MARCH 2014
Water for Growth and Sustainable Development
elcome back to my Blog. Time certainly marches on when you are busy, and it has been a busy period
since we last communicated through this column. As we hurtle towards the end of Quarter 3 of the current Financial Year, I thought I’d bring you up to speed on activities that have occurred, both internally and externally, involving the Executive and key stakeholders in pursuit of the organisation’s business objectives and strategies. In Quarter 3 stakeholder engagements continued pretty much at a similar tempo to that of Quarter 2, when our programme of strategic interactions became jam-‐packed in our endeavours to reach out to and share information with key role players that have an interest in or are affected, one way or another, by our business. Here are some deliberations and initiatives of the past two months. It is important for you to note their contents and outcomes in order to stay apprised – and informed -‐ of how our organisation is performing in the big external world, where the political temperature is far from lukewarm and where Umgeni Water has to sometimes assert itself to state its position and be heard. The information I share with you – now or in the future – will be invaluable to you as Ambassadors of this organisation.
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality We continue to have constructive, but robust, engagements at a political level with our major customer. At our most recent interaction with eThekwini MM we shared with the Mayor, Municipal Manager and other officials proposals from the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to extend Umgeni Water’s area of service, to incorporate at least six new customers in the North of KwaZulu-‐
Natal and in the Eastern Cape. While future prospects for Umgeni Water look challenging in how to approach and succeed in eradicating water supply, quality and quantity problems that are being faced in the proposed new operational areas, this, at the same time, presents exciting prospects for us to collectively put our thinking caps on and work out innovative solutions that will ease the plight of affected consumers. EThekwini MM welcomed the possibility of Umgeni Water providing a service and its expertise to vulnerable municipalities, but it did caution us about ensuring that the revenue derived from eThekwini MM through potable water sales was not used to subsidise services to other municipalities. The point we made was that we would certainly not compromise the sustainability of Umgeni Water by ploughing head-‐long into a situation riddled with financial risks. We also provided eThekwini MM an assurance that the service and cost of product we provide to our existing customers would not be affected. Unquestionably, we will do our financial sums and weight up the risks carefully before taking a decision on whether to become the new bulk potable water supplier to the proposed new customers. At the end of the day, payment has to be made for the services and products we provide, at a rate that is both feasible and sustainable. Another key area of discussion was the bulk tariff for 2014 – 2015. This issue was raised on the basis that there was a need for a 1% cut, from the 8,7% that was presented to municipalities during engagements in November and subsequently submitted to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs for approval. There were two objections to the tariff, from Salga and Msunduzi Local Municipality, to which we responded. The request for a reduction was made against the
W
It is important for you to note their (stakeholder engagements) contents and outcomes in order to stay apprised – and informed -‐ of how our organisation is performing in the big external world, where the political temperature is far from lukewarm and where Umgeni Water has to sometimes assert itself to state its position and be heard. The information I share with you – now or in the future – will be invaluable to you as Ambassadors of this organisation
MARCH 2014
Water for Growth and Sustainable Development
backdrop of 2014 being election year and the need to pass a lower tariff – at 9, 9% -‐ to domestic consumers. The Municipal Manager asked that after we do some number crunching again, we submit a proposal to his office that contains an Umgeni Water response. During our deliberations on the subject, we were able to ascertain that the amount of unaccounted-‐for-‐water within the eThekwini region seems to be quiet high, and we asked that this be addressed in order to reduce the cost of water that is supplied to consumers. We also had an interesting discussion on the Western Aqueduct, a project that has been initiated by eThekwini MM and which is expected to be fully commissioned by 2017. Umgeni Water will be ready to meet the bulk potable water supply requirements in relation to the Western Aqueduct.
Sisonke District Municipality (now Harry Gwala DM) Our relationship with the Harry Gwala District Municipality remains healthy and has the potential to grow stronger as our teams forge a closer working relationship. During discussions the possibility of assistance from Umgeni Water in the planning of bulk infrastructure was raised by Harry Gwala DM. There, however, seems to be a blockage relating to the planning of two regional schemes: Umgeni Water, at the request of the municipality, has been tasked with finalising the terms of reference for the appointment of consultants, but this could not be achieved because obtaining the information from Harry Gwala DM has become somewhat problematic. The Mayor had admirably volunteered to resolve this issue, while emphasising the need for Umgeni Water’s and Harry Gwala DM’s technical teams to meet more frequently in order to co-‐ordinate plans. He also asked that Umgeni Water joins his technical team in conducting an inspection of
strategic projects in order to gauge progress. This will be followed by another engagement with the political leadership of Harry Gwala DM in April for the purpose of providing a presentation on the outcomes of the visit to the strategic projects. The Mayor also sought a commitment from Umgeni Water that it would make additional water available to meet future demands precipitated by housing, commercial and industrial development. Part of the challenge that is currently being faced is inadequate communication – a situation that contributed to Umgeni Water having to redirect R20 million that was originally set aside for the Bulwer project. There also appears to be gaps in Harry Gwala DM’s internal communication processes, which was illustrated by the Mayor’s statement that he was still awaiting a report on a backlog study that was conducted by Umgeni Water for the then-‐Sisonke DM and presented to municipal officials. The study is an important yardstick in determining the extent of water and sanitation backlogs and how and where to extend coverage of these services on an improved basis. We also dealt with sewage inflows into the river which ultimately makes its way into the dam. As a result of this situation, during the raw water treatment process, sewage also has to be treated, which has resulted in the upgrade of the wastewater works being delayed. It was agreed that the upgrade would now go ahead while the municipality addresses the issue of river pollution through sewage inflows.
Ugu District Municipality The package plant at the site of the Mhlabatshane Bulk Water Supply Scheme has been successfully installed, however, it is not being fully utilised because of constraints on the reticulation side. In order to reinforce the fact that the package plant is ready to deliver in
It is important for you to note their (stakeholder engagements) contents and outcomes in order to stay apprised – and informed -‐ of how our organisation is performing in the big external world, where the political temperature is far from lukewarm and where Umgeni Water has to sometimes assert itself to state its position and be heard. The information I share with you – now or in the future – will be invaluable to you as Ambassadors of this organisation
MARCH 2014
Water for Growth and Sustainable Development
full, the Executive and I conducted a site visit there. We were later joined by the Deputy Mayor of Ugu DM. Technical inspections that were conducted on the day of the site visit also confirmed Umgeni Water’s readiness. I hope that the constraints that exist on the reticulation side are speedily removed so that the package plant can produce water to its full capacity of 2 megalitres, thereby making it possible for more households in Mhlabatshane to receive drinking water. The people of the area have endured the hardship of not having easy access to water for far too long. Their being connected to a sustainable supply will ease their plight. While it may seem that it was an unusual step in conducting the site visit, I believe it was necessary because there has been much debate and finger-‐pointing over supply constraints and shortages.
National Water Week You have read on the intranet a comprehensive report on the media launch of the National Water Week programme for KwaZulu-‐Natal. This tells you what Umgeni Water, the Department of Water Affairs and Mhlathuze Water showcased at this launch function. It was an interesting morning out on the banks of the Umgeni River at Blue Lagoon where, in unison, all three entities showed how closely they work together in bringing into the public domain, and increasing awareness of, an important occasion such as National Water Week. The underlying thrust of the message at the media launch was water is not an infinite resource and, therefore, must be used sparingly. Umgeni Water was also able to give exposure to its major infrastructure projects, to be implemented or under construction to enhance assurance of, or extend, water supply. Umgeni Water’s programme of activities, all of which have a strong education and community focus, are being held in various parts of our operational
area. Already completed is the Umgeni Water Marathon which, by all accounts, was a huge success. My thanks to the organisers, Collegians Harriers, and staff of Umgeni Water, who volunteered their time to ensure that everything went smoothly at the marathon. The function to mark the launch of construction of the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme, originally planned for 20th March 2014, is now tentatively scheduled to take place on 24th April 2014 in Mandeni, iLembe District. Indications at this stage are that the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, and the Premier of KwaZulu-‐Natal, Senzo Mchunu, will attend this function which, in essence, is a celebration of the fact that one of the largest bulk water infrastructure projects in KwaZulu-‐Natal is in the throes of being implemented. Seen differently, the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme will change forever the lives of thousands of people who do not have access to water.
Hands across the Southern African Development Community Relations that we have established with water sector companies and organisations in SADC are growing in leaps and bounds. The latest organisation to formalise its relationship with Umgeni Water is the Water Utilities Corporation of Botswana, a State-‐owned entity that is responsible for the provision of water and sanitation services throughout Botswana. On Tuesday, 18th March 2014, the Chief Executive of the Water Utilities Corporation of Botswana, Godfrey Mudanga, and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding which now paves the way for the Botswana entity and Umgeni Water to co-‐operative across a wide spectrum of organisational and sector disciplines.
It is important for you to note their (stakeholder engagements) contents and outcomes in order to stay apprised – and informed -‐ of how our organisation is performing in the big external world, where the political temperature is far from lukewarm and where Umgeni Water has to sometimes assert itself to state its position and be heard. The information I share with you – now or in the future – will be invaluable to you as Ambassadors of this organisation
MARCH 2014
Water for Growth and Sustainable Development
The areas in which we will assist and share experiences are:
• Corporate governance practices; • Human capital development; • Staff welfare; • Customer relations; • Planning and design of water supply
infrastructure; • Cost recovery and tariff
determination; • Water conservation, water demand
management and water quality; • Change management and
organisational development practices; • Capacity building, and • Provision or implementation of
systems and procedures or methods applicable to the water sector
I am excited about the future prospects for co-‐operation with this organisation because there will be a lot to learn from it and we certainly have standing, knowledge and experience that we can impart, for the betterment of our country and region.
Housekeeping Matters I want to thank staff for their unhesitating co-‐operation in ensuring that the cost-‐saving measures requested by National Treasury were implemented without glitch. Your assistance in this regard will go a long way towards Umgeni Water’s compliance, which is not negotiable. On occasion, especially in difficult economic times, belt tightening is imperative to prevent drastic measures being taken in the future if the
situation deteriorates. Finally, the Umgeni Water Business Plan is in the process of being prepared for submission to our Executive Authority. To those who have already contributed, your efforts are valued, and to those whose contributions have yet to submitted, please forward this without further delay because deadlines have to be met. Yours in Genuine Black Economic Empowerment and Equity Cyril Vuyani Gamede Chief Executive
It is important for you to note their (stakeholder engagements) contents and outcomes in order to stay apprised – and informed -‐ of how our organisation is performing in the big external world, where the political temperature is far from lukewarm and where Umgeni Water has to sometimes assert itself to state its position and be heard. The information I share with you – now or in the future – will be invaluable to you as Ambassadors of this organisation
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