Service Issue 81

ISSUE 81
DEC/JAN/FEB 2022/3
L E A D E R S H I P I N G O V E R N M E N T
PASA: LICENSING
EXPLORATION
AFRICA’S ENERGY AT
A CROSSROADS
THE IT IN DIGITAL
GOVERNMENT
PATHWAYS INTO THE ECONOMY
IN SERVICE TO SA’S WASTE SECTOR
LINAH DUDU NDALA
PLASTIC RECYCLING ON THE UP

Reimagine government
Enhance citizen engagement through a
digital government
Digital technology is the greatest opportunity for
governments to enhance efficiencies. Greater value
for citizens can be unlocked with the right tools,
technology and partner. Additionally, important
social challenges can be tackled and addressed.
At BCX, we have the expertise, product and service
innovation for governments to address their specific
challenges in order to create exceptional service
delivery.
Visit www.bcx.co.za for more.
Our most important customer, is yours.
#RenewingSociety

S
editor’s note
Servicing SA’s
socio-economic development
When it comes to the development of Africa, the decisions facing the
continent’s leaders today are of historical significance.
More than anything else, energy systems are the very fabric of
Wbusiness and society. Countries across Africa want to make good
on their objective of building huge amounts of new generation
capacity to get ahead on vast increases in energy demand and set
the continent on the path of growth it deserves. Africa knows where
it needs to go. The big question is how. And more specifically: what
is the most cost-effective energy mix that can be built to deliver all
the new electricity capacity that is needed? (Page 8)
South Africa will have to clear some tough socio-economic hurdles
to achieve a just transition away from fossil fuels. These hurdles will
be overcome by a combination of reallocating capital from areas
with high fossil fuel exposure towards renewables and ongoing
engagements with listed companies on their transition plans (page 10).
A major issue affecting existing investors is the current public
negativity towards any activity related to oil and gas exploration.
Together with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy,
PASA is doing its utmost to educate the public of the many potential
benefits that exploitation of indigenous oil and gas resources could
bring. There is currently a major series of engagement initiatives
underway to achieve this (page 6).
Undoubtedly, one of the major challenges in the development of
Africa – a continent with a population of approximately 65% young
people – is youth unemployment. Alarmingly, it is estimated that
50% of the youth in Africa will be economically inactive by 2025.
Furthermore, the vocational system in South Africa suffers from
insufficient relationships with business, leaving training institutes
ill-equipped to meet employers’ skill requirements and young
people largely either underexposed or not exposed at all to quality
career guidance that would allow them to transition into the world
of work (page 20).
And nearly every government in the world knows it needs to go
digital – to automate processes, support service delivery, become
more efficient and improve citizens’ lives. The complexity of these
IT environments is expensive to manage and with governments
under significant pressure to cut costs, funding for transformation
programmes is limited. Within that massive spending there is a
tremendous opportunity for governments to acquire the necessary
IT infrastructure services more affordably and with better
performance (page 14).
The country has made significant progress since 1996 in
expanding basic water supply services, especially within the
vulnerable areas. But inequality in access to basic services is still a
reality. Progress with water supply and sanitation service delivery has
been slow and, in some instances, it’s deteriorating. Water is a critical
resource. Its provision should be seen as an enabler that facilitates
socio-economic development (page 22).
It seems South Africa needs a handful of enablers to set it on the
path of growth it deserves. Service seems to be a significant enabler.
The big question is how.
Alexis Knipe
Editor
Editor: Alexis Knipe | Publishing director: Chris Whales | Managing director: Clive During | Online editor: Christoff Scholtz | Design: Brent Meder
Production: Yonella Ngaba | Ad sales: Venesia Fowler, Tennyson Naidoo, Graeme February, Tahlia Wyngaard and Vanessa Wallace
Administration & accounts: Charlene Steynberg, Kathy Wootton | Distribution & circulation manager: Edward MacDonald | Printing: FA Print
Service magazine is published by Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd | Company Registration No: 2004/004982/07
Directors: Clive During, Chris Whales | Physical address: 28 Main Road, Rondebosch 7700
Postal: PO Box 292, Newlands 7701 | Tel: +27 21 657 6200 | Email: info@gan.co.za | Website: www.gan.co.za
No portion of this book may be reproduced without written consent of the copyright owner. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of
Service magazine, nor the publisher, none of whom accept liability of any nature arising out of, or in connection with, the contents of this book. The
publishers would like to express thanks to those who Support this publication by their submission of articles and with their advertising. All rights reserved.
Member of the Audit Bureau
of Circulations
2 | Service magazine

contents
S
IN THIS ISSUE | SERVICE 81 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023
SERVE AND DELIVER
A round-up of news, snippets and trends
SA CAN ACHIEVE
ENERGY SECURITY
PASA is licensing exploration in pursuit of
energy security
AFRICA’S ENERGY FUTURE AT A
CROSSROAD
Africa should adopt renewable energy on a
massive scale
4
CAPITAL ALLOCATORS FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE
The role of capital allocation in climate
change
6
8
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
A pillar of digital government
10
PATHWAYS INTO THE ECONOMY
For Africa’s youth
BASIC WATER SERVICES IN DECAY
After years of progress
14
WASTE SECTOR INCOME
IS ON THE UP
And so is plastic recycling
20
PACKA-CHING KA-CHING KA-CHING
A rapid influx of community recycling
projects is welcome
22
A GREENER FUTURE
Decreasing Africa’s landfills
24
PETCO IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
By partnering with municipalities
26
27 28
Service magazine | 3

S
snippets
SERVE AND DELIVER
PRESIDENT APPLAUDS GROWTH INDICATORS
President Ramaphosa has welcomed the 1.6% growth in Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) recorded in the third quarter of 2022 as
an encouraging indication that the Economic Reconstruction and
Recovery Plan is bearing fruit. The agriculture, finance, transport
and manufacturing industries were the main drivers of growth on the
supply side of the economy. The demand side of the economy was
lifted by a rise in exports and government consumption.
Real GDP, measured by production, was R1.161-billion in the
third quarter, which is above the previous peak of R1.152-billion
recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018. For Quarter 3, the official
unemployment rate had decreased by one percentage point
compared with Quarter 2. About 204 000 more people had been
employed in Quarter 3 compared to the previous three months.
Ramaphosa said: “Given the condition of our economy, we have no
room to be complacent, but we do have room to acknowledge that
our economic recovery is in progress.”
DOWN TO DATA
To protect locals from the ongoing impacts of loadshedding, the City
of Cape Town recently issued a tender that will establish third-party
aggregators who will reward customers for reducing their power usage
when the grid is constrained.
“In principle, this sounds great, but whether it will work or not comes
down to the detail,” says Roger Hislop, energy management systems
executive at CBI:Electric. His first concern is how numerous loads
scattered across thousands of locations will be turned off. “The
technology exists but has not yet been tested in widespread deployment.
The back-end management systems will need to be more complex.”
He points out that the City of Cape Town will need to check their numbers
on the supply side against those produced by the aggregators with the
thousands of load control devices under its management. “Essentially,
what this means is that quite a lot of work will need to go into exactly
how the data is captured and how the incentives are paid out to ensure
that the model is economically viable. Most municipalities in South Africa
derive a substantial amount of their revenue from the markup they make
on the electricity they
resell from Eskom. The City
of Cape Town will be faced
with a double whammy –
they’ll make less money
from the electricity they
sell, and they’ll also be
paying out discretionary
loadshedding incentives.”
SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY
The massive population increase in South Africa over the past decades and
failing water infrastructure have compounded the current water crisis in
the country, says Hans van Kamp, CEO of Kampwater, a Stellenbosch-based
water treatment supplier.
“Water supply systems and the distribution networks are high on
maintenance. In Gqeberha, it is estimated that 40% of the municipal water
is lost due to leaking pipes. In the rest of the country, large amounts of
treated drinkable water is lost daily because of the thousands of leaks that
characterise South Africa’s water piping system.
“A major part of the maintenance budget should be spent on the
infrastructure, the current pipework network. However, most
municipalities are struggling to keep up and prevent the system from
collapsing. There are some exceptions but not many,” says Van Kamp.
“In 1994, Cape Town had 2.384-million residents and water usage of
roughly 300 megalitres per day (MLD). This year, there are 4.760-million
people in the same area and water usage of 769 MLD. That is more than a
100% increase in 28 years with a system that did not grow at the same
rate to provide for this increase,” says Van Kamp.
He says if all the new dams identified by the government are built as
promised, it will help to alleviate the pressure. These include the dam
on the Mzimvubu River (Eastern Cape), the expansion of the Clanwilliam
Dam (Western Cape), Nwamitwa and Tzaneen dams (Limpopo),
Hazelmere Dam (KwaZulu-Natal) and Polihali Dam (Lesotho), which will
provide water to Gauteng. But, says Van Kamp, for at least the next six
years, water supply will get tighter.
“People need to know that there is going to be a squeeze on water
supply. This information is essential if communities and households are
to play their part. People will not change their behaviour unless they are
told what is happening and how to avoid a crisis,” says Van Kamp.
4 | Service magazine

snippets
S
SERVE AND DELIVER
MUNICIPALITIES’ ROLE IN RESOLVING ENERGY SUPPLY
Craig Kesson, PwC South Africa advisory partner and cities leader, says:
“Resolving the energy shortfall requires a collective effort across private
and public sectors, including, and especially, by municipalities who play a
fundamental role in the development of sustainable energy strategies. By
playing a key role in resolving the energy supply gap, municipalities will
be able to contribute to local economic development and job creation.”
PwC’s newly released report, The cities’ role in managing the energy
supply challenges, outlines what can be done in the municipal sphere
to help fix the country’s energy shortage, and discusses how these
solutions can have potential revenue benefits for municipalities.
A VICIOUS CYCLE
South African municipalities have a constitutional mandate to distribute
electricity to their citizens. They predominantly purchase power directly
from Eskom and distribute and sell power to consumers or reimburse
Eskom for direct distribution to them. The on-sell of electricity is a key
source of revenue for municipalities and has accounted for almost 30%
of municipal revenues in recent years. Without this revenue stream,
which often leaves municipalities with surplus funds, many are not able
to cross-subsidise other debt and expenditure items.
Nasreen Mosam, PwC international development partner, says: “This
culminates in a cycle where the rising cost of electricity leads to rising
prices for consumers, which in turn results in more people being unable
to pay service charges. This further increases costs and reduces revenue
for municipalities, increasing the negative impact on municipal finances,
which means that providing key services such as public security, housing
and maintaining public spaces is also affected.”
WHAT CITIES CAN DO
“Cities’ energy strategies will play a major role in achieving sustainability
and energy stability in the long run,” Kesson says. “The ideal scenario
would be for municipalities to purchase electricity from different
suppliers in a competitive market at competitive prices, which will allow
for resale at a surplus and transmission at lower cost to consumers.
Efforts are underway to achieve this through the unbundling of Eskom
and opening of the energy market to competition from the private sector.”
PwC’s report outlines seven immediate measures to
help bridge the energy supply gap. These solutions include
municipalities:
• Enabling wheeling of energy generation
• Supporting the installation of microgrids and small-scale embedded
generation
• Supporting the purchase of power from Independent Power Producers
(IPPs)
• Prioritising spending on maintenance of infrastructure.
Mosam says municipal efforts to close the energy supply gap and bring down
energy prices can also set the course for sustainable municipal revenue
sources to finance spending.
Kesson adds: “Ideally, we would see the private sector generate renewable
energy and distribute it more cost-effectively to consumers through
municipalities. Municipalities would have long-term contracts with private
IPPs to purchase renewable electricity at guaranteed prices that are lower
in a competitive market, and municipalities would win because they would
obtain revenue for their role in distribution. Consumers would win because
electricity prices would likely come down in a competitive system. The
lower cost of electricity and higher certainty of supply would contribute to a
virtuous cycle of economic growth, rising property values, customers paying
accounts, employment, and greater socio-economic development outcomes.”
Municipalities need to act now to mitigate supply gaps in the short
run by putting in place the necessary policy frameworks, mobilising
resources that will enable wheeling, and re-entering small and medium
scale generation into the municipal grid. Crucially, municipalities
will need to establish a long-term strategy regarding their own role in
electricity provision going forward. This will include modelling the optimal
mix of different energy sources needed to optimise supply and meet
demand, as well as attracting and retaining strong, capable teams to
accommodate the new skill sets required to operate in this market. This
way, municipalities will be able to retain their role in energy generation
and be part of a sustainable energy solution that works for producers
and consumers.
25 YEARS OF CCMA
The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has saved 171 000 jobs through its dispute resolution initiatives – this as the organisation
celebrates 25 years of its existence. “We are an institution of statutory creation – born out of the belly of South Africa’s Constitution led by the values of the
Constitution – and we live those values,” says executive director Advocate Sello Morajane. Since opening its doors, the CCMA has handled more than 3.7-million
cases. In the process, the CCMA issued more than 547 000 awards and 130 000 of those awards were enforced.
Service magazine | 5

S
energy security
SOUTH AFRICA
CAN ACHIEVE
ENERGY SECURITY
Petroleum Agency South Africa is licensing exploration in pursuit of the goal of energy security.
PPetroleum Agency South Africa (PASA) strongly believes that the
development of indigenous hydrocarbons, and especially gas, has a
role to play in building South Africa’s economy and in facilitating a
just transition to new energy sources. A recent report published by
the International Energy Association (IEA) argues against framing
the debate in that way. Both can and should be used, according to
Africa Energy Outlook 2022. A key factor in allowing Africa to continue
to industrialise will be an uptick in the discovery and use of gas. If all
the gas so far discovered in and off Africa was used, the continent’s
share of global emissions would rise by 0.5% to 3.5%.
The enactment of the Upstream Petroleum Resources
Development (UPRD) bill by the South African parliament will
put PASA in a stronger position to attract further investment in
the upstream sector. The Agency is preparing for this by constantly
evaluating prospectivity and preparing for future licensing rounds
and new data acquisition.
The bill will change the main mechanism for granting exploration
licences to an invitation-to-bid or licence-round system, as opposed
to the current direct application method. This will improve PASA’s
ability to manage the allocation of exploration acreage, making it
more accessible, inclusive and equitable. The bill will also improve the
regulator’s ability to control acreage relinquishment. This will improve
the availability of exploration opportunities.
If South Africa can increase its own energy resources and at the
same time expand the type of resources being exploited (for example,
natural gas) so that there is more flexibility in supply, the country will
be able to wean itself off imports and move closer to energy security.
If energy independence or something approaching independence
could be achieved, there would be obvious consequences for stability
and economic growth.
From a legislative and government perspective, there is support for
prospecting for new resources. The Minister of Mineral Resources
and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has argued that South Africa’s
indigenous oil and gas resources must have a role to play in South
Africa’s future energy mix.In addition, President Cyril Ramaphosa is
paving the way for independent power production is likely to give a
major boost to investment in developing gas discoveries for electricity
generation.
POSITIVE FINDS
The large Brulpadda and Luiperd discoveries made by TotalEnergies
and their partners in the last few years have opened up a worldclass
hydrocarbon play in the deep ocean off South Africa’s south
coast. These discoveries are extremely encouraging and all evidence
suggests far more potential in the area.
In the first week of September 2022, TotalEnergies applied to PASA
for production rights for most of the area where their prospecting
had been successful.
In addition, the recent successes offshore Namibia are extremely
significant and encouraging for South Africa as the same geological
6 | Service magazine
Countries with energy security or independence have an advantage in terms of stability and the potential for economic growth.
Credit: Shutterstock

energy security
S
Renergen, through its subsidiary Tetra4, is the only holder of an onshore petroleum production licence issued by the Department of Mineral
Resources and Energy through PASA. The massive resources of natural gas that Renergen has been working on for the last few years
reached commercial production in October 2022 in the northern Free State.
sedimentary basin continues into South African territory, extending
from the border with Namibia to offshore Cape Town and far out to
sea, comprising an area of over 160 000 square kilometres. Shell holds
exploration acreage in the South African southern sector of the basin
together with partners TotalEnergies and PetroSA. TotalEnergies
holds further acreage in the South Africa sector of the Orange Basin
with partners Sezigyn in ER343 and Impact Africa in ER335. To the
east and north-east of these blocks is ER339 where Eco Atlantic holds
an interest.
ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
A major issue affecting existing investors is the current public
negativity towards any activity related to oil and gas exploration.
Together with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
(DMRE), PASA is doing its utmost to educate and inform the public
of the many potential benefits that exploitation of indigenous oil and
gas resources could bring. There is currently a major series of public
consultation and engagement initiatives underway to achieve this.
This included a series of meeting that were held during 2022 and
culminated in a joint DMRE, PASA and Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) colloquium. At this event,
environmental impact considerations of upstream oil and gas activities
were comprehensively discussed.
In a television interview broadcast from the African Mining
Indaba held in 2022, PASA CEO Dr Phindile Masangane said the
following about seismic surveys, the environment and economic
growth:
We acknowledge that exploration and production of oil and gas
entails risks to our environment but technology has advanced and
South Africa has adopted those technological advancements that
help us to minimise the risk to our environment.
What does this exploration entail? A lot has been said about
seismic surveys in the media. Seismic surveys are actually a
very old technology that has been used and it is now a mature
technology, to make sure that the impact on our marine ecosystem
is minimised.
There is also a big misconception in the public that these seismic
surveys are purely for the oil and gas industry. As there is pushback
on seismic surveys, we must be careful as a country to note that this
technology is used not just for oil and gas. It is actually used to define
our maritime borders and it is used in other countries for offshore
wind technologies.
What do these seismic surveys entail? This is literally the releasing
of pressurised air into our seabed and then we collect the signal as the
sound bounces back into the bottom of the ship. That’s what helps us
to collect data to know where the oil and gas is located underneath
the seabed. In terms of other technologies, for example offshore wind,
they know from the data where to locate the wind turbines on the
seabed because they know what the geological subsurface looks like
and they know which are the points where the wind turbines can be
constructed.
It is a very, very useful technology. The impacts are well known
and there are mitigation measure that can be used to minimise those
impacts. S
Service magazine | 7

S
energy
Africa’s energy
future at a crossroad
Africa can adopt renewable energy on a massive scale and save billions along the way.
With Kenneth Engblom, vice president, Wartsila Energy
W
When it comes to building the future of energy in Africa, the
decisions facing the continent’s leaders today are nothing less than
of historical significance. Energy systems are the very fabric of
business and society. Countries across Africa want to make good on
their objective of building huge amounts of new generation capacity
to anticipate vast increases in energy demand and set the continent
on the path of development it deserves.
Africa knows where it needs to go. The big question is how. And
more specifically: what is the most cost-effective energy mix that can
be built to deliver all the new electricity capacity that is needed?
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AT STAKE
Technologies that are right for Europe based on its existing
infrastructure, population density and natural resources can be
wrong for others. Each region must find its own optimal way to build
its energy system. Many African countries have one important point
in common: maybe more than anywhere else, the models indicate
that the best path to building the most cost-optimal energy system is
to maximise the use of renewable energy.
The cost of renewable energy equipment has decreased very
rapidly in recent years and when this equipment runs on Africa’s
massive solar and wind resources, what you have is a cost per KW/h
produced that beats all other electricity technologies hands-down.
If you add the fact that most electricity grids on the continent
are relatively underdeveloped, favouring renewable energy over
traditional power generation like coal or gas turbine power plants
becomes a no-brainer.
Although relatively ambitious renewable energy targets have been
set by governments across the continent, these do not always go far
enough. Contrary to what some industry and political leaders may
believe, maximising the amount of renewable energy that can be
built in the system is by far the cheapest strategy available, while at
the same time ensuring a stable, reliable network.
In Africa, renewables must become the new baseload. And yes,
renewables are intermittent. But combining them with flexible
power generation capacities will guarantee the stability of the grid
and save billions of dollars along the way.
THE INTERMITTENCY OF RENEWABLES
It would be misguided to consider the intermittency of renewables
as a showstopper. It is not, provided they are paired up with highlyflexible
forms of electricity generation like gas engine power plants.
To maintain a balanced system, flexible back-up and peak power
must be available to ramp up production at the same rate that wind
or solar production fluctuates, but also to match the fluctuating
energy demand within the day. The systems must be able to respond
to huge daily variations in a matter of seconds or minutes.
A WINNING ENERGY STRATEGY
Highly ambitious renewable energy objectives in Africa are not only
achievable, but they are also the soundest and cheapest strategy for
the successful electrification of the continent. Making smart strategy
decisions will lead to more resilient electricity systems and offer
vastly superior whole-system efficiencies. S
8 | Service magazine

energy
S
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SERVICE DELIVERY
By Blessing Bongani Sibande, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers
Regardless of the impact, climate change will require reassessing risks, costs and levels
of service as well as the trade-offs among these for providing different services because
the conditions are changing. What this means is that municipalities cannot continue to
maintain the status quo as it may be more expensive in the long term and lead to lower
climate change resilience.
Municipalities should plan to evaluate service delivery planning, day-to-day operations, as
well as the maintenance and replacement of infrastructure with climate change in mind.
Climate considerations in service delivery
• Use climate scenarios to understand how demands on infrastructure will change over time.
• Monitor maintenance and repairs schedules to reflect changing conditions.
• Update levels of service to mirror climate risks, including type, size and scale of services.
• Evaluate changing risks, including the impact of climate change on asset lifespan.
• Monitor and update environmental programmes and service delivery plans as additional
information becomes available.
Blessing Bongani Sibande
• Identify and plan for adapting to new opportunities across services.
• Determine appropriate timing for capital investments for adaptation, leveraging asset replacement and renewal.
• Identify the impact of climate change on natural assets and the services that they provide.
• Rehabilitate or protect natural assets that increase the resilience of service delivery systems.
• Update design parameters to changing conditions.
Service magazine | 9

S
energy
CAPITAL ALLOCATORS
FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
The role of capital allocation is one of the single-most vital tools in the world’s climate change response to date.
By Robert Lewenson, head of responsible investment, Old Mutual Investment Group
At COP26, it was announced that South Africa had secured
funding commitments totalling US$8.5-billion from developed
countries to invest towards a just transition to net-zero carbon
emissions. The funding is an opportunity to reset, not only from a
governance perspective, but also to imagine a new reindustrialisation
pathway for the South African economy. Global listed markets have
already seen a big shift away from primary producers of fossil fuels,
which today account for only 2.5% of the MSCI World Index. But
decarbonisation is not as simple as steering portfolio investments
towards listed companies with high ESG ratings.
Yes, investors should start thinking about decarbonising their
investment portfolios; but we must also consider the real-world
infrastructure investments in, for example, renewable energy,
needed to achieve net-zero targets over the next three to four
decades. Support for portfolios that achieve ESG outcomes,
including decarbonisation, is on the rise thanks to growing
evidence that sustainable investing enhances rather than impedes
investment returns. Stewardship will emerge as our biggest impact
in delivering sustainable development outcomes; our North Star is
to achieve impact-aligned sustainable development goals through
our proactive stewardship.
In this context, all stakeholder engagements take place in
cognisance of factors like climate risk, ethical leadership, social
inequality, sound pay as well as social justice and transformation.
South Africa will have to clear some tough socio-economic hurdles
to achieve a just transition away from fossil fuels. These hurdles will
10 | Service magazine

energy
S
be overcome by a combination of reallocating capital from areas
with high fossil fuel exposure towards renewables and ongoing
engagements with listed companies on their transition plans.
The country’s main carbon culprits are easily identifiable, offering
clear wins for purposeful policymakers. More than 50% of the
JSE’s carbon intensity links to electricity use which in turn causes
electricity grid emissions from Eskom’s ageing coal-fired power
infrastructure, while much of Sasol’s carbon footprint stems from
its steam reformation hydrogen extraction process.
AN ACCELERATED SHIFT
South Africa is in the top 5% of the world in terms of the quality
of both our solar and wind resources; and modelling has been
done to show that our base load peak demand can be met with
renewable energy. Our private sector developers and funders, in
partnership with the government, already have a solid track record
of bringing solar and wind power projects on stream, quickly. All that
is needed for South Africa to meet its 2050 net-zero emissions target
is to scale our renewables response. S
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Photo ParliamentofRSA
“In charting the path towards an appropriate energy mix and a just energy supply we require more and
not less state. Everywhere in the world, it is the state that drives generation and distribution towards
social goals such as education, rural development, health and recreation. Even in the most capitalist
of countries, it is the state that issues conditional licensing for private generation and distribution,
which is tied to social outcomes. Often it is the local state that takes this licensing responsibility if it
does not produce itself.
The American Public Power Association makes a strong case on how “not-for-profit, communityowned
locally-controlled” utilities provide better services at lower rates than privately-owned utilities
while also providing jobs and revenue for their local communities. It says, “Public power utilities also
deliver more reliable electric service. Outside of major adverse events (eg storms), customers of a
public power utility are likely to be without power for less time – 62 minutes a year, compared to 150
minutes a year for customers of private utilities.”
These municipal and community utilities are important in powering local economic development, as
they can be more responsive to local needs while supporting the local revenue base as well as local
businesses. Of course, our problem with regards to ownership in South Africa is not the private, but
the drive to unjustifiably privatise the already uncompetitive, pricey and monopolistic public entity.
Even as the unbundling is being planned, it is planned with private owners in mind and not with the most logical and more social justice
prone municipal and community/cooperative models in mind.
We must therefore pay attention to the specific challenges that have not enabled our municipalities and their entities to position
themselves as Independent Power Producers (IPPs). A study recently undertaken by Sustainable Energy Africa, found that only 50% of
our municipalities are equipped with any form of small-scale embedded generation processes. A further 25% do not have the internal
capacity to establish or manage these processes, while the remaining 25% are not in a state to handle any additional responsibilities
owing to governance and financial challenges. Thus, we should not just theorise and speak of the research, but we must find ways to
establish the capacities to develop and maintain the energy infrastructure capabilities of all municipalities.
As we propose communal and municipal ownership, we must maintain certain national norms and standards which will ensure better
education, health, recreational, cultural and economic outcomes. We must remember that ours is a unitary state which functions through
the cooperation of all spheres and entities of government and collective governance. We must maintain reasonable costs and reliability,
which must be observed throughout the country. We must remain cognisant that a sustainable and clean energy transition must be
underpinned by economic justice.”
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma at the 2022 Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities Convention, 3 October 2022.
Service magazine | 11

Aim higher and connect more
with Telkom Naledi Packages.
Take your star-studded team or your home connectivity to new heights
with exclusive Telkom Naledi packages that offer a loyalty programme,
a convergence app, and more value.
Book a presentation appointment now.
Email us: RT15Enquiries@telkom.co.za

Next-level connectivity.
Groundbreaking mobile solutions.
Enjoy dedicated streaming bundles, uncapped data with no FUP and more.
RT15
Exclusive Offers
Advantages
Telkom Naledi Gold
Uncapped data
20GB streaming data
Unlimited closed user group minutes
(Telkom-to-Telkom calls including
Telkom landline)
200 Other-network minutes
Unlimited SMS
SIM-only R350
Mobile service with mobile device
Uncapped data with no FUP
applied to the package. Data
access will never be terminated
or stopped. Includes WhatsApp.
Naledi packages come with
a dedicated streaming bundle
for YouTube, TelkomONE app,
Facebook, Facebook Messenger,
Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Network-based CUG. Telkom is
the only company that can offer
this converged voice call solution
across fixed and mobile numbers,
which will result in significant
voice-calling savings.
Telkom Naledi Platinum
Uncapped data
20GB streaming data
Unlimited closed user group minutes
(Telkom-to-Telkom calls including
Telkom landline)
600 Other-network minutes
Unlimited SMS
SIM-only R500
Mobile service with mobile device
State users on top-up options
can top up their all-net minutes
at the discounted State OOB
rate of R0.45 (36% discount).
Full allocation of all package
bundles and benefits even if a
SIM is activated mid-month. No
proration applied as we would
do normally.
Event billing and premium-rated
events can be blocked at a SIM
level, backed by the setting
of a zero spend limit.
Book a presentation appointment now.
Email us: RT15Enquiries@telkom.co.za

S
technology
IT INFRASTRUCTURE:
pillar of digital government
As governments aim to become more citizen-centric, a strong IT infrastructure
will help them meet the expectations of today’s tech-savvy citizens.
By Kearney Consulting
D
Digital government offers an appealing vision of the future:
citizens communicating with government departments anywhere
and anytime using integrated channels; governments being more
inclusive and responsive to constituents’ needs; departments
collaborating and integrating their services to provide seamless
services to citizens.
And nearly every government in the world knows it needs to go
digital – to automate processes, support service delivery, become
more efficient and improve citizens’ lives. Research suggests
that government leaders recognise that technology improves
synergies among departments, citizens and the private sector. IT
also enhances institutional connections within the government,
increasing transparency and accountability for public services,
and creating stronger social equity and citizen inclusion and
hence sustainable development. 1
To support the digital transition,
many governments have formulated IT
strategies, hired chief technology officers
and developed enterprise systems and
infrastructure. However, a few have thrived
by taking a truly holistic approach to
identifying an overall IT operating model
that guarantees effective IT services for
departments and citizens. The complexity
of these IT environments is expensive
to manage and with governments under
significant pressure to cut costs, funding
for transformation programmes is limited.
Within that massive spending there is a
tremendous opportunity for governments
to acquire the necessary IT infrastructure
services more affordably and with better
performance.
individual departments can make in-house decisions related to their
line-of-business applications while transferring decisions about
commodity IT infrastructure and enterprise applications to a shared
entity (see figure 1).
Note:
Integrated front-end channels give citizens a one-stop shopping
experience whether face-to-face, over the phone, at kiosks, on the
Internet, via mobile devices or with third parties. Centralised portals
provide personalised access to all stakeholders from citizens and
businesses to other governments and non-residents. An integration
hub centralises online systems for authentication, participation,
voting, petitions, content management and business intelligence. It
offers unified registers and databases of information about citizens
and vehicles and has a technical component containing applications
and data for system interoperability. Centralised infrastructure and
A CITIZEN-CENTRIC
CAPABILITY MODEL
All government departments have a
common customer: citizens. But the services
those departments provide and the daily
operational activities they conduct are
different. We advise using an operating
model based on coordination, so that
1. United Nations E-Government Survey
2012: E-Government for the People
LoB app is line of business application. BI is business intelligence.
Credit AT Kearney Analysis
14 | Service magazine

technology
S
enterprise applications allow cost optimisation, build scalability, and
increase agility and flexibility for new services.
The result is that citizens get what they have come to expect nearly
everywhere else: technology that functions seamlessly. In the pursuit
of digitisation, choosing the right operating model will be essential
to success.
ENABLING BEST-IN-CLASS IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
In today’s world, consumers expect a technological ecosystem rather
than a disconnected set of websites, call centres and offices. In the
private sector, companies have improved the customer experience
with cloud technologies that reduce operating costs and limit the
need for expensive processing centres. At the same time, payper-use
and cost transparency have become crucial non-technical
requirements for IT service consumers in both the public and
private sectors.
Credit: AT Kearney Analysis
Consequently, having the right operating model to enable best-inclass
IT infrastructure services is key. Three elements are vital:
1. Have a central agency oversee it infrastructure and manage
the complex relationships across departments and suppliers
While external market players can more efficiently deliver
commodity IT services, including IT infrastructure and enterprise
applications, a central agency can serve as something of a broker
between individual departments and suppliers (see figure 2). The
agency can lead the consolidation and develop government-wide
standards for IT applications, data sharing and infrastructure,
integrated service management, supplier and contract management
as well as ownership of the integration layer. Without a central
agency, coordinating these activities will be difficult. Governments
would be wise to choose external suppliers for these IT services,
addressing security and privacy concerns with them, and then
giving departments the flexibility to choose the services they want.
Depending on the situation and the mandates the government can
enforce, the central agency takes on various levels of oversight and
value addition. There are three levels of roles central agencies can
take (see figure 3 on next page):
Engager. In the engager role, the central agency manages IT
sourcing processes, negotiates contracts on behalf of departments
and manages vendor relationships. The Netherlands acts as an
engager and has two organisations. The first, GovUnited, enforces
national technology standards, aggregates municipalities’ demands
and leverages economies of scale to source IT services from the
market. Municipalities pay GovUnited for basic services based on
fees tiered to their size. 2 The other, Dimpact, helps municipalities
implement digital products and services, including a multichannel
front- and mid-office solution.
Manager. As manager, the agency takes on several roles,
developing the overall information and communications
technology (ICT) strategy, ensuring compliance with government
standards, maintaining accountability of service
levels with departments through all vendors,
forecasting demand and tracking technology
innovation. Among these three central-agency
models, this one is often the best choice as
it optimises the level of control and value
addition.
Integrator. Integrators ensure that service
management is integrated across vendors and
IT services; it also is accountable for delivering
key services such as security. South Africa’s
State Information Technology Agency plays this
role, providing a mix of mandatory and nonmandatory
services to agencies. While it oversees
IT procurement, elective services include
application development and maintenance,
infrastructure maintenance as well as IT
consulting and training.
2. Guide the transition to the
central agency model
The biggest challenge governments face when
pursuing centralisation is getting buy-in from departments and
agencies, which often fear losing flexibility and control and prefer
to pursue what suits their own needs. Another barrier is many
departments’ lack of funding for a transition, coupled with a
perception by many that new suppliers may cost less initially but will
be more expensive – and harder to leave – in the long term.
Picking the right transition model, based on existing government
structure and an agency’s level of mandate, can help manage these
challenges and ensure the desired level of supplier competition and
department flexibility for provisioning IT infrastructure services.
3. Source infrastructure services by buying market-ready
packages and maintaining supply-side competition
When sourcing IT infrastructure services from the market, consider
the move from two perspectives: the supply side (how the market
provides these services) and the demand side (how departments
consume the services).
1. www.govunited.nl
Service magazine | 15

S
technology
Credit: AT Kearney Analysis
Supply. There are three affinities within IT infrastructure services
on the supply side. The first centres on processing and storage for
hosting services, the second on the end-user and the third on the
BEST PRACTICE
Keep IoT devices up to date with the latest software and
security patches.
Change default passwords on IoT devices.
Use strong passwords for all devices connected on the
IoT network.
Check the privacy settings of IoT devices to ensure there
are no weak spots.
Activate multi-factor authentication on devices.
network. 3 While hosting services
are self-contained, end-user and network services can be bought in
multiple variants. For example, some elements in the end-user service
tower can be purchased separately for some users, including desktop
offerings (with no custom enterprise applications, including all
licence costs), email (such as Google’s enterprise offering) and office
productivity products (like Office 365). Unified communications
such as Voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) telephony and desktop
integration are specialised services that can be bought separately
from suppliers with a communications pedigree.
3 Processing may include server management, middleware
management as well as security and data centre management.
Storage may include various management forms (a storage area
network, network-attached storage or direct-attached storage)
as well as backup and recovery. End-user may include desktop
management and collaboration (email, video conferencing and
messaging). Network may include local area network, wide area
network or a metropolitan area network management.
16 | Service magazine

technology
S
Similarly, network services have a strong affinity for data carriage and
voice services typically bought from telecommunication providers.
Some elements of wide area network services are bought as part
of the data carriage, which may include a managed router, network
monitoring and cross-site network service management.
As mentioned, the typical objective of sourcing IT infrastructure
services is effective service delivery at a reduced cost of ownership.
Encouraging supplier competition is one of the best ways to meet
this goal. In IT infrastructure procurement, there are two ways to
achieve this: by buying standardised services (such as cloud) that
have competition built in or by buying customised services from
multiple suppliers.
Buying standardised services in the cloud (data as a service,
IaaS, PaaS and to an extent, SaaS) opens numerous options. When
demand is strong, suppliers tend to innovate rapidly to compete on
pricing or enhanced services, both of which benefit customers. There
is low entrenchment, so switching suppliers is easier. Comparability
leads to better benchmarking and automatic price adjustment in
the market. However, custom requirements will not be met in many
cases, which could push costs into more expensive areas of the stack
to achieve application remediation.
For non-standard services, where much of the legacy platform
would be, competitiveness is best encouraged through multiple
suppliers in each service tower. Benchmarking can also be used
to manage supplier performance, but effectiveness is limited by
comparability issues in the custom service offering. Obtaining
services from multiple suppliers should be done carefully because
it could lead to lingering problems such as poor service delivery
due to lack of coordination, higher integration, governance and
operational costs.
Demand. On the demand side, the prices for IT infrastructure
services that a central agency publishes may differ from those
available in the market.
This could be because department-facing services are acquired as
part of a bundle or because of a transformation where the agency
owns the financial risk. Departments may also be less interested in
supply-side unit costs and more interested in per-user IT costs and
matching IT costs to business outcomes.
Service magazine | 17

S
technology
PROTECTING SMART CITIES
Today, one of the most pervasive risks is ransomware attacking various
government services, and cities are susceptible to attacks on network
equipment and items. Websites and applications connected to IoT are
at risk of exposure. And targeted attacks on infrastructure facilities are
serious incidents.
From energy and water management, video surveillance and others, IoT is a
core part of enabling smart cities. Efforts around protecting the environment
should encompass every level of the smart city ecosystem.
“Unfortunately, many IoT devices have little or no protection at the software
and infrastructure levels. They are often unsupported and have no updates
from the vendor. Implementing IoT solutions on top of existing legacy
systems, which were once standalone and unconnected, will also create
vulnerable targets for cyberattacks,” says Bethwel Opil, enterprise client
lead at Kaspersky in Africa.
To respond to these IoT security challenges and provide help to companies
and government departments requiring specific cybersecurity protection,
activities on different levels must emerge. Fortunately, there is movement
towards standardising the development and implementation of IoT platforms
to make them more dependable and secure by design.
“Effectively, smart cities can only be successful when all the stakeholders
across specialist IT, business, government and the private sector work
effectively together. No single service provider, government department or
private sector business can try to do everything to deliver the environment
for a smart city to succeed. For example, from a security perspective,
Kaspersky contributes to this process by designing and developing
components, including IoT gateways and other solutions based on the
principles of cyber immunity,” adds Opil.
This cyber immunity approach is a means to create solutions that are
virtually impossible to compromise and that minimise the number of
potential vulnerabilities. For smart cities this means protecting systems for
buildings and public services such as those that enable public administration
managers to control the consumption of water and heat – and much more.
A smart city is a cyber-physical system, meaning both physical safety and
digital security are essential for the smooth operation of city services.
Cybersecurity practices for smart cities should include basic measures,
such as encryption and strict password policies, vulnerability management,
network segmentation and a zero-trust model, as well as firewalls and
dedicated protection for any cloud infrastructures that the smart city’s
systems and applications are connected to. Dedicated IoT security solutions,
such as security gateways, need to be in place to connect IoT devices with
business applications while ensuring the security of the communications and
data transferring through them. In organisations where the IT infrastructure
is connected to smart city objects and systems, endpoint and network
protection with the ability to detect and respond to diverse threats should
be used.
“The harmonious fusion of the digital and physical worlds in a smart city can
significantly improve citizens’ quality of life, increase the efficiency of urban
utilities and strengthen the position of cities in the global digital economy,
making them attractive to investors and contributing to dynamic growth.
However, cybersecurity measures must be considered every step of the
way if such cities of the future are to flourish,” concludes Opil.
This has implications for market packages. All
service unit costs should be attributable to one or more
departments. This is straightforward when there is
one-to-one matching between users and the services
consumed. When platforms are shared or there are
services that underpin other user-facing services, this
clarity is lost. Hence, the packages must ensure some
sort of an allocation of service-tower costs for shared
elements.
BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
After transforming current-state services for IT
infrastructure, the next challenge is articulating
future-state services. Instead of defining these services,
central agencies should focus on articulating high-level
target-state requirements. They highlight the relative
prioritisation of emerging technology trends, as well as
the change in user segments and their needs.
An effective strategy is to focus on target-state
requirements to help suppliers understand the direction
the central agency is headed and to signal a businessoutcomes
focus in delivering IT infrastructure services.
Short-term service needs, such as logical next steps
for current and ongoing projects, should be clearly
articulated. However, these needs should be positioned
as directional, using the breadth of market capabilities
to bring a fresh perspective to the business problems
that these technical solutions are attempting to solve.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Which service elements stay in-house depends on
the approach chosen to ensure effective service
management. There are many models to choose from
based on size, complexity and final accountability for
success.
At one end of the spectrum is the monolithic model
for integrated service management, where one supplier
provides all service towers and is accountable for endto-end
service delivery. The main issue with this model
is supplier entrenchment and lack of competitiveness,
which often leads to higher costs and a possible hostage
situation. A variant of this, the prime subcontractor
model, lowers the risks, but only slightly.
A second model sources integrated service
management through a supplier that is not delivering
services in any of the service towers. This is typically
combined with the help desk tower for a closed-loop
service offering.
The issue here is that the service manager cannot
contractually take accountability for service levels
achieved by the other suppliers because they are not
under its control. Full accountability may be possible
but at a significant price premium.
In a third model, the central agency overseeing IT
infrastructure drives integrated service management
centrally, through the departments, or with a
18 | Service magazine

technology
S
combination of both, depending on the department size and
segregation of infrastructure. The central agency holds the supplier
contracts that define service levels expected from each service tower.
The main risk with this model is in execution should the right
people not be in place. While this requires fewer people, staff should
have above-average capabilities in commercial, technical and servicedelivery
roles. If risk appears insurmountable, then the central
agency can use the second model above on a best-efforts basis using
a third-party service manager.
THE JOURNEY TO DIGITAL GOVERNMENT
A well-planned agency approach that works effectively within the
government structure and has a clear transition plan can produce
results within a couple of years. Understanding the market by using
collaborative procurement models and competitive service contracts
with vendors should allow for needed flexibility as technology and
the government’s specific technology needs evolve – all with an eye
towards creating a digital government that can serve a municipality
well for years to come. S
Service magazine | 19

S
skills development
Pathways into the
economy for Africa’s youth
How investing in the employability of young people remains a powerful lever for creating paths into the economy.
By Nozuko Mzamo, social investment specialist, Tshikululu Social Investments
A
An estimated 1.8-billion youth worldwide will not have the skills
or qualifications required to participate in the workforce by 2030.
As the workplace changes due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
there will need to be a shift in how young people are equipped with
the necessary skills and know-how.
In the 2018 Global Business Coalition for Education’s report
on preparing tomorrow’s workforce for the Fourth Industrial
Revolution, it was estimated that across the globe, 260-million
children were out of school and more
than 800-million youth were not on
track to learn the basic skills needed to
enter the workforce by 2030.
The disruption of Covid-19 has
accelerated change and further
exacerbated the existing inequalities
that young people face, making
the attainment of Sustainable
Development Goal 4, “Ensuring
inclusive and equitable quality
education and promoting life-long
learning opportunities for all,” ever
more elusive. The World Bank predicts
that the current global cohort of today’s youth generation, because of
the pandemic, are at risk of losing USD17-trillion in future earnings.
If young people do not develop vastly different skill sets from
previous generations, they will face a growingly uncertain future.
Undoubtedly, one of the major challenges in South Africa’s
development, and the African continent — a continent with
a population of approximately 65% young people — is youth
unemployment. Alarmingly, the African Development Bank has
estimated that 50% of the youth in Africa will be unemployed and
economically inactive by 2025.
According to the Department of Higher Education and Training,
8.8-million people in South Africa aged 15-34 are youth Not in
Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Approximately
5-million are inactive (not looking for work) and 3.8-million are
unemployed (actively seeking employment and available to work).
A total of 52% of the 8.8-million people who are youth NEET
are female. By the end of the first quarter in 2022, 46% of people
between 15 and 34 years of age remained outside of employment,
education and training.
A total of 50% of the youth in
Africa will be unemployed and
economically inactive by 2025.
The higher education system is faced with challenges ranging
from high attrition rates at universities; outdated curricula; low
throughput rates in Technical and Vocational Education and Training
(TVET) institutions; as well as a wide variation in quality and control
within the Sector Education and Training Authorities. Additionally,
the vocational system suffers from insufficient relationships with
business and industry, leaving vocational training institutes illequipped
to meet employers’ skill requirements and young people
largely either underexposed or
not exposed at all to quality career
guidance and work-readiness training
that would allow them to transition
into the world of work.
While concerns abound globally, in
South Africa in particular, the nature
of vocational system quality makes
addressing critical issues exceedingly
challenging. Given this complex
context, what are the opportunities for
social investors to create meaningful
pathways for young people?
Notwithstanding the intricate
challenges in the higher education system and the overall South
African labour market, our research confirms that employability
programmes are a meaningful avenue to the economy for young
people.
The 2022 Global Business Coalition for Education report exploring
the materiality of education highlights the imperative for businesses
to invest in skills and education for the youth to equip them for the
new world of work and help drive economic growth. If education
challenges are left unaddressed, companies will struggle with
developing and retaining the workforce pipeline. This directly
threatens the opportunities available for businesses to enter new
markets and expand to ensure sustainable supply chains are built
and maintained.
Tangible education, development and training positively
drives diversity, equity and inclusion as well as human capital
management metrics. Investing specifically in youth employability
could allow companies to meaningfully tackle the “S” in their ESG
agendas while helping to build a more resilient, inclusive and
sustainable society. S
20 | Service magazine

skills development
S
FIRST-CLASS INDUSTRY 4.0
“I recently received the report of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on the implications of 4IR to our post-school education and training
(PSET) system. The report provides insights into how the PSET policy-making mechanism can respond to the challenges posed by
rapid shifts in the way we learn, live and conduct our business.
[The report says] our PSET sector must place great emphasis on developing curricula, programmes and courses that are informed by
the demands of the labour market. Being demand-led in this way requires customised initiatives that respond directly to the needs of
groups of similarly focused employers and result in employment or self-employment of the young person.
However, the relevance of PSET programmes cannot be exclusively dictated by the demands of the labour market. There is a need
to equally ensure ongoing curriculum development that prepares students to thrive as the needs of the labour market change and to
become active agents in shaping the future of both South African society and its economy.
I am proud that two of our Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority
(CHIETA) and the Media, Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) SETA, collaborated with the Freeport Saldanha Bay
Industrial Development Zone and other partners to establish this SMART Skills Centre.
This centre is part of our bigger plan to revolutionise digital skills development in all our nine provinces and to cater for SMME
development. The centre will offer various digital skills development programmes, based on technologies such as blockchain, artificial
intelligence, software development, data science and mobile repairs.
CHIETA forecasts that a minimum of 10 000 unemployed youth from surrounding rural communities will benefit from the centre over the
next five years. CHIETA and its stakeholders will provide various online learning platforms for unemployed youth to start up scalable
data-driven commercial businesses that will provide technological solutions.
As the great Nelson Mandela famously said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This
state-of-the-art centre is a fulfilment of what Madiba represented.
We agreed that all SETAs must develop partnerships with other institutions within the PSET sector such as TVET, Community
Education Colleges (CET) and the National Skills Fund. Partnerships must also be developed with other government departments
and their agencies.
Through this centre, CHIETA must now further identify and collaborate with both the TVET and CET colleges in the Western Cape. This
will ensure that we rapidly enhance the potential of these colleges to harness open learning to increase access to the PSET learning
opportunities that are closely linked to the needs of the labour market and help to drive growth in local employment.
This principle must be integrated in the concept of this SMART centre and be applied to the two SMART Skills Centres that will be
launched in the current financial year in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
These centres must ensure that we place our TVET graduates for in-service training, learnerships and internships as President Cyril
Ramaphosa announced during his 2022 State of the Nation Address that the government must place 10 000 unemployed TVET
graduates for in-service training.
In all our project conceptualisation, integrated delivery models that work at district and regional levels and that enable PSET institutions
in common localities to work with each other as well as with public and private enterprises, social structures and the communities they
serve as well as with local, district and provincial government will always ensure that we create articulated, seamless, responsive
development opportunities to the benefit of our economy.”
Address by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, at the launch of the CHIETA SMART
Skills Centre, Saldanha Bay, 25 October 2022.
Service magazine | 21

S
water
Decay after progress: South
Africa’s basic water supply services
Water is at the heart of health and wellbeing for people and nature. Access to it is a human rights
issue recognised by international declarations and national standards. It is vital for education
and economic productivity. Ultimately, it connects the environment to society.
By Anja du Plessis*
TThe most recent statistics (2020) show a general global trend
of positive progress in access to water. The proportion of
the global population using safely managed drinking water
services increased from 70.2% in 2015 to 74.3% in 2020. But despite
this progress, in 2020, two-billion people still lacked safely managed
drinking water. The Sub-Saharan African region has the largest
numbers, with 387-million people without access to basic drinking
water services. Current coverage of access to regulated drinking
water is estimated at only 54% of the region’s population.
In South Africa, the right to water is enshrined in the Constitution.
Before the country’s transition to democracy in 1994, government
policies were focused on the advancement of the white minority.
The development of the country’s water
resources did not consider improving the
position of the mostly black, poor majority.
South Africa has made significant
progress since then in expanding water
services, especially within the disadvantaged,
vulnerable communities and rural areas.
But inequality in access to basic services is
still a reality. Progress with water supply and
sanitation service delivery has been slow and
in some instances, it’s deteriorating.
Water is a critical resource. Its provision
should be seen as an enabler that
facilitates socioeconomic development.
Water infrastructure needs to be suitably
maintained – and upgraded – to ensure
water access and reliable supply to guarantee
water security.
development, improving the quantity and the quality of water supply
to citizens. This created a comprehensive legislative framework for
the provision of water and sanitation services.
Progress was subsequently made by advancing and extending
water supply to rural areas and previously under-serviced areas.
During the first decade of democracy, an estimated 13.4-million
more people had access to basic water supply services.
WATER ACCESS REALITY
South Africa’s water situation has since deteriorated. The reliability
of water services and infrastructure – as shown by frequent water
supply interruptions – has been on a downward trend. It’s important
PROGRESS IN SOUTH AFRICA
In 1994, about 14-million people (35%)
in South Africa didn’t have basic water
supply services. The minimum standard
of these services is defined as clean, piped
water delivered within 200 metres of a
household at a minimum flow rate of 10
litres per minute, for 300 days a year, with
any interruption not lasting longer than two
days at a time.
The government adopted various policies
and programmes aimed at sustainable water
Water infrastructure delivered versus vs water supply in 2021.
Credit: National Integrated Water Information System.
22 | Service magazine

water
S
South Africa is facing the
stark reality of a third of all its
water infrastructure not being
fully operational.
Article courtesy The Conversation
to note that even when communities have access to water through
infrastructure, this does not guarantee the delivery of basic water
supply services.
The number of households with access to clean water grew
from 67% in 1993 to an estimated 85% in 2015 and 96% in 2018.
However, the portion of households with reliable and safe water
supply services — such as having clean water sources not too far
from their household — decreased by 64% in 2018.
The deterioration of the country’s water infrastructure
and actual delivery of reliable and safe water supply can be
attributed to under-investment in infrastructure maintenance and
delays in the renewal of old infrastructure. Other contributing
factors include limited budgets, poor revenue management by
local municipalities, misappropriation of funds, lack of capacity or
necessary technical skills related to water services and sanitation
operation and maintenance.
South Africa is facing the stark reality of a third of all its
water infrastructure not being fully operational, which is against
the global trend of making positive progress. In addition, the
government’s planned budget to rebuild deteriorated water
infrastructure is already R333-billion short of the estimated R898-
billion said to be required by the National Water and Sanitation
Master Plan published in 2018.
GOING FORWARD
Based on my research in integrated water resource management,
I propose that South Africa takes some of the following steps
to avoid a major water crisis and improve water security. These
recommendations are also in the country’s National Water
Security Framework:
• Address inefficient water use and wastage.
• Investigate the possible impacts of climate change and what effect
these may have on the country’s water resources.
• Invest in infrastructure maintenance.
• Correct inadequate management systems and record-keeping.
• Develop and implement an institutional and regulatory
framework and ensure compliance thereof.
• Work on minimising the current skills deficit. The capacity of key
national government departments and municipalities needs to be
evaluated in an objective manner.
South Africa must move away from simply constructing water
supply systems to ensuring that the basic levels of service are
provided to all. S
* Anya du Plessis is an associate professor and research specialist in integrated
water resource management at the University of South Africa.
Service magazine | 23

S
waste
Waste sector
income is on the up
More than 40 local, district and metropolitan municipalities countrywide have seen the socioeconomic
benefits of strategic waste management for their communities thanks to successful
partnerships with South Africa’s leading plastic producer responsibility organisation PETCO.
OOne such drive involves the Zonda Insila Programme (ZIP) which
was launched in Breyton in 2019 with only four projects and now
boasts 14 projects supporting 240 community members spanning
the Nkangala, Gert Sibande and Ehlanzeni district municipalities
in Mpumalanga.
“With the level of interest shown and the growing number of
informal waste pickers, there is no doubt that ZIP is encouraging
more and more young people to shift their thinking towards waste
as a form of potential income generation. To say waste is trash is
outdated,” says ZIP coordinator Linah Duduzile Ndala.
For the past 17 years, South Africa’s most experienced plastic
producer responsibility organisation (PRO), PETCO, together with
its members, has been engaging with municipalities on sustainability
programmes to improve effective waste management and recycling
rates. Key among municipal waste management priorities is
the diversion of waste that has value from landfills, as well as
accommodating waste pickers in the recycling value chain.
“Waste is not trash, it is economy,” Ndala continues. “The role of
stakeholders like municipalities, PETCO and the province is very
important because they need to take the lead.”
PETCO’s role in such municipal waste management partnership
projects comes in the form of equipment provision and infrastructure
support for waste pickers and buy-back centres – with the goal of
incorporating waste pickers in the formal recycling sector – as well
as training and skills development for municipal employees involved
in waste management.
“Currently, there are very few municipal separation-at-source
collection systems, so we work with interested municipalities to
establish collection projects and expand PET collection into new
areas,” says PETCO CEO Cheri Scholtz. “We help grow sustainable
businesses and sponsor infrastructure and equipment to unlock
collections and improve the quantity and quality of post-consumer
PET collected,” she says.
Another successful drive has seen the Drakenstein Municipality
reaping the rewards of a recycling programme launched four years
ago at the Wellington Landfill Site, with several success stories
emanating from it. According to Thys Serfontein, senior manager:
solid waste and landfill management at Drakenstein Municipality,
PETCO had been “amazingly supportive of this project right from
the start and still are today”.
Drakenstein Municipality has been one of the first municipalities
to successfully complete the “integration of waste pickers into
the formal waste industry at municipal level – one of national
government’s focus areas,” Serfontein says.
“As soon as our Material Recovery Facility and Refuse Transfer
Station are fully functional in 2022/23, these wastepreneurs will be
accommodated. They will be able to increase their production and
it will also mean that approximately 50 tons less material will reach
the landfill site,” says Serfontein.
Zonda Insila Programme Coordinator, Linah Duduzile Ndala.
24 | Service magazine

waste
S
To say waste is trash
is outdated.
metres of municipal landfill space.
A further R1.2-billion was injected
into the economy from the sale of
recycled materials.”
Scholtz adds: “The impact of
partnerships on the recycling value
chain cannot be underestimated, and
collaboration is critical to ensuring
that change can be implemented at a
national scale.”
Plans are currently underway
to assist a further 21 sustainability
projects with equipment, branding
and accredited training. S
PETCO CEO Cheri Scholtz says waste
pickers “play an important role in
diverting waste from landfill and will
play an increasingly valuable role in
municipal waste collection systems and
rolling out kerbside projects”.
“Their integration advances
South Africa’s priorities such as
job creation, poverty alleviation,
environmental protection and economic
transformation,” Scholtz says, adding
that PETCO’s experience in working
with the entire PET value chain made
it qualified to assist municipalities with
sustainability efforts.
“In the past year alone, PETCO and
our partners ensured that 90 402 tons
of post-consumer PET, which equates
to 2.1-billion bottles, was collected
for recycling, saving 560 495 cubic
Service magazine | 25

S
waste
PACKA-CHING
KA-CHING KA-CHING
South Africa’s waste management and recycling sector has welcomed a rapid influx of innovative
community recycling projects in response to the country’s need to divert waste from landfill.
R
Recognised for its successful and easily replicable model,
Polyco’s Packa-Ching project recently won the Conscientious Spirit
Award at the 25th WasteCon. “The drive for sustainability in our
waste management sector has largely been determined by keeping
waste streams out of landfill and economically repurposing materials,
realising the environmental and social benefits of recycling,” says
Patricia Pillay, CEO of Polyco.
“Our Packa-Ching project has been successful in this by
bringing an enterprise-operated mobile recycling service to many
communities across our country. Through this project we are
uplifting communities and keeping recyclable packaging waste,
including plastic, paper, glass and cans out of the environment
and landfill.”
Since the launch of Polyco’s Packa-Ching project in 2017, more
than 7.2-million kilograms of waste has been diverted from landfill
with more than R6.4-million earned by community members, in
exchange for their recyclables.
“Through our partnerships with Sasol and the Shoprite Group,
we have managed to successfully roll out 10 mobile Packa-Ching
units across six provinces. Our newest, in Nelspruit, launched in
October 2022 and is driven by local waste entrepreneurs, I-WASTE.
“With Packa-Ching, we have been working with small business
owners and entrepreneurs within the waste sector, empowering them
with resources to scale up their businesses within the communities in
which they operate,” says Pillay.
“A mobile recycling truck and trailer is a great solution to bring a
‘recycling drop-off’ site to a wider community. We have seen that this
has been quickly adopted, with community members bringing their
recyclables to be weighed in and exchanged for an instant payment
made via a cashless eWallet solution to their cell phone.”
Hosted by the Institute of Waste Management of Southern
Africa (IWMSA), WasteCon is the country’s flagship waste
management conference and awards event. The biannual event
is a premier showcase of the best practices and solutions for
sustainable waste management. The Conscientious Spirit Award is
given to the organisation, project or person that has demonstrated
conscientiousness in a project or service beyond normal ethical
behaviour in pursuit of the IWMSA’s goals. Some of these goals
include improving waste management standards, training, and
awareness creation on waste management, and promoting the value
of waste as a resource.
“We are so honoured that our work with Packa-Ching has been
recognised with this award. It’s the perfect end to what has been a
great year,” says Pillay. “We would like to make special mention to
our sponsors, the Shoprite Group as well as Sasol for the continued
support and for helping to make Packa-Ching the success it is today.
“We’ve seen the positive impact of this programme on various
local communities – both for the employees and those generating an
income from recyclables. Not only does it promote removing waste
from our communities and recycling it, but it also makes recycling
more accessible,” adds Sanjeev Raghubir, the Shoprite Group’s
sustainability manager. S
To find out more, visit www.packaching.co.za.
26 | Service magazine

waste
S
CREATING A
GREENER FUTURE
There is concern that the country is on the verge of an environmental crisis because landfills
are rapidly filling up and illegal dumping sites are popping up in communities.
Illegal dumping sites are a threat to the environment and the
Iwellbeing of communities. More than 90% of waste generated
in Africa is disposed of at uncontrolled dumpsites and landfills,
often with associated open burning, causing a need for waste
management. Refuse is often seen as a cumbersome issue and many
businesses avoid taking responsibility for their waste.
As Africa’s urban growth spiked by 3.55% per annum over
the last two decades – a trend expected to continue well into
the future – the problem has only become more acute. Africa’s
waste generation is expected to reach 244-million tons per year
by 2025. This conundrum is a concern that Mafiso Xulu, the
founder of MFT Waste Solutions, is addressing through his waste
management business. Xulu helps companies reuse and repurpose
their waste to avoid it ending up in landfills. Businesses operating
in South Africa are legally required to comply with national
standards of waste management which stipulate that they must take
responsibility for their waste to avoid being prosecuted.
Entrepreneurs like Xulu are entering the waste management
sector to make a meaningful impact. Getting the business up-andrunning
was not easy for Xulu. He initially struggled to secure a
warehouse to operate from due to financial difficulties. Thereafter,
he had to ensure that the warehouse met health and safety
requirements and he also had to purchase expensive machinery.
“Once I met all the legal requirements, I was able to start
working with big companies like Unilever. We help Unilever to keep
hazardous waste out of landfills by treating their waste or crushing
it before returning it to the company to reuse,” he says.
JOB CREATION
OPPORTUNITIES
With the 244-million tons of
waste predicted to be produced
in Africa within the next decade,
this creates an opportunity for
waste to be collected, reused and
recycled and jobs can be created.
“I currently employ over 60
people and 37 of them are from
the Tembisa Self-Help Association
of the Disabled (T-SHAD) that
I work closely with,” he says
proudly. As the fight against
waste intensifies, there will be
plenty of business opportunities
that can lead to economic growth
and job creation. Xulu adds that
there is always work to be done in
the waste sector. There is a need
for more businesses to work in
unserved areas where there are
illegal dumping sites.
Mafiso Xulu, the founder of
MFT Waste Solutions.
“I don’t mind getting my hands dirty because I am passionate
about eradicating landfills and helping companies and communities
repurpose their waste,” he says. The growth strategy for MFT Waste
Solutions is to collaborate with global companies that are reducing
marine litter and pollution.
Xulu is excited about the future and is proud that his business is
creating jobs and positively contributing towards reducing pollution. S
There is always work to be
done in the waste sector.
Service magazine | 27

S
waste
PETCO partners with
municipalities to make a difference
More than 40 local, district and provincial municipalities countrywide have seen the socio-economic
benefits of strategic waste management for their communities thanks to successful partnerships
with South Africa’s leading plastic producer responsibility organisation PETCO.
For the past 17 years, PETCO has been engaging with municipalities
towards the shared goal of effective waste management and recycling.
Key among municipal waste management priorities is the
integration of waste pickers into the formal sector. The informal
collectors operating in the country play an important role in
municipal waste collection systems and in diverting waste from
landfill. Their integration advances government priorities such
as job creation, poverty alleviation, environmental protection and
economic transformation.
PETCO’s experience in working with the entire polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) value chain makes it eminently qualified to
assist municipalities with sustainability efforts. In the past year alone,
PETCO and partners ensured that 90 402 tons of post-consumer
PET, which equates to 2.1-billion bottles, was collected for recycling,
saving 560 495 cubic metres of municipal landfill space. A further
R1.2-billion was injected into the national economy from the sale of
recycled materials.
Municipalities are, by law, required to develop integrated
waste management plans (IWMP) to drive implementation of
the National Waste Management Strategy. Although legislation
requiring producer responsibility organisations to co-operate with
municipalities came into effect in November 2021, PETCO had been
doing so since 2008.
The impact of partnerships
on the recycling value chain
cannot be underestimated.
“Currently, there are very
few municipal separation-atsource
collection systems, so
we work with municipalities
to establish kerbside collection
projects and expand PET collection into new areas,” says PETCO
collections and training project manager Belinda Booker.
In addition, PETCO provides skills development training
and mentorship for waste pickers registered with participating
municipalities. “This year so far, we have conducted 28 basic training
workshops for 1 357 collectors in eight provinces, and a further three
accredited business training workshops,” says Booker.
“We help them to grow sustainable businesses, and sponsor
infrastructure and equipment to unlock collections and improve the
quantity and quality of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate
collected,” she explains.
Msinga Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal, which
covers two towns and six traditional authority areas, is one recent
example where PETCO is assisting with waste picker integration.
The municipality has registered 138 street- and landfillbased
waste pickers and provided them with a material
recovery facility within the landfill site to operate and store
their recyclable materials. The municipality collects 15 tons of
PET each month and sells it to buy-back centres in Greytown
and Pietermaritzburg.
PETCO recently presented a basic recycling workshop
for waste pickers in conjunction with Dannhauser Local
Municipality and sponsored an H15 baling machine and 25
bulk storage bags alongside polymer producer Safripol.
“The impact of partnerships on the recycling value chain
cannot be underestimated and collaboration is critical to
ensuring that change can be implemented at a national scale,”
says Booker.
Plans are currently underway to assist a further 21 pilot
projects in the City of Cape Town with equipment, branding
and accredited training. S
To collaborate with PETCO, please contact Belinda Booker:
belinda.booker@petco.co.za
38 Service magazine
28 | Service magazine

NINE PROVINCES.
ONE MISSION.
2206239_FP_E

The hottest
Annual
Seminar on
the circuit
39 TH ANNUAL SEMINAR
2023
EVERY YEAR, THE SALLR TEAM DEALS WITH THE
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN LABOUR LAW, HUMAN RESOURCES AND EMPLOYEE
RELATIONS BY PROVIDING DELEGATES WITH INSIGHT AND SOLUTIONS TO DEAL
WITH ‘SLIP AND TRIP’ ISSUES – AND 2023 WILL BE NO EXCEPTION
SALLR SEMINAR PACKAGE OPTIONS
OPTION 1 OPTION 2
Countrywide, in-person and face-to-face seminars
Live broadcast of the in-person and
face-to-face SALLR seminar in Cape Town
on 19 September 2023
DATE(S), PLACE(S) AND VENUE(S)
• Tuesday, 22/8/2023:
Gqeberha, The Boardwalk Hotel
• Thursday, 24/8/2023:
Bloemfontein, Kopano Nokeng Hotel
• Tuesday, 29/8/2023:
Johannesburg (Sandton), The Maslow Hotel
• Thursday, 31/8/2023:
Durban, The Oyster Box Hotel
• Tuesday, 5/9/2023:
Pretoria, Sun Time Square
• Thursday, 14/9/2023:
Johannesburg (Boksburg), Birchwood Hotel
• Tuesday, 19/9/2023:
Cape Town, The Table Bay
• Tuesday, 19/9/2023:
In the comfort of your office, home, etc.
39
YEARS
CELEBRATING
of
SALLR SEMINARS
Reserve your seat now: www.sallr.co.za/sallr-2023
Tel: 041 373 4322 l Email: pa@vanzylrudd.co.za
South African Labour Law Reports @Brian_VZR Brian van Zyl
Van Zyl Rudd House, 3 Mill Park Road, Mill Park, Gqeberha, 6001 • PO Box 12758, Centrahil, Gqeberha, 6006