As the hot Summer season and school holidays are drawing closer, residents have raised concerns over eThekwini’s non-operational swimming pools. The disgruntled residents are calling on the municipality to prioritise repairing damaged swimming pools which were closed following the April floods. Balkumar Singh Swimming Pool in Asherville is one of the many affected pools. The pool is currently damaged and is filled with sand from the April floods.
Resident Robby Mahabeer said that about a month ago, there was a walkabout by the eThekwini Municipality top management but nothing has been done to improve the state of the pool. “The damages were closely inspected. No progress has been made to the area surrounding the swimming pool and it still remains closed,” said Mahabeer. Chairman of the Otto Aquatics Swimming Club, Ashraf Ali said: “As a community club, and competitive swimming club, Otto is extremely dependent on the availability of the community pool for its survival. Since the pandemic in March 2020, and this year’s floods, Otto has no longer had any access to the Balkumar Singh Swimming Pool. This has had a devastating impact on the programmes of the club, the number of members joining, and the very existence of the club itself. We have not been able to organise our learn-to-swim programmes and our joint programmes with schools in the community. These programmes eventually produce our competitive swimmers, and the numbers of competitive swimmers we have had in the club are dropping. We now use the S.M Jhavary Primary Swimming Pool, which is not in our area,” said Ali.
Chairperson of the Asherville Ratepayers Association, Dr Annie Singh said the residents have expressed their dismay as the landmark Balkumar Singh Swimming Pool lies in a state of disuse for most of this year. “The swimming and sporting facilities in the area do not just service Ward 31, but for the greater part has been servicing residents from outside of the area, with patrons from Reservoir Hills and Sydenham frequenting the area for this reason. This is more reason that the facilities need to upgraded and restored and made accessible to the public to use and enjoy. Currently the facilities lie desolate and in disarray like the scene from a movie. With the upcoming summer holidays, the ARA is adamant that they want clear and practical answers for our residents, which the municipality has not been very forthcoming in providing,” said Singh.
Ward 31 Councillor, Remona McKenzie said: “In my oversight on Thursday last week, I found the pool in a very bad condition. Not only is the pool filled with sand but it has also attracted criminals who broke into the medical aid room and stole the equipment. However, I am grateful to the security guards and supervisors who are now always on site to prevent further criminal activities. I have written to the Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit and was told that they are waiting for the finalisation of insurance claim.” eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela said the City has 30 swimming pools currently operating. He said that the closure of pools especially central pools has a negative impact towards the tourism and hospitality industry. “This discourages visitors from visiting the City since Durban is the main tourist attraction. The whole coastline will be affected as it is popular tourism destination with many large hotel establishments. This can be addressed sooner, subject to budget availability,” said Mayisela.
