NELSPRUIT – Mbombela Local Municipality is still in the process of purchasing pool sweepers to clean the Van Riebeeck Park swimming pool.
Last year Lowvelder reported that the pool staff was using diving equipment and scrubbing brushes to clean the tiles by hand, and also before hosting the Mpumalanga Swimming Championships in November.
This while throughout the past year, a sum totalling R4 million was spent upgrading the facilities – mainly on constructing a new office block.
In the meantime, the pool, which is of Olympic size and boasts 10 lanes for swimming galas with starting blocks at both ends, has a clear surface, but the tiles at its bottom are visibility dirty.
There are also complaints that the main pump needs replacing and new cleaning pipes are needed. Mr Joseph Ngala, spokesman for the municipality, which owns the pool, said the it was busy buying cleaning equipment.
“We are in the process of purchasing the swimming pool sweepers so that the swimming pool staff can clean the pool properly and safely.”
The pool is a metre deep at the shallow end and 3,5 metres at the deep end. Ngala explained that the equipment didn’t require cleaning pipes as they were fully integrated units.
“The pump was replaced nearly two years ago and the motor was substituted at the beginning of the swimming season in September. We do not have any issues at the moment with the pumps, change rooms or chemicals. We use multiple suppliers. Chemical suppliers are paid per order just as and when we receive the invoices,” he said.
At the time of the newspaper’s visit, one toilet in the women’s change rooms was running, which went unreported until Lowvelder made the guard aware of it, and there was a lack of toilet paper in the female bathrooms. Ngala said the toilets at the facility were repaired in December.
“Maintenance of the change rooms is an ongoing process due to their age. Toilet paper is checked every morning and in the afternoon on busy days and is replenished periodically. But we do have a problem with people stealing it.”
