Chief Executive
Thamsanqa Basil Hlongwa
Chartered Accountant (SA); BCom Honours.
Acting Chief Executive September 2017 to June 2018. Appointed as Chief Executive effective July 2018.
Umgeni Water Executive1 Finance from July 2013. Director of Msinsi Holdings SOC Ltd since 2014. Chief Financial Officer KZN CoGTA from March 2007 to June 2013. Completed articles with Deloitte from 2002 to 2004.
Audit Senior in Deloitte New York Office from 2004 to 2005. Senior Manager at Siyaya Management Services from 2005 to 2007.
Served in other Governance Structures, including the DUT Council and the Board of PetroSA where he also chaired the Audit and Risk Committees of the Board.
Acting Executive: Operations
Ms Monica Malunga
BSc. Chemistry (UKZN); B.Tech Management (DUT); MBA (DUT) Incomplete
Acting Executive Operations since November 2019
Chairperson of Imbewu Capital Partners Development Trust since 2005. Council Member of Elangeni TVET College since 2014. Board member of EWSETA since 2019.
Previous Board member of Durban Water Recycling; Black Management Forum (BMF); Protech and Thandanani Children’s Home. Umgeni Water Operations Regional Manager since 2012; Senior and Management positions held at Umgeni Water in Scientific Services, Marketing, Business Development, and Operations Departments from 2005 to date.
Prior to Umgeni Water worked as Senior Chemist in Hulamin.
Executive - Infrastructure Development
Sbusiso Mjwara
National Diploma (Civil Engineering); Professional Engineering Technologist (ECSA); Project Management Programme; Certificates in Municipal Finance Management and Labour Intensive Construction.
Appointed as Executive Infrastructure Development in November 2018.
Executive Member and KZN Branch Chairman of the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA). ECSA Moderator/Assessor/Interviewer. Senior Contracts Engineer at Royal Haskoning DHV from 2017 to 2018. Senior Manager: Construction at eThekwini Water & Sanitation from 2016 to 2017. Divisional Head: Water & Sanitation Infrastructure Planning & Development at UMDM from 2006 to 2016. Project Management Unit Manager, Municipal Infrastructure Grant at UMDM from 2004 to 2006. Chief Civil/Structural Technician at Emzansi Consulting Engineers from 2002 to 2004. Civil Engineering Technician at BCP Engineers from 1998 to 2002.
Executive - Finance
Nomalungelo Mkhize
Chartered Accountant (SA); BCom Honours.
Appointed as Executive Finance in December 2018.
Has held various roles including Audit Manager in one of the big four audit firms (Deloitte), Commercial Manager for a packaging company (Nampak), Group Assistant Finance Manager for a listed company in the agricultural sector (Crookes Brothers Limited), and various senior management positions in consulting firms, the latest being an Executive for Product Development (Bonakude Consulting) and Director (Morar Incorporated).
Executive - Corporate Services
Dr Sipho James Manana
PhD in Development Management; MBA; BA (Honours) in Human Resources Development; BSc
Appointed as Executive Corporate Services in June 2019
Has over 30 years’ experience in the Public Sector, in various senior positions, the last being the Acting Director–General: National School of Government.
Executive: Science Services
Manu Pillay
Professional Natural Scientist (SACNASP); MSc Eng (Chem)
Appointed as Executive Scientific Services in December 2018.
Non-Executive Director of Msinsi Holdings SOC Ltd from January 2019. Trustee of the Umgeni Water Retirement Fund from April 2016. Manager: Strategy & Special Projects at Umgeni Water from 2008 to 2018. Manager: Water and Environmental Services from 1998 to 2008.
Company Secretary
Sibusiso Madonsela
Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
LLM (UKZN); LLB (UZ); Postgraduate Diploma in Compliance (UJ)
Appointed as Company Secretary in January 2014.
Prior to occupying this position, he was the head of Umgeni Water’s Legal Services Department. Prior to joining Umgeni Water, he was the Competition Commission’s Legal Counsel and has extensive experience in private legal practice
He is the current Principal Officer of Umgeni Water Provided Fund.
Umgeni Water has a three-tiered management structure:
- The Board of Umgeni Water is the official Accounting Authority as per the Public Finance Management Act (No.1 of 1999), as amended; (PFMA) and
- The organisation's Executive Committee (Exco)
- Senior managers
The 13-member, non-Executive Board guides the Executive team on strategic policy issues, and the sub-committees of the Board meet regularly and provide guidance to Management. Sub-Committees report to the Board on their activities in line with the developed terms of references.
The Chief Executive assisted by the Executive Committee implements decisions of the Board and manages the organisation on a day-to-day basis. This Executive structure is supported by a number of Senior Managers who provide technical information and assist the Executive team. On areas of strategic importance to the organisation, Umgeni Water consults and shares and receives information through Staff Information Sessions, Site Visits, the Staff Advisory Council and through bilateral meetings with Nehawu, the recognised union at the organisation.
Normal management meetings with staff are ongoing. Regular consultation and information meetings are held with customers, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, as well as with the investor community, to inform them of organisational matters.