The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has welcomed uMngeni-Uthukela Water's planned R22 billion capital expenditure (capex) budget for the next five years but also called on the utility to ensure that it has the right skills to ensure that the plan is effectively implemented. The committee shared the views during the three-day oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal.
The committee highlighted that South Africa suffers from the problem of great plans but deficient implementation. "We hope that the utility has the right skills to match the plan to ensure that it is effectively implemented. Infrastructure development is critical in driving economic growth, and the full implementation of the plan is necessary," said Mr Sello Dithebe, the acting Chairperson of the committee.
The acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thami Mkhwanazi, assured the committee that the utility has the right skills, capacity and capability to roll out the planned infrastructure projects. "To give assurance, the utility has over the past three financial years being performing over 80% in rolling out its infrastructure projects. We are relatively confident that we will be able to implement the plan," Mr Mkhwanazi emphasised.
Meanwhile, the committee has raised serious concerns about governance shortcomings at the utility. The past few weeks have seen a flurry of media revelations about governance challenges within the utility. They include the revelations that the Chairperson of the subsidiary uMngeni Water Services was removed from the position following failure to declare interest in a company that did business with the entity, that the utility sponsored an employee to go to New York to compete in the New York Marathon, as well as concerns around exorbitant fees paid to board members.
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"This entity had not been in my radar for the longest of time because they seemingly were doing well. But the recent revelations are a concern and has placed the entity is now firmly in my sights," said member of the committee, Mr Stephen Moore.
Another committee member, Ms Malebo Kobe, emphasised the point and highlighted that there must be something wrong with the entity's internal policies if the utility can sponsor one employee at a cost of over one hundred thousand rands to participate a running race in New York. "Surely there is something wrong with the sponsorship policy if the entity can spend so much money for only one official. The entity must provide the committee with comprehensive answers as to reasons behind it approving such expenditure," Ms Kobe said.
Meanwhile, the utility informed the committee that the Minister of Water and Sanitation has expressed the intention to institute an investigation into governance challenges. As a result, the committee welcomed the intention to institute an investigation but called for the investigation to be expedited. "While not seeking to pre-empt the outcomes of the proposed investigation, the committee emphasised that the utility's credit rating is of national importance and must be actively protected to ensure its long-term viability," Mr Dithebe emphasised.
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