Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Richard van Wyk and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL. See attached pictures here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will initiate urgent oversight action and formally write to the Kopanong Local Municipality (KLM) to ensure that the dilapidated Madikgetla public swimming pool is restored and reopened for safe community use.
With the summer season at its peak and schools closing for the holidays, residents of Madikgetla and the greater Trompsburg will once again be deprived of access to a public swimming pool.
The public swimming pool located inside the Caleb Motshabi Regional Sports Complex in Madikgetla, Trompsburg, remains non-operational. During a recent oversight visit, community members expressed their frustration with the municipality over the dire state of the swimming pool and the sports complex.
A functioning public swimming pool in Madikgetla would provide the youth with a safe recreational space and keep them off the streets, while offering various life-skills programmes at the complex during the holiday season.
It is unacceptable that KLM fails to operate and maintain a single public swimming pool in any of the nine towns that make up Kopanong.
Across South Africa, DA-led local governments operate quality public pools and recreational facilities for all residents, providing safe spaces for youth and communities and fostering social cohesion and community building.
It is, unfortunately, a far cry to expect the ANC-governed Kopanong Local Municipality to operate a single functional public swimming pool across all of Kopanong, whilst it struggles to provide water to residents.
In the upcoming local government elections, residents of KLM can vote for a service-oriented DA-led government that will deliver quality basic services and amenities to the community.