Lukhanji Municipality (Queenstown)
| The Challenge Queenstown Municipality was concerned about deteriorating service standards and sought to outsource its water service to address this issue via the necessary expertise and resources to facilitate the refurbishment and extension of its existing water and wastewater services. The Solution WSSA won the tender for the management, operation and maintenance of Queenstown’s water and wastewater system for a 25-year period. The contract was subsequently extended to incorporate the townships of Mlungizi and Ezibeleni, bringing the population served to more than 200 000. The agreement is a lease contract that excludes customer management but includes investments to be made by the sites. A particular initial focus was the requirement to generate immediate cost savings for the Queenstown Municipality as previous water expenditures had been high. |
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| Achievements * Immediate 17% reduction in municipal expenses for water services, and sustained below inflation since contract inception, allowing the municipality to control its tariffs and to implement a free basic water policy to the benefit of the poor * Maintenance and repairs of all water infrastructures, including the replacement of all electromechanical equipment, water network pipes (2 km/year) and meter repairs (2 000/year) * WSSA financed, designed and constructed a sewage plant extension, securing a 10-year loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) of ZAR6 million * WSSA co-funded system upgrades which improved performance capability, including upgrades of the main pumping station, telemetry system and a new water jetting machine * A new analytical laboratory was funded by WSSA * Unaccounted for water (i.e. physical and commercial water losses) was reduced from nearly 35% in 1993 to about 18% * Sewer blockages were reduced from 1 000 to less than 200 per month * The quality, quantity and pressure of potable water have been improved (from 94% to over 99% compliance) * A customer service charter was established under WSSA’s own initiative, with key measurable performance standards. Customer response times were reduced from over two days to an average of just under two hours * Compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 18001 and ISO 14001 standards was achieved and sustained * Extensive training programmes for the 60 local employees have been implemented to maintain and develop local expertise in the area |
