Durban - THE two prominent swimming pools on Durban’s beachfront are unlikely to be available for use this festive season as they undergo repair work.
The city revealed that it had started working on the popular Rachel Finlayson Pool and would soon start to fix the Children’s Amusement Centre paddling pool next to it.
The pools have been out of commission for some time.
The closure of the pools has come into sharp focus following the contamination and subsequent closure of beaches because high levels of E coli were detected in the water.
Some of the beaches have since been reopened because the E coli levels have dropped, but some remain closed. The uMhlanga beaches that reopened last week had to be closed again after tests showed a spike in E coli levels.
Opposition party councillors said it was shocking that attempts to fix the pools were only being made now.
Former politician Mbali Ntuli spelled out the impact of the closure of the pools, especially on children, saying this would spoil their year-end trips.
Dr Musa Gumede, the deputy city manager for Community and Emergency Services, said they would give an update on the fixing of the children’s paddling pool when all processes had been finalised.
He said fixing the Rachel Finlayson pool could some time.
“It has many challenges, including leaks.”
EThekwini mayor councillor Mxolisi Kaunda acknowledged the public’s frustration with the pool closures, adding that it was understandable.
“Now that we have appointed a contractor, we can get the pool up and running again. In addition, officials are also finalising the appointment of a contractor to repair the Children’s Amusement Centre pool, also at the beachfront.”
The city said across the municipality a further 22 pools were operational and urged people to consider using them.
DA councillor Yogis Govender said the city sewage crisis and pools issue had gone on for years and were not sudden emergencies.
“Many of these pools have been lying in a state of disuse since 2018/2019. No urgent remedial work was undertaken on any of the beachfront pools this year until the city started receiving a backlash from residents.
“This city was served with a dozen non-compliance notices and directives before the floods and dozens more post the floods. They had sufficient time to re-prioritise the budget to be holiday ready,” she said.
Democratic Liberal Congress councillor Patrick Pillay said it was unacceptable that the city failed to open the pools for summer and the festive season.
“The mayor, deputy mayor and the city’s executive committee must be held accountable for their inability to hold officials to account regarding the maintenance and repairs to these pools.”
He said the repairs were long overdue and the sad reality was that the appointment of contractors to conduct repairs should have been done many years ago.
Ntuli said on her Facebook page, “I wouldn’t recommend swimming in the sea in Durban during this festive season. I don’t care what the mayor says, he is welcome to swim in poo if he likes.
“Sadly it doesn’t seem like any of the pools along the beachfront are going to be ready either. The South Beach pools are gross, Blue Lagoon pools were also in a state the last time I saw them a few weeks ago.
“Bad for tourism. I’m so sorry for the kids who look forward to their annual Durban trip at the end of the year.”