INTERVIEW A great
INTERVIEW A great turnaround has been achieved Dr Nndweleni Mphephu, Chairperson of the Board of Lepelle Northern Water, is proud of the professionalism displayed by the board and management team who have transformed Lepelle Northern Water in the last two years. Does Lepelle Northern Water have the capacity needed to execute its mandate? In the past three years, the Board has been working on capacitating the organisation, starting with filling of the executive positions, appointments of professional engineers and establishing core divisions within the organisation (Engineering, Operations and Maintenance). This has helped in improving efficiency in the implementation and expansion of projects and operations of Water Treatment Works and Waste Water Treatment Works. Dr Nndweleni Mphephu, Chairperson of the Board BIOGRAPHY Dr Nndweleni Mphephu brings to the board technical and business experience in environmental, social and governance (ESG), SHERQ management system, research and development, stakeholder management, strategy and business management. He is a registered member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) as a Professional Natural Scientist (Pr Sci Nat) and is registered as an Environmental Assessment Practitioner (Reg EAP) with the Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Science and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and has obtained certificates in Advanced Labour Law, SAMTRAC and Environmental Law. He has served extensively as an executive member of various institutions. What measures did you put in place to turn the financial situation around? We needed to ensure that we collect outstanding revenue from the municipalities who owe us. To achieve that, we had to build a good stakeholder engagement with municipalities to agree on the methods of repayment without harming their service-delivery mandate. Now we have a healthy relationship with the municipalities, and they are honouring the payment agreements and where there are challenges, we reconvene and resolve the issues. Furthermore, we needed to ensure that we manage our internal resources efficiently, including the overhauling of the policy regime to ensure sound financial management. The appointment of Chartered Accountants in the positions of Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Finance Manager also contributed towards good financial and supply-chain management systems. We are also looking forward to the positive results in the 2023/2024 annual report following the completion of the audit by the Auditor-General South Africa. Please comment on the qualifications of board members. We must give credit to the Cabinet for appointing a board of professionals for LNW. Out of 11 board members, four have PhDs in various fields. The Board also has a Chartered Accountant and two advocates. In terms of gender representation, six board members are female, hence I believe that this Board is one of the few Boards well represented in terms of academics and gender diversity. How would you categorise the health of Limpopo’s water? We had a summit at the beginning of 2024 on the Blue, Green and No Drop Assessment Report released by the DWS. We acknowledge that there is room for improvement. We are working hard with the Water LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2024/25 34
Services Authorities on the identified gaps to improve the status of Blue, Green and No Drop in the province. What is the status of the Giyani bulkwater scheme? We have been focussing on that for the past three years. I am happy to say that the pipeline from Nandoni Dam to Nsami Dam has been completed and commissioned; now water is flowing where it is needed as and when required. The purpose of the pipeline from Nandoni to Nsami Dam is to augment supply only when the Nsami Dam is low. This means that the pipeline will not be supplying water to Nsami when there is enough rain to fill Nsami Dam to capacity. The Giyani water services project has progressed well too. Phase two is to do bulk reticulation from Nsami to households and that process is sitting at 75%. We should complete that phase during 2025. The Nsami Water Treatment works has started functioning after the refurbishment project was completed and this has enabled us to start with the pressure testing. Once the pressure testing is completed, this project will be finalised. have been characterised by hard work and commitment towards improving governance and efficiency in the organisation, and indeed, looking back, one can confidently state that there is great improvement. We now have professionals in key positions. The CEO, a capable leader, has two PhDs and can be taken as an example. He is supported by qualified and experienced members of the executive and management teams. Today Lepelle Northern Water is financially viable and is able to implement projects and we will continue to do so, within the agreed upon timelines and budget. There is still room for improvement; however, the visible turnaround must be appreciated. Lastly, it is important to appreciate the Board and management who have worked tirelessly in ensuring that we clean and change the image of LNW. This is a great achievement! ■ How will the Ebenezer/Olifantspoort project benefit the residents and businesses of Limpopo? The Ebenezer/Olifantspoort upgrade project will lead to stability of water supply which will reduce water and production downtime. Phase 1A will lead to additional 40 mega-litres per day and this is planned for completion in November 2027. What final comment would you like to make? It is important to highlight that the past three years
