HARTBEESPOORT - Businesses around Hartbeespoort Dam have said the water hyacinth infestation is taking a heavy toll on tourism and their livelihoods.
Business owner Suzette Pretorius said despite ongoing clean-up efforts, the invasive plant keeps returning, leaving many wondering if there will ever be a long-lasting solution to the problem.
"We don't make money, but we have to clean the dam. So where do we get the money to clean the dam if we don't get people there? When they come in the morning, it's clean. Two o'clock, three o'clock in the afternoon, the hyacinth's coming in.
“This one is in the winter, and now, in August, it's growing time. Hyacinths come up again in December. There will be lots of them. We're going to sit with the same story.
“And to put on goggas, it doesn't help. Just spraying it with something doesn't help. Because it's going down, and it's, I don't know what you call it, slick. And it comes, it grows again. We sit with the same story," she said.