The eThekwini Municipality has hired three new former municipal employees from KwaZulu-Natal to help the city successfully implement its water and sanitation turnaround strategy.
The new team, made up of three individuals made up of local government administrators, was introduced by City Manager Musa Mbhele during a two-day water and sanitation workshop.
This team, according to the city, was established to find solutions to the numerous water service delivery issues.
It is unclear why the current staff cannot fix the problems.
“Members of the support team are Sibusiso Sithole, who is a former city manager of eThekwini Municipality; Nandi Dlamini, the former municipal manager of Harry Gwala District Municipality; and Maxwell Pawandiwa, the former Ugu District Municipality Water Services Authority Executive.
“The establishment of the support team is also aimed at ensuring the seamless implementation of the Council-approved Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy,” the city said.
“The purpose and scope of the team include building internal capacity and putting appropriate systems and processes in place to deliver a water and sanitation service that meets customers’ needs in line with the city’s mission.”
Sithole, Dlamini, and Pawandiwa were appointed for 12 months in terms of Regulation 30 of the Municipal Staff Regulations gazetted on September 20, 2021.
IOL has asked the city how much it is going to pay the three individuals for the 12-month period and is awaiting a response.
Sithole, who many may know, was the CEO of Prasa for nine months before he handed in his resignation.
He was also previously the general manager at the Umgeni Water Board, and this is not the first time that Sithole has been jetted in to save a sinking ship.
The water and sanitation infrastructure in eThekwini suffered major blows after inclement weather caused flooding in April 2022, washing away major pipelines and destroying critical assets.
Since then, about R292,4 million has been spent on the repairs and construction of the flood-damaged water and sanitation infrastructure, the municipality said.
To say the city has had its hands full trying to repair, build, and develop water infrastructure would be an understatement, but the introduction of experienced individuals in the field offers some hope.
IOL