Closure of City swimming pools is clear indication of mismanagement – ANC
JOBURG – City's poor procurement processes leads to closure of public swimming pools in the city.
The ANC caucus in the City of Johannesburg described the closure of certain swimming pools in the city as a disservice to Johannesburg residents.
Earlier in the week, the City released a statement explaining that swimming pools at Eastbank in Alex, Florida Lake, Sydanham, Roodepoort and Davidsonville will be closed due to a shortage of pool chemicals.
“The procurement process for the chemicals is almost complete and should be concluded by the end of this week. The delays in the procurement process were caused by, among others, the open tender process on which the department embarked on to buy the pool chemicals,” read the statement from the City.
The ANC, however, sees this as a clear failure in administration. ANC’s convenor for community development in Johannesburg, Loyiso Masuku said, “The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) failure to manage the procurement process in purchasing pool chemicals is a clear indication of how this administration is unable to run the City of Johannesburg effectively. It is further evidence that the City is in dire financial strains.”
According to Masuku, an administration leading an economic hub such as the City of Johannesburg should at all costs avoid blundering on matters which lead to the residents of Johannesburg being deprived of services due to them.
“During the summer festive season, the use of swimming facilities is a priority to the people of Johannesburg and should be treated as such. Issues of procurement processes are issues that the DA-led administration should have under control at all times.”
Masuku also pointed out that the closure of the swimming facilities was a lack of foresight from the DA and is a gross disservice to affected residents. “As the ANC caucus we believe that this negligence by the DA is driven by the fact that the primary beneficiaries of community swimming facilities are children from disadvantaged communities who don’t have the luxury of private swimming pools at home and are of no consequence to the DA.”
Whilst this is regrettable as it deprives the residents of the affected areas access to the pools, the City would like to assure residents that this closure is done to ensure the health and safety of those who use the facilities.
