The front page of the Dispatch on Tuesday unwittingly became the tale of two pools in the Buffalo City Metro.
One told the story of a national water polo tournament being hosted at pools in East London providing a much-needed boost to the local economy, while the other told the story of a pool that has been a financial drain on BCM.
The Joan Harrison pool complex and several schools are hosting water polo games featuring 1,615 young athletes from across SA, as well as Australia and Zimbabwe.
The tournament runs until Wednesday.
For businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, the event has been a good financial injection this festive season.
According to the organisers, the city is expected to generate a staggering R40m from the tournament.
Both the city’s leadership and the business fraternity have over the years highlighted the importance of sports tourism.
In 2022, the municipality partnered with the Border-Kei Chamber of Business to fix up the Joan Harrison complex ahead of the National Water Polo Currie Cup.
Through partnerships, BCM has shown it is capable of hosting major sporting events.
The 10-day World Waveski Surfing Championships, held between June and July this year, is another example.
Driven by Trystan Viaene of the SA Waveski Surfing Association, the event attracted more than 100 participants from 14 countries and brought about R9m in new revenue into the city.
Then we have the never-ending tale of the swimming pool in NU2, Mdantsane, into which BCM has sunk nearly R60m since 2012.
The NU2 pool is a constant reminder of the council’s inability to deliver on its promises, and the lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to the public purse.
The city now says it needs an additional R14m to get the project, which is under investigation by the Hawks, back on track.
It is astonishing that officials would come to the council to ask for more funds when BCM has very little to show for the R56m already spent on the NU2 pool.
The only ones who have benefited from this multimillion-rand development are the more than 60 companies that had been contracted, while community members are left frustrated.
The NU2 pool is a constant reminder of the council’s inability to deliver on its promises, and the lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to the public purse.
The residents of Mdantsane deserve better; they deserve a clear plan of action on how BCM intends turning around the fortunes of the NU2 pool.
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