Alra Park Swimming Pool remains closed due to non-payment of contractor

by Cllr Wollaston Labuschagne– DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni

Date: 10 April 2024

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

Under the now-removed ANC/EFF coalition in the City of Ekurhuleni, yet another appointed contractor has not been paid resulting in repairs not being done at the Alra Park swimming pool.

The Alra Park swimming pool has been out of commission for almost two years because pumps needed to be replaced and repairs were required to the filtration system and change room building, however, these were not undertaken due to cashflow issues.

This information was obtained from the March Council Paper in which former EFF Infrastructure MMC, Cllr Kgopelo Hollo admitted that a contractor was indeed appointed last year, however, they were unable to deliver the materials — citing cash flow challenges due to non-payment of other outstanding invoices proving that the ANC/EFF coalition government squandered and mismanaged the city’s funds to such an extent that deserving communities has to bear the brunt of poor governance.

I can confirm that Ward 88 committee members and I have communicated with the relevant CoE Aquatic division officials on numerous occasions and they have in turn tried their utmost to escalate the request for repairs. However, the pool remains closed due to poor leadership and ineffective governance.

Once again I would like to make it clear to residents that a ward councillor’s responsibility is to drive infrastructure improvement priorities through the IDP process however if the government of the day (in this case EFF & ANC) do not manage the municipality’s funds properly the result will be among many other negative results non-payment of contractors.

Ekurhuleni needs a stable government that can reliably deliver services to the community. Only the DA can rescue Ekurhuleni.

Cllr Wollaston Labuschagne

DA Ward Councillor in Ekurhuleni

082 413 4318