A picture of a municipal swimming pool in Orania left some South Africans fuming on Thursday.
Joost Strydom, the Chief Executive of the Orania Movement, posted a photo of the municipal swimming pool and asked: “How many municipal pools in SA that looks like this?”
The enclave in the Northern Cape is well-known around the world for its whites-only policy.
The controversial South African town likes to sing its own praises but some on Twitter were not going to let Strydom’s comment go unchallenged.
Municipal pool
South Africans – with a variety of races, languages and locations – jumped in to let Strydom know that there was nothing special about Orania’s pool.
Many said the only thing that was unique about the pool in the enclave in the Northern Cape was that it only had white children swimming in it.
Accusations of racism
Some posted photos of municipal pools in the Karoo, Umgeni and Soweto that also had crystal clear water and neat grounds. The only apparent difference was these pools had children of colour swimming in them.
“Blatant racism is the only possible interpretation of his comment,” said Twitter user @JennMForster.
@June_Zenzi told Strydom: “It’s not an achievement to have a pool looking like it belongs in Europe in Africa.”
ALSO READ: WATCH: A look inside Orania, South Africa’s whites-only town
When someone asked Strydom why he didn’t just enjoy the pool in silence instead of being antagonistic, he replied that he was just highlighting good municipal services.
“Not antagonistic at all; obviously proud of good municipal services, but also promoting the idea that municipalities/communities take responsibility on local level rather than waiting for the state,” he tweeted.
WATCH: Orania, SA’s whites-only town
Load shedding
Orania made headlines in July when it announced it was working towards getting itself off Eskom’s grid.
The town, which has about 2 500 people, said it was working to become even more autonomous from South Africa by rolling out solar panels.
It said it started building a R10.5 million solar farm last year and it already generates enough energy to power half of the town.
NOW READ: Watch: Orania close to ditching Eskom, SA’s load shedding struggles
