THE sorry saga of Durban’s Rachel Finlayson Pool was exposed once again theis week when a DA delegation of councillors inspected the pool and addressed the media on their findings.
DA eThekwini Caucus Leader Councillor Nicole Graham, EXCO Councillor Yogiswarie Govender and Community Services Whip Councillor Mmabatho Tembe, described the municipal pool facility as being in a ‘disgraceful’ state.
In August, the pool, which was reopened in January after being closed for a number of years, came under the spotlight after Graham raised questions as to why contractors were not being held responsible for their workmanship after the city was forced to close the pool again for repairs. On Monday, addressing the media at the pool which is still closed to the public, Graham said the pool was barely even usable regardless of the R8 million injection into the rehabilitation of the pool. She said R8 million, double the expected amount for the initial contract in 2015 which was R4.2 million, had gone to waste at the expense of ratepayers as the pool is nowhere close to being usable again.
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Graham said she had visited the pool in August, to meet with officials to discuss the problems at the facility. She was informed that the pool had a leak and a broken filtration pipe, but officials were reluctant to say who was at fault or what caused the problem.
At the time, Graham said she was recommending that the matter be investigated to see if the fault lay with the contractor and whether costs could be recovered. She said she felt the contractor had a degree of liability to what happens at the pool, and that the matter should be investigated by the Architecture Department who managed the project.
However, on Monday, Graham said asking, negotiating, talking and waiting was not working, and she felt something more needed to be done to get action.
“It makes one sick to think that people are paid public money to do this kind of work, and that a contractor has made millions off of this. We are laying charges with the Public Protector, as well as the National and Provincial Departments of Cogta about this mess. We are also going to be requesting a full investigation into the matter by the city’s Integrity and Investigation Unit,” she said.
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