The Children’s Amusement Centre swimming pools at Durban’s beachfront, which have been closed for years, are expected to be reopened next week.
eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda on Thursday that all the pools along the beachfront area are going to be operational this festive season. He gave an update on the city’s state of readiness for the festive season in a media briefing.
Kaunda was at the official reopening of the award-winning Whalebone Pier in uMhlanga on Thursday. The pier was closed for three months for renovations.
Kaunda said the pier is a tourist drawcard and remains one of the most photographed places in Durban. He said the main aim of this R3.2-million project was to extend the longevity of the concrete.
“The reopening of this project further demonstrates Durban is ready to deliver a joyous festive season.”
Speaking of the swimming pools, he said: “We pride ourselves on the work we have done to repair swimming pools, which has resulted in 34 swimming pools being operational in the city.
“Next week, we will be reopening the Children’s Amusement Centre swimming pools as the contractor is putting the final touches on the repairs.
So, by next week, all swimming pools along the beachfront will be open and fully operational,” said Kaunda.
In 2022, “The Mercury” reported that it would cost close to R23m to fix the children’s pools. Dr Musa Gumede, then deputy city manager responsible for Community and Emergency Services, told The Mercury the children’s pools were in need of extensive repair work.
He said the pools were damaged some time ago, and when they conducted the costing in 2020 they assessed that the issue was mostly around the pump station and the area which houses the pump station.
Kaunda also touched on the state of the beaches, saying the City is pleased the beach water quality has been consistently excellent for several months.
“Our 20 bathing beaches remain open, and the recent beach water quality results from the joint sampling by eThekwini Municipality, the Durban University of Technology and Talbot conducted this week show compliance with acceptable standards for recreational use,” said the mayor.
He said three beaches are currently not suitable for swimming – Ansteys, Pipeline and Winklespruit.
The mayor said tourists should not be confused by the closure or the reopening of the city’s beaches, saying the city had many options for beaches and “they should come down for their festive season, people must come to eThekwini, we are ready to host them”.
“The monitoring and routine weekly testing across all the city’s 23 bathing beaches continues and if there are any challenges with water quality, we don’t hesitate to close affected beaches because the safety of the public is of paramount importance to us. The closed beaches are reopened once testing proves acceptable water quality.”
Kaunda said the City has employed seasonal staff to increase the number of lifeguards, waste pickers and childminders along the beach.
The Mercury