Public protector rules on nudist beach

Nudists in KwaZulu-Natal are due to lodge a fresh application for the designation of a nudist beach outside Margate‚ on the lower South Coast.

This comes after the public protector set aside‚ on technical grounds‚ the decision by the Ray Nkonyeni municipality (then known as Hibiscus Coast) to grant permission for a secluded section of the coast to be turned into a nudist beach.

In 2016‚ the municipality received both kudos and condemnation when it designated part of the Mpenjati Estuary as a nudist-friendly beach.

However‚ according to the public protector report‚ which will be formally issued on Wednesday‚ the Ray Nkonyeni municipality did not follow the proper procedure.

The public protector’s involvement came after a group of religious‚ traditional and conservative leaders — under the banner of the Concerned Citizens’ Group — held a series of protest marches against the municipality before lodging a formal complaint. Several public hearings were conducted.

In her report‚ the public protector set aside the granting of permission for a nude-friendly beach on the grounds that the council had not followed the proper process.