Ward 23 Clr visits Atlasville Swimming Pool to inspect facility

Community members of Atlasville are not closer to finding out when their community pool will reopen.

This transpired during an oversight visit by the DA’s Ward 23 Clr Gerald Goslin on November 14. He went there to inspect the facility and find reasons the pool has remained closed despite announcements that it will open on November 1.

The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) boasts 37 swimming pools, and they had in August promised that out of this total, it would reopen 18 community pools on September 1.

However, some pools remained closed for various reasons, including delayed appointments of lifeguards, general maintenance, poor water quality and damaged equipment.

CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini previously blamed this on budgetary problems and ageing equipment that has reached the end of its lifespan, making it hard to keep the pools operational.

According to Goslin, the city is not giving feedback regarding the pool in his ward.

“Yet again, we were greeted with a closed gate and a notice saying the pool would not be open. This pool was supposed to open on November 1,” said Goslin.

He said part of the issue is the city has not taken care of its amenities, stating the departments responsible for the maintenance were not coming to the party.

“The department of sport, recreation, arts and culture are stakeholders in the maintenance of the pool. We are waiting for them to say that this is what we are going to bring forward. The grass has not been cut and there are broken windows. None of the small things that can be taken care of have been done.

“We as the DA will drive this issue to ensure that the city keeps its promises,” said Goslin.

Besides being green, because of the rainy weather, the pool itself was in a good condition on the day of the visit.

There was also no sign of a lifeguard allocated to the pool, despite Dlamini previously saying they have almost finished appointing lifeguards at public pools.
“If all goes according to plan, the team will start work by the beginning of November,” Dlamini said.

“They did the interviews on October 5, and submitted the recommendations for appointments of successful candidates for approval to corporate HR.

“Upon finalisation of the appointments, the candidates will be ready to resume work,” explained Dlamini.
The Advertiser is still awaiting comment from the city.

Also Read: Little ones from St Francis graduate

Also Read: WATCH: Mr and Miss St Francis crowned