The annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade will finally get underway on Saturday 17 January after much mudslinging, blaming and arguments between the parties involved as well as the ruling party’s 103rd anniversary held in the City last week.

CEO of Cape Minstrel Carnival association, Kevin Momberg said they reached an agreement with the City, by Judge Kate O’Reegan that if the celebration day should fall on a Friday, which is a holy day for the Muslim community, then the event will take place on the Saturday.

“As well as with a Sunday the event would take place on the Monday. We prepared ourselves months ago to do the parade on the 3rd of January as well as submit all our necessary documents.

However, due to many unforeseen circumstances the matter was postponed and after discussions with the various role players namely the City the event could go ahead on Saturday the 17th of January 2015,” said Momberg.

However he explains that while everything has been sorted out and finalised for the event there would be less people attending the event due to the fact that many holiday makers has already made their way home.

Momberg said that it is a rather disappointing issue but hopes that things will run smooth at next year’s annual event however remaining optimistic that close to 40 perhaps 50 thousand spectators will gather at the event this year.

He went on to explain that spectators come out in their numbers to attend the event and that of those many line the streets nights before to get the best seats.

Momberg has vowed to stick to the annual parades date for next year and states that since they are in charge of their own marches they can start preparing well in advance, even if it means starting next month. VOC (Imogen Vollenhoven)