Keetmanshoop faces a hot, dry summer

THE Keetmanshoop public swimming pool will not reopen this summer because the cost of maintaining it has become too high.

The town’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeremia Shangadhi, says there is no alternative but to close the pool permanently, unless private businesses are willing to lease it. He said the town council last year spent N$15 000 on repairing the pool, but it was still leaking and it appeared that it had reached the end of its lifespan.Shangadhi promised that a new pool would be built in the near future, but could not say when, or how much it would cost.He said the existing pool complex, which includes a kiosk and a house, could be used for another purpose, such as turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.Many of the town’s residents spend their leisure time at the public pool in summer to cool off in the notoriously hot town, where temperatures can soar to 40 degrees Celsius.”It’s the only hang-out place in the extreme heat that hits our town during summer,” 14-year-old Vickus Otto complained when approached by The Namibian.He appealed to the town’s municipality to reconsider its decision to shut the pool.Another resident, Samuel Kooper (38), described the decision as “totally unacceptable”.”What will happen to the hordes of young people who flock to the pool during summer,” he asked.He said the town council last year spent N$15 000 on repairing the pool, but it was still leaking and it appeared that it had reached the end of its lifespan.Shangadhi promised that a new pool would be built in the near future, but could not say when, or how much it would cost.He said the existing pool complex, which includes a kiosk and a house, could be used for another purpose, such as turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.Many of the town’s residents spend their leisure time at the public pool in summer to cool off in the notoriously hot town, where temperatures can soar to 40 degrees Celsius.”It’s the only hang-out place in the extreme heat that hits our town during summer,” 14-year-old Vickus Otto complained when approached by The Namibian.He appealed to the town’s municipality to reconsider its decision to shut the pool.Another resident, Samuel Kooper (38), described the decision as “totally unacceptable”.”What will happen to the hordes of young people who flock to the pool during summer,” he asked.