SUMMARISED PERFORMANCE REVIEW

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

*This announcement is a summary of the information contained in the Umgeni Water 2020/21 Annual Report. For a comprehensive review of Umgeni Water’s performance, please refer to visit www.umgeni.co.za.

Our mantra, as the Department of Water and Sanitation is: “Water is life. Sanitation is dignity”. This is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in the form of the provisions of proper sanitation as well as access to water, which are basic human rights that need to be realised by the Government working together with all the relevant stakeholders.

MR SENZO MCHUNU, MP

MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION

This is by no means a small responsibility; it requires all key stakeholders in the sector to work together at maximum effort – now more than ever! The challenges on availability of water services in our communities are well-documented. It has become increasingly

w experiencing some form of drought or water challenges requiring urgent action.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed our vulnerabilities when it comes to water and sanitation services. Even in the midst of the pandemic, we are still talking about water restrictions in various areas of South Africa. The sector, led by the Department of Water and Sanitation, responded with emergency water and sanitation provision initiatives. These were not designed to provide longterm solutions, hence more permanent and sustainable solutions are still needed. As we all are aware, our country is facing a water crisis caused by recurrent droughts, driven by climate change and deteriorating water quality. While we cannot tame the climate, we can improve our adaptation measures to ensure the country’s water security.

The National Water and Sanitation Master Plan highlights the top priority issues confronting the water and sanitation sector at this time and seeks to rally all water sector stakeholders in South Africa to work together in order to ensure that the country gets ahead of the curve in relation to both current and future challenges.

MS ZIPHOZETHU MATHENJWA

CHAIRPERSON: BOARD OF UMGENI WATER

Warm greetings from the Board of Umgeni Water. It is my pleasure to present this review of Umgeni Water’s performance and observations of the trading and operating environments

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forwardto working with the Minister and the two Deputy Ministers of Water and Sanitation as we jointly navigate the way into a future where the groundwork is being done for every household in KwaZulu-Natal to have convenient access to safe drinking water. Performance

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Year Corporate Plan and in the Shareholder Compact signed with the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

Umgeni Water’s operating environment remains in a fragile state, a situation that developed w # consequence of worsening economic conditions, brought on initially by a recession and later by the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Municipalities across South Africa, including the customers of Umgeni Water, are battling the

# '() w and worsening levels of inequality and poverty. To their credit, many customers of Umgeni Water are constantly looking at new and innovative ways of improving revenue collection, and have often requested Umgeni Water’s input.

The current state of matters is evidenced in extended periods that are required by customers to make payment. Umgeni Water’s debtor days for some customers have increased over the

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customers (now seven after the contract with uThukela District Municipality was terminated by

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to Umgeni Water within the agreed payment period.

The mandate, core business and day-to-day activities of Umgeni Water are aligned to the programmes of Government. Performance results contained in this Annual Report are

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Compact it has signed with the Minister of Water and Sanitation. Therefore, the work Umgeni Water undertakes supports the developmental agenda of the Government and various programmes that are focused on extending or improving service delivery.

FINANCIAL VIABILIT

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Water for expanding services to new areas and implementing the strategy of enabled and innovative growth.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

# w economic and operating environment whilst ensuring that water as an essential commodity was made available to assist with the prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 virus . This meant continuing with full water services provision even to those customers who are unable to pay for services in full. Despite this, the strength of the balance sheet has been maintained and measures are being taken to strengthen controls in contract management, cost control w ) " 7(

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capital expenditure requirements for the reporting period. However, the year on year trend

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the increasing amount of overdue debtors. This continued trend may increase the need for

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