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The Board of Mhlathuze Water recently appeared before parliament’s Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation portfolio committee to account for its performance during the 2018/2019 financial year.

In a zoom meeting held on Friday, 22 May 2020, Mhlathuze Water which services municipalities and industries in the north of KwaZulu-Natal with bulk purified water and waste water told the multiparty oversight committee that its efforts to promote good corporate governance and an adherence to the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act were bearing fruit.

Presenting to the Committee, Mhlathuze Water Chief Executive, Mthokozisi Duze, said the appointment of the Board and a permanent Chief Executive had brought about certainty and enhanced leadership and operation competence at the utility.
He said the utility remained financially viable with a healthy balance book which showed a 2.78% improvement in cash reserves when compared to prior financial years.

Duze said the utility’s hard-line stance on maladministration and corruption had seen it instituting consequence management and legal proceedings against those alleged to have been involved in underhanded practices. 
This, he said, had already resulted in dismissals and in certain instances, cases being elevated to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

“Our key areas of concern for the period under review have been improving on our audit outcomes, optimally using our assets for increased revenue generation as well as investing in water security. Overall, we have continued to record a strong financial growth, and our surplus for the year was R107-million, this was realised through an increase in water volumes sold, tariffs as well as the implementation of water service delivery projects,” Duze said.

Looking ahead, not least of all because of the Covid-19 pandemic which had thrust the need for a reliable water supply into sharper focus, Mhlathuze Water aims to invest heavily in water security.
“We have been given an unequivocal edict by the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu, to ensure that we work with municipalities to ensure that our communities have sufficient water during these turbulent times. Since the lockdown began in March, as an essential service, Mhlathuze Water has ensured a reliable supply of water to the districts of uMkhanyakude, Zululand and King Cetshwayo. 
We have also facilitated the delivery of water tanks to the King Cetshwayo District for the benefit of those communities that do not yet have access to water infrastructure.”

Moreover, Duze continued, "we provide a sustained bulk water and waste water service to major industrial concerns in the Richards Bay area which, in turn, enables economic development and job creation."

Ends Issued by Office of the Chief Executive