“The committee has noted the public outcry that has been caused by this prejudicial act that goes against the Constitution of the country and democratic gains that allow every citizen of the country to have equal rights and access,” said Mapulane.
He said legislation bestowed ownership of coastal public property in the citizens of South Africa while the state remained the trustee of coastal public property on behalf of South Africans.
The National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act made it clear that “it is the duty of the State as the trustee to ensure that coastal public property is used, managed, protected, conserved, and enhanced in the interest of the whole community as opposed to only a few individuals or groups”.
No security company, therefore, had the right to remove people from a public beach.
“As the Portfolio Committee of Environmental Affairs we condemn this barbaric and racist act of the unlawful removal of beachgoers by the private security company purportedly acting on the instruction of the City of Cape Town,” the statement read.