The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community of Development in the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba, will embark on a visit to the City’s swimming pools and recreational facilities over the next month.
All the swimming pools and recreational facilities in the City are managed by the Sports and Recreation Directorate, which falls under the Community Development Department.
Most City pools are open during the spring and summer seasons – from 1st September to 31st March of the following year, to allow the residents of the City the opportunity to cool down at the pools. This offers a valuable service especially to the residents who do not have access to swimming pools in their homes or complexes.
This also gives employment opportunities to seasonal workers who benefit from working in the pools around this time. The heated pools are opened throughout the year, but there are only a few of these.
The “cold” pools are closed in the autumn and winter seasons to allow for routine and major repairs in order to ensure that they are ready for use by the bathers during the swimming season.
The MMC’s inspection of the pools is an initiative she started in her first year as MMC for Community Development, to ensure that all repairs and maintenance that needed to be carried out in the pools have been carried out, and to follow up where there are issues that may lead to the pools not opening on the 1st of September as expected.
Last year, for the first time in the history of the City, the MMC’s oversight and follow up resulted in over 90% of the pools opening on the 1st of September.
“The 90% achievement last year was quite encouraging, and heartening as it demonstrated to our residents the resolve of the City to offer professional services with pride, and to offer them services that are pro-poor. This year I have revised the target upward, and aim to ensure that at least 95% of the pools are opened at the beginning of the swimming season,” stated Sifumba.
MMC Sifumba continued to state that the oversight proved valuable in reaching the 90% target as most of the issues that were identified in the pools were addressed before the opening of the season – ensuring that the pools were opened.
“The oversight of the pools will be even bigger this year, as I will be combining them with the oversight of the recreation centres, which also fall under my portfolio. The City has decentralised the repairs and maintenance function to the owners of the facilities to ensure that the required repairs are carried out with the urgency they deserve. This is a challenge, but it is one we are going to tackle head on for the benefit of our residents,” stated Sifumba.
The oversight will be conducted per region due to the vast number of pools and facilities across the City.
Details of the first oversight are as follows:
Date: 08 August 2018
Time: 09:00 – 17:00
Area: Region A
The facilities and pools to be visited are as follows:
Diepsloot
1. Diepsloot Youth Centre
2. Diepsloot Community Hall
Rabie Ridge
1. Rabie Ridge Community Hall (Ext 1)
2. Rabie Ridge Stadium (Ext 1)
3. Rabie Ridge Swimming Pool (Ext 1)
4. Kanana Sports Ground (Ext 4)
5. Kanana Community Hall (Ext 4)
Ivory Park
1. Ivory Park Swimming pool
2. Ivory Park Community Hall, Lord Khanyile (Ext 6)
3. Ivory Park Stadium (Ext 7)
4. Ivory Park North Hall (Ext 9)
5. Kopanong Sports Ground (Ext 13)
The media is invited as there will be opportunities for photographs and interviews
For media enquiries please contact:
Liziwe Dyasi
Tel: (011) 407 6049
Cell: 065 815 2234
Email: LiziweD@joburg.org.za
