Ekurhuleni spends R1.27m a month guarding non-operational swimming pools

What the official response says

The figures were set out in a written response by MEC Jacob Mamabolo, which the City of Ekurhuleni head, Kagiso Lerutla, provided to the provincial government. The response states that only five of the metro’s 37 public swimming pools are operational, leaving 32 facilities closed but still incurring security and maintenance costs.

Who asked and why it matters

The information was supplied in answer to questions from DA Gauteng MPL and Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane. Rasilingwane asked for how much the city had spent on security services at non-operational pools during each of the past three financial years, including work performed by appointed contractors.

Security contracts and the cost breakdown

The written response identified about 10 security service providers appointed to guard the facilities, and said their contracts remain active. The companies named in the response are listed as:

• GS Secure (Pty) Ltd
• Sos Protecsure National Division CC
• Cpi Masingita Joint Venture
• TSS Security Service Gauteng
• Motane Investment
• Ezingeni Security and Cleaning (Pty) Ltd
• Bravospan 90 CC Security
• SSG Security Solutions (Pty) Ltd
• Carewell Holdings 5 (Pty) Ltd
• Nist Investment CC

The contracts were due to expire on June 30, but were extended by three months, until September 30. The response supplied cost estimates used across the guarded sites: an individual security guard costs an estimated R18,474.51 a month, and with most pools deploying one day-shift and one night-shift guard, the typical monthly security cost per facility is listed as R36,949.02.

Repairs, maintenance and wider operating costs

Rasilingwane told the media the city had also spent more than R9.1 million on repairs, maintenance and chemicals for swimming pools that remain closed. The written response also referred to the city’s operational expenditure on the 32 non-operational pools over the past three financial years, noting elements such as electricity, water and sanitation, cleaning and maintenance, grass cutting and landscaping, and insurance.

DA demands further scrutiny

The DA has called for a full investigation into the contracts and expenditure, saying the information in the written response raised unanswered questions.

“The money spent guarding facilities and repairs that residents and their children cannot even enjoy is completely outrageous and exposes the chaos caused by the ANC and its proxy parties in Ekurhuleni,”

Rasilingwane argued that the identification of 10 security providers in the response did not adequately account for the total expenditure and said this raised concerns about possible corruption, procurement irregularities and the misuse of public funds while service delivery falters.

She said the DA would submit an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain records and contracts relating to the swimming pool expenditure, and that there should be consequences for any officials or contractors found to have engaged in wrongdoing.

Children’s safety and community impact

Rasilingwane framed public swimming pools as more than recreational assets, saying they are important for children’s safety. She linked the lack of accessible municipal pools to tragic incidents she said had occurred in recent years, citing two separate drownings in 2025:

• In June 2025, two Grade 5 learners from Dan Radebe Primary School in Duduza were found dead in a pond.
• In October 2025, seven-year-old Tumelo Maseko drowned while swimming in a trench at an abandoned municipal construction site in Tsakane.

“These heartbreaking tragedies remind us why safe and accessible public swimming facilities are important,”

“It cannot be that children in Tembisa, Reiger Park, Kwa-Thema and many other communities are still forced to play in dumpsites and to swim in sewage or abandoned ponds.”

Political response and next steps

Rasilingwane also levelled direct criticism at the city’s leadership, saying:

“The ANC’s mayor, Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, must drown in shame for his failure to deliver better services for the people of Ekurhuleni,”

The DA’s stated plan to use PAIA to obtain contracts and records is the immediate next step that the party has outlined publicly. The party has called for the evidence obtained to form the basis of a full investigation and for accountability where irregularities are found.

How questions like these are usually resolved

When councillors or opposition parties raise concerns about municipal contracts and spending, standard steps often include requests for documentation under access-to-information laws, internal audit reviews, and, where warranted, formal investigations by municipal oversight bodies or law-enforcement agencies. Those processes are intended to determine whether procurement rules were followed and whether public funds were used appropriately.

Why the figures matter to residents

Whether framed as a question of fiscal prudence or public safety, the details in the written response underline two pressures that affect residents: the cost to the ratepayer of maintaining assets that are not in use, and the social consequences when basic public amenities are unavailable. The DA has positioned the R1.27 million monthly security bill and the R9.1 million in maintenance as central reasons for pursuing further transparency and scrutiny.

The information in this article is drawn from the written response cited by Gauteng Cogta MEC Jacob Mamabolo and public statements made by DA MPL Khathutshelo Rasilingwane.