Cape Town - Observatory residents are the latest to take the City of Cape Town to task over their local public swimming pool, which has remained closed since 2019.
The residents say various reasons had been given for the pool’s protracted closure and that last year the ward councillor said tender processes to start the required work had been initiated.
However, almost a year later, they say no visible repair work was being done. They are now demanding the ward councillor and the City play open cards with them.
The Observatory swimming pool is one of the six the City said would not reopen for the 2022/23 season due to major repairs needed. Others include Eastridge, Elsies River, Emthonjeni, Morningstar, and Vulindlela.
A member of the Observatory Civic Association and the Observatory Pool Emergency Group, Janet Cronje, said they wanted to know the steps the City had taken to fix the pool and proof of the tender process for maintenance having been initiated.
She said they also demanded the City undertake to have the pool ready for the 2023/2024 summer season, which she said was not too much to ask after four years of closure.
“As residents of Observatory, we expect our councillor and the City to be honest, upfront and transparent with us.
“They must tell us what the issues are, what is being done to resolve the issues, and when we can expect the pool to reopen.
“The City’s game of hide and seek leaves a bad taste in our mouths, especially when we can be sure to foot increased rates bills without fail every year,” she said.
Community services and health mayoral committee member Patricia van der Ross said the swimming pool was closed due to infrastructural defects.
Van der Ross confirmed the procurement mechanism was being finalised, as she said appeals lodged have recently been concluded.
She said the close to 80-year-old pool needed major repairs, including the entire pool basin structure, circulation pipes and valves, and repair and replacement of components in the plant room and the pool deck.
Van der Ross said the work was scheduled to be completed in a phased approach over the coming financial years and that the duration of the repairs can only be determined once a contractor has been appointed.
She added the implementation of the swimming pool repairs and maintenance programme was dependent on the tender becoming active in the coming months and that the repairs and maintenance programme for all swimming pools was due to be implemented starting in the current 2022/2023 financial year.