eThekwini Municipality has approved a “re-prioritisation” of the 2024/2025 capital budget, allocating R42.995 million specifically for the rehabilitation of the Kings Park Pool “and other key facilities”.
The reallocation is for urgent infrastructure maintenance and upgrades which have not been done because of budget shortfalls.
The report listed more than 20 projects that would be deferred to pay for the pool upgrade. These included work to be done on town and community halls, depots and other public facilities.
These would stay on hold until the mid-term budget adjustment.
The Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) unit has long struggled with deteriorating infrastructure because of ageing facilities and financial constraints. Many of its assets have fallen into disrepair, exacerbated by insufficient maintenance funds.
This new allocation is expected to make substantial improvements to the Kings Park Pool and several other essential projects within the unit, but the city did not answer a request for details of what the work would entail.
“Inclement weather changes are also a major contributing factor to the deterioration of facilities,” said eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana.
“The unit has identified an urgent need to rehabilitate and upgrade the Kings Park Pool and other key facilities that could not be rehabilitated previously due to financial constraints.”
The Exco report acknowledged that “Most of the facilities within the Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) Unit have deteriorated because of ageing infrastructure and lack of maintenance due to budget constraints”.
The City did not address questions about schedules for work to begin or an expected completion date for Kings Park Pool. Neither were questions asking for details on the “other key facilities” included in the report.