Some residents in Randburg suburbs will need to get creative when coming up with ways to cool off as some public pools are still far from opening their gates.
The pools in Windsor West, Robin Hills, and Blairgowrie remain closed due to various concerns.
The Windsor West pool has been extensively vandalised – from the pumps to the bathrooms, and homeless persons and alleged drug users have made it their new home.
Ward 98 councillor Beverley Jacobs said that it is with great deception that the City of Johannesburg boasted about the state of readiness of swimming pools for the current swimming season.
“Many public swimming pools across the city are looking worse for wear and, unfortunately, the Windsor West swimming pool has not dodged the bullet of a dysfunctional administration.”
The pool matter was first brought to the attention of the Community Development Department in 2019. The security services that protected the facility were removed from the premises. That allowed the rapid decline of the facility as alleged drug users and homeless people started stripping the material for resale value.
“After much correspondence and visits to the facility, the city agreed to start fixing the facility and reinstate security personnel to protect the facility. The guardhouse was refurbished, electrical infrastructure restored and barbed wire fencing installed in 2021.”
However, the security personnel has once again been removed, the recently refurbished guardhouse broken into and in the process of being stripped.
Nthatisi Modingoane, the spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg, said that they acknowledge the current status of these swimming pools.
“These ageing pools face other challenges, including filtration system failures and damaged underground pipes. Despite planned repair and maintenance efforts in recent years, the scope of work has increased due to ageing infrastructure, budget constraints, and procedural hurdles.”
She added that the Windsor West Pool was closed due to pipe damage during repairs, vagrants stripped the pool and similar incidents occurred at Robin Hills Pool.
“Continuous load-shedding further strains filtration systems, affecting Blairgowrie and Linden pools.”
According to Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk, Robin Hills pool is closed because of the electric cable between the motor and switch gears and they are unable to fill the pool with water.
“We have a serious situation – this pool is used much by people in this area and Windsor residents also come here and now they’ve got nowhere to go.
“Blairgowrie pool is a huge mess, public toilets are dirty and are broken. The equipment in the pump room is falling apart and has to be held up with bricks. Thousands of bugs swim across the surface of the pool. It is nowhere near ready for swimmers.”
Modingoane said, “We recognise the frustration and inconvenience caused. The city is actively exploring options, collaborating with communities and partners to attract resources for sustained service delivery.”
She added that they understand the importance of public pools, and they encourage residents to use nearby facilities while they address the issues.
“Updates on the functional status of Robin Hills, Blairgowrie, and Windsor West pools will be shared once available.”
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