BCC moves to repair swimming pools

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) will engage private contractors to work on “major” repairs at the City and North End swimming pools.

According to the latest council minutes, the local authority which runs six pools, City, North End, Barham Green, Luveve, Barbourfields and Mpopoma, revealed that it will flight a tender for a contractor to repair the pools.

Outstanding major repairs to be put to tender for City Pool include replacement of tiles, paving, fitting of gutters and refurbishment of the baby pool. The contractor will also be expected to do waterproofing of the changing rooms at both City Pool and North End.

Repairing the main gate at North End has also been classified as a major job.

Bulawayo Metropolitan Swimming Board (BMSB) has been using City Pool, which got a major facelift when the country hosted the 2014 African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games, for local and national galas.

National schools’ competitions have also been held at the City Pool, with local clubs also using the facility to train their swimmers.

North End was last used in 2014 for competitive events in the build-up to the AUSC Games when City Pool was closed for renovations and is now being largely used for recreational purposes and training by some clubs.

Repairs at City Pool and North End are likely to start after the Covid-19 lockdown.

BMSB spokesperson Thomas Werret said they hope to spread swimming competitions to other centres in their drive to promote swimming.

“For now, all our galas are held at the City Pool but we hope to hold development galas at the other pools as soon as possible,” said Werret.

Meanwhile, BCC has reduced its entry charges at all swimming pools from $49 to $20 for adults, with children’s fees going down to $10 from $25. — @ZililoR.