The black hole that is the NU2 pool complex

IIt is just inexcusable for the project to drag on like this

’m sure it has been asked before but it just beggars belief. How much time and money does it take to build a public swimming pool complex? For those wanting to use the NU2 swimming pool in Mdantsane it has been almost a 30-year wait. And millions of rands have disappeared into a project that is still unusable. According to our records, there was a planned R10m revamp back in the 1990s. Then, earlier this year, the metro announced it was spending R20m on the complex. A number of other news reports in the years in between have mentioned millions thrown at this pool complex.

It is just inexcusable for the project to drag on like this. The stories trotted out by BCM for its failure to have it ready for yet another summer season might be laughable if it wasn’t our readers’ hard-earned millions that keep disappearing into this black hole of a pool.

While some of the excuses might have covered a project being a few months behind schedule, we are not talking three months — not even three years. This is three decades.

In our Friday story we quote the metro reporting to residents that “95% of the work has been finished ... The project has, however, faced some challenges ... including persistent rains, Covid-19 lockdown, community protests and contractual disputes”.

Now the disputes have been resolved and the contractor will be back on site in the next few weeks, the story continues.

However, we are also told they will shut down over the festive season and continue again in January.

This sounds distinctly like another December with no swimming pool in Mdantsane.

Benard Letsekha, 80, who lives across the street from the pool, remembers the day the pool closed in the late 80s. “My children learnt to swim there,” he recalled. “One is now a qualified lifeguard in Gqeberha.”

Yes, construction work froze for about two years during Covid. And yes, public funds have dried up dramatically since Covid. And those might — almost — be acceptable reasons for three of the 30 years of paralysis when it comes to this project.

But “persistent rains”? Please. In many built-up areas of the world where sunny days are few and far between, if these nations had decided construction work was dependent on perfect weather, they would still be waiting for their infrastructure.

No, BCM, this is just not good enough!

It is too late now to take our December visitors for a swim in Mdantsane’s pool this year.

But there are a slew of other spots that need sprucing up — now, while there is still a bit of time before the much-hoped-for tourist influx and resultant economic boost.