Umgeni Water fights Sisulu’s axing
The minister has appointed an interim board but former members want her to reverse her decision
Members of the Umgeni Water board, which was dissolved by Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu last week, are threatening to go to the high court if she doesn’t reverse her decision.
Sisulu dissolved the board on the grounds that her predecessor, Gugile Nkwinti, had last year not followed a proper process in extending its term by four years by not having the appointments ratified by Cabinet.
Sisulu has since appointed an 11-member interim board, headed by the former ANC Youth League national coordinator, Magasela Mzobe, to oversee the process of selecting a permanent board.
Umgeni is the second largest water board in the country with a turnover of R2.4-billion and a capital expenditure budget of more than R7-billion. It is responsible for water supply to about 75% of Kwazulu-natal’s population.
The Umgeni Water board is the latest of several to have their boards dissolved by Sisulu.
On Wednesday, Visvin Reddy, one of the Umgeni board members appointed by Nkwinti last year, wrote to Sisulu on behalf of board members, requesting that she rescind her decision and reappoint the board.
Reddy said the decision to remove them was not consistent with the regulations governing the appointment and disqualification of board members, which stipulated that the minister must consider any recommendations of a selection panel before making an appointment to a water board.
“Therefore any suggestion that the appointment of any member to the board is conditional upon approval or concurrence is incorrect. The appointing authority is the minster, not cabinet,” Reddy said.
Reddy said board members believed the decision was not procedurally fair or rational and was unlawful. He added that should Sisulu not reverse her decision in 24 hours, they would approach the high court urgently to protect their rights.
In a letter to the board on July 31, Sisulu said that “the incorrect process” had been followed by Nkwinti when he appointed the board.
“I wish to apologise for the incorrect process that was followed when you were appointed as a member of the board of Umgeni Water. You would be aware that all appointments of the boards have to be approved by cabinet, which did not happen in this case,” Sisulu said.
Earlier this year, Sisulu placed two other water entities — the Amatola Water Board in the Eastern Cape and Lepelle Northern Water in Limpopo — under administration. Both boards are the subject of investigations by the Special Investigation Unit. A court challenge by the Lepelle board to its suspension was dismissed by the high court.
In May Sisulu announced a major investigation into corruption in the department and its entities, leading to charges being laid and disciplinary action taken against a number of executives.
Her shake-up in the entities under her control has sparked allegations that her appointments have been linked to her campaign for the presidency of the governing party in 2022.
Sisulu has consistently denied this, arguing that the allegations are the result of a fightback against her acting against corruption in the department and its entities.
Spokesperson Yonela Diko said Sisulu had initiated a process of reviewing the boards after being appointed minister last year and had found that they had not received cabinet concurrence to regularise them.
Diko said although Sisulu was not happy with some of the Umgeni board’s decisions, “this is not about corruption” but “purely an issue of [it] not being properly constituted”.
Diko said Sisulu “notes the intention of the dissolved members of the Umgeni board to seek reinstatement through a court process” and “thinks this is ill advised” because the decision to dissolve the board was an administrative one taken in terms of section 35 of the Water Services Act, which empowered her to do so.
He said members of the dissolved board were encouraged to apply for posts on the permanent board if they still wished to serve on it.
Umgeni Water spokesperson Shami Harichunder confirmed the appointment of Mzobe and the 10 other interim board members.