Although the municipal swimming season officially starts on 1 September, neither the Carletonville- nor the Fochville swimming pools were open this week. With summer here, the swimming pools are the only public facilities where young people can find refuge from the heat.
The municipality spent thousands to fix the pools so they would be ready but failed to secure the facilities enough to deter vandals. Although the opening schedules were on track, vandals targeted the Fochville swimming pool on 17 August. According to the municipality, they also experienced problems at Carletonville Swimming Pool’s pump station.
On 19 September, the acting municipal marketing and communications manager, Ms Nomonde Mahube, could not give a time frame for when the municipality would fix the pools. A month and a half later, it still cannot provide more information on when the swimming pools will open.
“Currently, both swimming pool pump rooms need a complete revamp. Besides the vandalism, the pump rooms need an upgrade. We are sourcing a specialist to submit quotations for the repairs. We must secure a sufficient budget for this revamp, including security measures and focused security of the pools,” Mahube said on Tuesday.