DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille says the viral video of her swimming in a pothole was an opportunity to show citizens that the party can fix Johannesburg.
In March, Zille, dressed in a wetsuit, mask, and snorkel, swam in the murky water-filled pothole in Douglasdale to highlight the city’s deteriorating infrastructure.
She had jokingly called it a “free Saturday afternoon swim” and attempted a backstroke while noting that the “pothole dam” was caused by a burst pipe that had been neglected for three years.
Speaking to Sowetan at the DA federal congress in Midrand, she said she had received a message earlier that day from people who had been trying to get the pothole repaired for years.
“I didn’t even know about the pothole at the time. Earlier that day, I got a message from people who have been dealing with this huge pothole for three years. They’d tried again and again to get it fixed, but nothing had happened. They asked if I could come and take a look at it,” she said.
“I said ‘yes’. When I got there, there were people standing around, and I said, ‘Whoa, this pothole is big enough to swim in.’ One of the residents then said, ‘Well, I’ve got a wetsuit. Do you want to swim?’ And I said, ‘Sure’.”
She said the incident reflected the party’s mandate in the city.
“What we’re trying to say is that Johannesburg needs fixing and we are the party that can fix it,” Zille said.
Sowetan
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