WATCH: City promises Bellair pool will be open in time for holiday season
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said the city needed time to ensure both those working at, and those using, public pools would be safe.
WHILE some public pools in Durban fell into disrepair, due to problems with the supply of chemicals and reduced staffing due to lockdown regulations, the Bellair Pool was able to weather the difficulties.
Speaking about the appearance of the pool, Hillary resident, Gwen Clark said she has driven past the Bellair Pool a few times lately and it appears spotlessly clean and looks very inviting.
“I really want to start swimming early in the morning, so I decided to try and speak to anybody who might be present. I was fortunate enough to find the lifeguard on the premises and made enquiries as to when the pool could possibly be opening,” said Clark, who met with the Queensburgh News at the pool on the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 November.
However, the answer Clark received along with the reasoning left her unhappy.
“They said 1 December, subject to the provision of PPE equipment or chemicals,” she said.
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Unacceptable
“Now this is totally unacceptable to the rate payers of our suburb,” said Clark.
Commenting on the arguments earlier on this year, which were shared by councillors who looked into the condition of many of the city’s pools, Clark said she felt the excuses about there not being a supplier of the chemical needed to maintain the pools was preposterous.
“One must then also ask if we did not have this pandemic what would have happened? ” asked Clark. “Surely it would all have been budgeted for?”
Safety
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city needed time to ensure both those working at, and those using, public pools would be safe.
“The City is currently in the process of complying with the Covid-19 regulations to ensure the safety of the public and employees,” said Mayisela.
“The Aquatic Safety-Pools has since acquired the necessary Covid-19 PPE for employees, however, to have such equipment in a pool facility and be able to use it, two lifesavers are required to be present per shift as legislated by the Disaster Management Act,” said Mayisela explaining that the current staffing did not comply with this requirement since only one staffer was currently employed per shift.
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“We are currently in the process of engaging temporary staff to enable us to comply with legislation,” said Mayisela. “Pools will reopen before the December school holiday begins.”
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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At the time of publication, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
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