Durban residents appalled by condition of pools
The municipality has pleaded with the public to bear with them as the City's Parks Department is operating with reduced staff to comply with lockdown regulations.
RESIDENTS who use Westville Swimming Pools regularly have complained about the appalling state of the pools.
Regular swimmer, Shawn O’Neill, said he is shocked by the deteriorating condition of the pools.
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“We understand that no one is using the pools because of lockdown regulations but I still believe that someone should be maintaining the place and not leave it to deteriorate. I have not seen activity around the pools since the shutdown,” he said.
Shawn said this neglect will have an effect on the ratepayers whose money will be used to fix the damages and restore the pool.
He also pointed out that he hopes they can go back to swimming soon, as for some of them, swimming is the only way for them to keep active.
“For me personally, I swim because of health-related issues but most importantly, I am worried about the infrastructure and the dropping water levels,” he said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesman, Msawakhe Mayisela, pleaded with the public to bear with them as the City’s Parks Department is operating with reduced staff complement during lockdown.
“This is a very abnormal situation that we are faced with and we, as a City, are doing our utmost best under the lockdown regulations that restricts the number of employees in the workplace,” he said.
Mayisela said the municipality is pulling all the stops to ensure that essential services are not compromised.
“Priority will be given to the maintenance of parks, verges, public roads islands and caring for the wildlife in all our facilities.
“The cleaning of public facilities, community halls, swimming pools, the beach and propagation of plants at the nurseries and pruning of trees overhanging or blocking roads is also being attended to.”
He added that due to the shortage of staff, bush clearing, general pruning of trees and stream-cleaning will be carried out once the department has cleared the backlogs caused by the lockdown.
For queries, residents can contact district managers at their nearest depots or contact the department on 031 322 4000.
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