City to reopen public pools during weekdays

CIVIC organisations and ratepayers have penned an urgent letter to the City and begun a petition after public pools remain closed during weekdays but are only open on weekends, threatening to host a protest to meet their demands for it to be reopened, citing unfairness to pools located in the Atlantic Seaboard region.

In response, Mayco Member for Community Services and Health, Francine Higham confirmed that community pools will be open again from Wednesday to Sunday each week as of 28 January.

She said: “This will be piloted at all swimming pools for the rest of the season, ending April 6, to assess demand and viability."

The parties include: Umbrella Civic 57+, Aqua-aerobics for seniors group at Trafalgar, Bonteheuwel Development Forum, Cape Town Commons Collective, Observatory Civic Association, Reclaim the City, Trafalgar Amateur Aquatic Club, Walmer Estate Civic Association (WECA) and Woodstock Residents’ Association (WRA) who jointly wrote a letter to Higham and its petition has received over 600 signatures.

“The City has just closed the community pools during the week – for the hottest months of the year in Cape Town. Last year, the City did the same,” they wrote.

“Hence, the budget was finalised when the City published its Swimming Pool Schedule for 2025/26 in November 2025. The announcement proclaimed that “Pools will operate daily again from  December 1 to mid-April 2026.

“Which begs the question if the City lied in November or if it decided to break its promise now and allocate its swimming pool budget elsewhere?"

“During the week, when the community pools will be closed, the pool pumps will still be working and the water quality also needs to be maintained.

"The community pools are located in areas such as Athlone, Bonteheuwel, Delft, Hanover Park, Khayelitsha, Langa, Manenberg, Woodstock etc where there are very limited recreational resources available to the community."

They said the pools kept children safe and provided employment.

“The pools which charge just R3 for children and R9 for adults are affordable and safe and keep the children off the street in summer," the group said.

"Children do have time to go to the pool after school in February and March, not just on the weekends, because they don't have exam pressure yet. Adults in the communities use the pools to exercise, including senior citizens.

“Many of the lifeguards working at the community pools come from the communities themselves and desperately need this seasonal work.

“Unlike in the green, leafy suburbs, these communities do not have access to private swimming pools. Closing the community pools and only providing budgets for regional pools like Sea Point is therefore a blatantly anti-poor way to spend Cape Town’s budget.

“We ask you to reverse this decision with immediate effect and announce that all community pools will be open during the week until mid-April.”

But Higham clarified that the community pools were closed due to maintenance and for well-being of staff.

 “The City’s 31 outdoor community swimming pools reverted to weekend operations from January 19 but will soon reopen again for extended weekday operations on a pilot basis,” she explained.

“Due to the drop in demand once schools reopen, and to ensure the effective management of operational costs, the standard operating procedure until now has been to revert to weekend-only operations during these periods.

 “After an incredibly busy summer season during which pools were open seven days a week, we are retaining Mondays and Tuesdays for essential maintenance and to maintain staff wellbeing."

She added that six community pools will be closing from early February to undergo major infrastructure repairs.

Higham said over the past three financial years, the City invested approximately R113.5 million in upgrades and maintenance.

The phased investment saw 36 of the City’s 37 pools open compared to 26 in the 2022/23 season.

“Once the adjustments budget is finalised, the total capital budget for swimming pools in this financial year will increase by more than double, from just under R12.5 million to nearly R29.7 million," she added.