so they can relax there with their family and friends right next to them on the beach. There is also a short ramp from the deck that leads directly to the sand.”

Jakkie Pieters, chairman of the Eastern Cape Provincial Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities, said that while there were other South African beaches with disabled facilities, none offered wheelchair-users the independence that the ramp and deck at Jeffreys Bay did.

“It is the independence it offers to the disabled that makes it special. It is an excellent illustration of the theme for this year’s International Day for the Disabled – Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all,” he said.

The official opening ceremony will take place at 11am on Friday, December 7, at Dolphin Beach. The ceremony will be preceded by a half-marathon and fun run from the Fountains Mall to Dolphin Beach at 8am.