The aim of this article was to determine the role of a public utility in
accelerating growth in a local municipality. The South African (SA)
Constitution of 1996 places an obligation on the national government
to take reasonable action to give effect to the general rights of the
population. While national government is required to establish a
framework to ensure the realisation of rights relating to access to
water, local government has the responsibility to ensure the delivery of
services such as water to their local population, commerce and industry.
These services form the foundation for growth and development in
municipalities. Most municipalities do not have suffi cient capacity
to maintain their infrastructure, and cannot implement large scale
infrastructure projects. The national government can accelerate growth
by engaging a partner with more capability than local government e.g. a
public utility to assist municipalities in water services provision, thereby
creating social development as well as assisting national government
to deliver on their developmental mandate. This research analyses this
solution by researching the case of Umgeni Water as an implementing
agent of the Mbizana Local Municipality and assessing the impact of
water provision on development in that area.