Why are you leaving Rand Water and where are you headed?
I feel that I have achieved what I was appointed to do at Rand Water. I am joining Lonmin effective from January 2 2006 as vice-president, shared business services.
At the time of your appointment as CE, what was the state of affairs in Rand Water, and how did you handle them during your term?
Rand Water, at the time that I joined, had some areas of strength in that it had an excellent record of managing the supply of bulk potable water. It had excellent water quality management systems. Its financial performance was not impressive, but it was still in the black.
My approach was to focus Rand Water on setting high performance targets in areas like financial health, customer services, transformation and the development of its people.
What have been the water sector developments thus far and where do you see the sector going?
The sector has done well to increase access to clean and safe drinking water. Rand Water played a significant role working with the department of water affairs and other departments of government to deliver this service. The fact that our water ranks among the best in terms of quality internationally is a source of pride for all of us.
Do you think there is room for change in the sector?
Most definitely. The regulator and the rest of the sector will do well if they focus on optimising and integrating the entire value chain for supplying water and ensure that all gains that are made benefit consumers. There is a clear need from recent experiences to improve the management of water quality. The sector also needs to improve its performance in terms of water losses. The fact that Rand Water is able to achieve 2% water losses as opposed to 20% to 30% in other parts of the supply chain demonstrates that losses can be managed and reduced. There is also an urgent need for the sector to introduce effective management of strategic assets.
Critics say the state of the water in SA is inferior. What is the quality of the water we drink in SA?
Well, it would be interesting to know the criteria that such critics use to make that conclusion. The quality of our water, as I have already stated, is rated among the best internationally. Our price is in the bottom 25% across the world. Considering the fact that we operate from a region where fresh water is scarce, I cannot understand how one concludes that the state of water in SA is inferior.
In my view, the good quality of our water, combined with the fact that despite the scarcity of water resources the sector was able to provide 10m more citizens with access to safe, clean drinking water over the past 10 years is a reason for us (South Africans) to be proud. With the exception of a few isolated incidents we drink excellent quality water from our taps.
Is there any truth in the allegations of high sewage levels in the Vaal River?
The Vaal River Barrage tributaries, which include the Klip River, Suikerbosrand River and the Rietspruit, drain the highly urbanised and industrial southern Witwatersrand and receive the return flow from wastewater treatment works situated within the catchment of these rivers. The quality of this water must however comply with department of water affairs criteria, which are included in the individual wastewater treatment works' discharge licences. When plants break down or sewer blockages occur, raw sewage is sometimes spilt into these streams and ends up in the Vaal River Barrage reservoir. It should, however, be noted that Rand Water extracts its water from the Vaal Dam, which is upstream of the confluence of these tributaries with the Vaal River and is therefore not affected by the raw sewage spillages often referred to in the media.
How frequently is purified drinking water tested for diseases?
Microbiological tests are performed daily and disinfection levels, which are the critical component to monitor, are continuously online, thus making this information always available.
Doctors say there have been increased numbers of diarrhoea cases in the past few months and attribute this to the poor quality of water supply from the river. Do you dispute this information?
I do not think that this is a valid statement as the quality of the water from which Rand Water derives its potable water has not altered. The quality of the raw water is also not the issue. It is the quality of the purified water that matters and here, as previously stated, this water is monitored extensively and continuously complies with both the SA national drinking water standards and those of the World Health Organisation.
If you do dispute it, how certain can you be that the river is disease-free?
Using water directly from rivers for drinking without any treatment does pose a risk and should be avoided. The quality of water in our rivers varies a lot, depending on the catchments that they drain, the activities within the catchments and their management. The quality of the water in rivers is the responsibility of the department of water affairs & forestry.
