Members of the public are called upon to submit comments on the amendment of the National Water Act and Water Services Act bills. The call comes as the deadline of 1 March for submission of comments looms.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) gazetted two legislations in the Government Notice 4097, which was published on 17t November last year. Members of the public are called upon to submit written comments with only a few days remaining of the initial 60 days from when the bills were published.
The department on Tuesday, 13 February, held a consultation in Bloemfontein for stakeholders and the public to voice their inputs and engage in robust discussions.
Outlining the purpose of the public consultation, Mapula Khuduga, an official of the department, said the policy document aimed to strengthen the regulatory role of the department, whilst also addressing the imbalances of the past.
According to her, regulatory measures would close the gaps in the current water policies and legislation, while providing effective service delivery solutions in support of government’s transformational objectives.
However, other interest groups highlighted that government had capacity challenges, as it could effectively implement its own good policies – and there was less consequence management when there was a transgression of the act and enforcement in the non-compliance of the act.
The amendments of the National Water Act mainly focused on strengthening the following aspects:
- the protection and conservation of water resources, including strategic water source areas;
- the ability of the department to consider and decide on water use applications timeously;
- the ability of the department to improve equity in water use allocation;
- the ability of the department to phase out previous water entitlements in order to achieve the targets for water allocation reform and ensure the efficient use of water; and
- the representivity and governance of water use associations.
In amending the Water Services Act, the department intends to:
- expand on the objectives of the act with regards to the regulation for safely managed sanitation;
- include enforcement and rectification as further object of the act;
- provide for the accountability of water services providers (WSP) in respect of the management, reporting and financial transparency through requirement of operating licence;
- provide for the issuance of an operating licence, content of the licence, and regulations for licensing procedure;
- develop regulations relating to the registration of persons who install and operate water service works;
- provide for the quality of potable or drinking water;
- provide for the establishment and governance structures of water boards, the appointment of the chief executive officer (CEO) and employees of water boards;
- provide for monitoring, enforcement and intervention on poor performance and non-performance of WSPs; and
- expand on penalties for non-compliance with the act.
