Lindiwe Sisulu places water board under administration

Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has placed the Amatola Water Board under legal administration, the Ministry has announced.

In a statement, the Ministry said Sisulu had met with her advisors and received reports regarding intensified processes “applied to resolving the cases of irregular expenditure in the Department of Water and Sanitation and addressing the findings of the investigation in some of the entities over which the Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation holds jurisdiction.”

“Instability and Infighting” at Amatola Board

The minister, who took over the post in May 2019, has had her work cut out for her – including making a number of interventions to address management and governance matters at the embattled board and  water shortages in drought-stricken regions across the country.

“The board has long been characterized by instability and infighting, which has rendered Amatola Water dysfunctional. Minister Sisulu has now concluded that ending the term of office of the current interim board and appointing legal administrators to manage the affairs of Amatola Water is the only practical solution left to address the enduring instability”, said the Ministry.

The decision was not taken lightly

The ministry said the decision to was not an easy one to make and several factors had to be taken into account – including the need to have a solvent institution that “strives for reliable delivery of water to the citizens of the Eastern Cape.”

CEO placed on special leave

One of the major problems plaguing the board is one of leadership – with the current CEO placed on precautionary suspension.

Vuyo Zitumane was suspended on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, and claims she is being targeted because of a R230 million project for sand abstraction, which is a method of drawing from sandy waters.

“I am being victimised because I failed to allocate 60% of the R230m to a specific project and also failed to execute this new technology”, she told HeraldLive.

Sisulu has thanked the board members for their contribution and said that decisions taken by them will remain valid and in place and these also include investigations into Zitumane.

In addition to Amatola Water, there are ongoing probes into irregular expenditure and governance issues at Lepelle Northern Water in Limpopo.