not visible in the workings of DWS . One example : “ Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely , accessible and accurate information ” ( section 195 ( 1 ) of SA Constitution , Act 108 of 1996 ).
On the contrary , important reports such as the Blue and Green Drop reports are not released for public consumption in spite of promises and requests by civil society . The sad reality is that when the DWS lost momentum on the BD and GD programmes , the municipalities also lost interest and went downhill .
Municipalities : The formal term used in legislation is Water Service Authorities – as the entity responsible for water supply and sanitation services within a municipal area . So , if there is no water in the taps or the raw sewage runs in the streets , the first responsibility lies with the relevant metro , district or local municipality .
There is no need here to expand on these entities as the media reports daily on service delivery – enough to state here that municipalities in South Africa range from a few excellent entities , to a number of good performers , quite a lot struggling to function properly , as well as a bunch of poor performers where service delivery has virtually collapsed .
Water Boards : These are State- Owned Enterprises ( SOEs ) created to build , operate , and maintain large bulk water infrastructure . The best way to explain is by using Rand Water as an example : A water board that takes water from a water resource , in this case the Vaal Dam , treats the water , and then pumps , distributes , and sells it to all municipalities in Gauteng , as well as to a few in Mpumalanga and North West .
Water boards are meant to be financially self-sustainable and funded off-budget through raising bonds and loans on the open market . Income is generated by the selling of potable water in bulk to municipalities . Most of the water boards have a proud history . Rand Water , for example , is over 100 years old and is historically well-run at arm ’ s-length from government . Unfortunately , the current trend of our politicians to mess about in institutions that are working quite well has crept in here as well .
First , cadres without any skills were deployed to the boards of these entities , and lately , also as managers . This political interference has resulted in huge debt owed by municipalities as the managers just went ‘ soft ’ on party colleagues . Latest reports in Parliament stated that at least a R2-billion debt is outstanding . This means that loyal consumers must foot the bill for those not paying . If the current trend continues , it will not be long before water boards come begging for bailouts by Treasury , just like the SAA and the SABC .
TCTA : The Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority ( TCTA ) is another SOE in the water family . It was created with a single purpose in mind : to be the implementing agency for those components of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project ( LHWP ) that are in the RSA .
In Phase I this meant the delivery tunnel between Muela and the Ash River outfall . The TCTA is now fully accountable for the debt management and funding of the water transfer portion of the project as well as the operation and maintenance of the delivery tunnel .
“ First , cadres without any skills were deployed to the boards of these [ water ] entities , and lately , also as managers . This political interference has resulted in huge debt owed by municipalities as the managers just went ‘ soft ’ on party colleagues .”
Since LHWP phase 1 , the TCTA has become a handy and efficient vehicle for DWS to fund and build other large economic water projects , such as the Berg River Dam and projects to curb acid mine drainage .
Catchment Management Agencies ( CMAs ): These entities were planned on the principle of decentralised water management in the 19 – later nine – major catchments in the country .
In practice , CMAs should issue water licences and control abstraction , manage water releases , and curb pollution in rivers and underground water sources .
Unfortunately , this process got horribly bogged down in politics ; with almost 20 years having passed since the National Water Act of 1998 described the powers and functions
Helgard Muller
is a professional engineer with 45 years ’ experience in the water sector . Since retirement from DWA , he has established himself as an independent specialist consultant in the fields of water policy , regulation and institutions .
of CMAs , only two are functional today . The main power struggle seems to be that the DWS Minister and her top management wants central control . The DWS regional offices played their own games and were very reluctant to delegate functions , in spite of the fact that the two existing CMAs ( Breede and Nkomati ) have shown that they can better control water use than DWS and will issue water use licences much quicker and more fairly .
The latest rumour is that we may see only one single CMA responsible for the whole country . If true , it will unfortunately do away with the internationally established concept of decentralised water management .
WRC : The single purpose of the Water Research Commission ( WRC ) is to fund research in the water sector . The actual research is done by universities , individuals , and private consultants . Findings are available for use as tools and guidelines by all in the water sector .
Conflict has arisen from time to time as objective conclusions in research highlighted areas of concern and weak performance by government . Instead of using such studies as motivation to put things right , DWS has opposed the release of some reports to the public . u
netwroking contributor industry debate environment infrastruture municipalities
Water Sewage & Effluent November / December 2017 33