By Akani Nkuna
The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has endorsed uMngeni-Uthukela Water’s newly tabled R22 billion five-year capital expenditure plan, but warned that its success hinges on whether the utility can muster the technical, managerial and governance muscle to deliver.
The remarks were made during a three-day oversight visit across KwaZulu-Natal this week, where committee members also grilled the entity over several negative media reports highlighting alleged governance lapses, questionable sponsorships, and board conduct.
“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 Sello Dithebe, acting chairperson of the committee.
“South Africa suffers from the problem of great plans but deficient implementation,” the committee said in a statement.
The acting CEO of the Pietermaritzburg-based utility, Thami Mkhwanazi, told the committee it was sufficiently capacitated.
“Over the past three financial years we have been performing over 80 % in rolling out infrastructure projects. We are relatively confident that we will be able to implement the plan,” he said.
Beneath that confidence, however, is a shadow of credibility risk, said the committee, while pointing to a “flurry” of recent media exposes that have ignited scrutiny over the utility’s governance practices.
Among the accusations is that the chairperson of the subsidiary, uMngeni Water Services, was removed after failing to declare ownership interests in a company that did business with the entity.
Also under scrutiny is a controversial overseas sponsorship. According to a Sunday Times report, the utility funded a supply-chain official’s trip to compete in the New York Marathon last year, at a cost of about R125 000, which included registration and accommodation fees and additional first-class airfare.
Water and Sanitation Committee member Malebo Kobe said: “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.”
The utility has defended the costs, saying the sponsorship was within its policy and that it was “not clandestine” as “even the criteria for selecting eligible beneficiaries” was available for “anyone to scrutinise”.
But the saga has drawn added attention as reports emerged earlier this year that board members paid themselves some R2.6 million in so-called “excess hours” fees.
uMngeni-Uthukela told the committee that the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, had “expressed the intention to institute an investigation into governance challenges” at the entity.
The committee said the investigation must 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,” Dithebe said.
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