1467 Rand Water 2010 Sustainability Report CS4 Pr10
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About Rand Water For 106 years, Rand Water has supplied bulk potable three pumping stations. The flow of the water in the water to Gauteng and its surrounding areas. Orange River is diverted through a series of tunnels through the Maluti Mountains, into the Eastern Free State, Rand Water’s success is based on sharing in the and from thereon into the Vaal Dam. pioneering spirit that led to the growth of the city of Johannesburg. It is the same spirit that has driven Rand Rand Water extracts water from the Vaal Dam and Water’s growth in terms of infrastructure and quality. purifies and disinfects the water at its Vereeniging and Rand Water has an internationally renowned reputation Zuikerbosch Purification and Pumping Stations. The for supplying water of a quality that ranks among the water is then pumped to Zwartkopjes (Rand Water’s best in the world. main booster pumping station) and three satellite booster pumping stations situated at Palmietfontein, Eikenhof and However, by the early 1970s, Rand Water’s primary Mapleton. From here, the water is then pumped again to source of water, the Vaal River, had its potential exploited the 58 reservoirs located through Rand Water’s area of to the utmost; the problems of future water supply for supply. It is from these reservoirs that water is delivered to industry, commerce and domestic use in the Gauteng Rand Water’s customers. area were becoming increasingly serious. The solution was to transfer water from the catchment area of the Rand Water is the largest water utility in Africa, providing Tugela River to that of the Vaal. bulk potable water to a population that has grown to an estimated 11 191 700 in Gauteng, parts of Since the water transfer over the Drakensberg required Mpumalanga, the Free State and North West provinces. the construction of reservoirs, channels and pumps, Its customer base includes metropolitan municipalities, it opened the way to build a hydroelectric power local municipalities, mines and industries. station which could further exploit the potential of water resources being made available. Through the establishment of Rand Water Services (Pty) Ltd, Rand Water is positioning itself among the leaders In 1982 the project was completed, operating as a in the industry in Africa and beyond. Rand Water pumped storage scheme and as a pumping station for has continued to be trusted by various government water transfer over the Drakensberg from the Tugela to departments, including the DWEA, as an implementing the Vaal. agent in various community projects aimed at improving the lives of people. In February 1998, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) began transferring water into the Vaal Dam. The LHWP in its present form comprises six dams and www.randwater.co.za 1 Rand Water Sustainability Report 2009–2010 About this Report We present to the stakeholders the Rand Water 2010 Sustainability Report. Our sustainability reporting seeks to provide a balanced, transparent and objective view of the sustainability issues that are relevant and material to Rand Water. This report sets out abstracts of the financial information reported as at 30 June 2010 as well as non- financial information as approved by the board of Rand Water on 7 October 2010. In addition to this report, stakeholders are advised to read the following: • Rand Water Annual Report 2009/2010 • Blue Drop 2010 Report Rand Water Sustainability Report 2009–2010 2 Key Achievements • Maintenance of our Blue Drop Certification • Assisted six municipalities within our service area of supply to obtain Blue Drop status • Awarded the International Water Association Award • Development of targeted training programmes for Rand Water staff and community members • Achieved Preferential Spend of 81.12-percent against a target spend of 75-percent • Re-certification of Occupational Health, Safety, Environmental Management and Quality Management Systems • Improvement of Customer Perception Indicators Disappointments and Challenges • Improvements required on performance of Environmental Impact Assessments and the issue of Water Use Licences • Increasing pressure on infrastructure • Continued contamination of water sources • Shortage of appropriate skills to carry out research projects 3 Rand Water Sustainability Report 2009–2010 Strategic Framework Vision To be a provider of sustainable, universally competitive water and sanitation solutions for Africa. Mission To consistently meet the expectations of our customers, partners and the government by strengthening our capability to: • attract, develop and retain leading edge skills in water services; • sustain a robust financial performance; • develop and sustain globally competitive capabilities in core areas; • enter into and sustain productive partnerships; and • develop, test and deploy cost-effective technologies. Strategic Objectives • Achieve growth; • Achieve a high-performance culture; • Positively engage stakeholder base; • Maintain financial health and sustainability; and • Achieve operational integrity and use best fit technology. Primary Activities and Key Competencies • Bulk potable water supply • Sanitation and waste water management • Bulk sanitation services • Project and quality management • Products and other services • Commissioning of water and waste-water treatment plants • Operating and maintenance expertise • Training, education and communication programmes • Engineering planning and designs • Infrastructure refurbishment • Catchment management services • Water demand management • Scientific and analytical services • Retail water services • Utility management • Water cycle management services Rand Water Sustainability Report 2009–2010 4 Statement from the Acting Chairperson and the Chief Executive Adv Mosotho Petlane – Acting Chairperson Mr Percy Sechemane – Chief Executive Our annual report is an important element of our strategy clearly visible. The period that is covered by this report is execution system. It is a statutory requirement in terms of from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010. the Water Services Act No. 108 of 1997 and the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 1999 that disclosure As Rand Water, we entered into a compact with our be made of annual performance against the business Shareholder in which compact is a clear policy directive plan. We have also taken the opportunity to align this that the Organisation should focus its resources in support statutory reporting obligation with best sustainability of the Government’s priorities. The priorities mentioned reporting practice. include, amongst others, a reduction in poverty that will be achieved in part through meeting the Millennium While we have produced annual reports that cover our Development Goals. The continued existence and financial and operational performance since inception, development of the Organisation and our ability to and we have undertaken activities to ensure our future deliver on our compact depend to a large extent on the sustainability for many years now, no formal reporting development of forward looking strategies that not only on sustainability matters has hitherto been undertaken. It focus on the bottom line but take into account the impact therefore gives us much pleasure to present our first ever that the Organisation has on our Earth and its people. Sustainability Report. The Report sets out the strides that The scarcity of water, enterprise development, climate we have been able to achieve over the many years of change, the potential impact of contamination of water existence of Rand Water as well as the milestones we sources, the shortage of skills and the development of our intend to attain in order to ensure a sustainable future for community are all but a few of the challenges that the we all our stakeholders. must surmount going into the future and to this end, efforts are being directed in order to ensure that adequate steps With effect from the year under review and in keeping are taken and taken timeously. It goes without saying that with the recommendations of the King III Code, we are the issues mentioned herein all form the underpinnings of embarking on a process of ensuring that a formalised a successful strategy on Sustainable Development. sustainability strategy is implemented and pursued. The implementation of the strategy will ensure the The financial performance of the Organisation over the measurement of performance of the Organisation against years has been nothing short of commendable. In the predetermined objectives and that the impact of the year under review, the Organisation posted revenues of strategy and operations of the Organisation will be more R5 billion with profit of R302 million. While profitability is 5 Rand Water Sustainability Report 2009–2010 Statement from the Acting Chairperson and the Chief Executive (continued) down on the amounts achieved in the previous financial educational institutions that assist us with research and year due to cost pressures on the Organisation, we have training projects which enable us to work smarter and taken and continue to take steps to address this and develop more efficient and sustainable processes – ensure profitable operations into the future. whether this be in respect of water purification methods, water conservation methods or the litany of other areas Amongst the measures that we have instituted in order to in which they assist. facilitate profitability are assessments of the adequacy of our infrastructure. We continue to invest in the We have, in the current year, benchmarked our