1. Names of delegation

2. Purpose of study tour

3. Places visited

4. Structure of the report

5.1. Conservation Forestry Management

5.2. Key achievements identified by DWAF

5.3. Challenges faced by DWAF

5.4. Concerns raised by DWAF

6.1. Background to commercial forestry restructuring

6.2. Background on SAFCOL’s Restructuring in the Southern andWestern

Cape

6.3. Background on the Southern Cape and Tsitsikama forests transfer to

South African National Parks (SANPARKS)

6.4. Progress with Cape conversion and the MTO transaction

6.5. Progress with the SANPARKS transfers

6.6. Outstanding Issues

6.6.1. The conversion process and the MTO

6.6.2. SANPARKS transfer

6.6.3. Implications in the transfer process

6.6.4. Challenges in the transfer process

7.1. Community involvement through Participatory Forestry Management

7.1.2. Successes

7.1.3. Challenges

7.2. Concerns raised by the Committee

7.2.1. Responses by DWAF to concerns raised by the Committee

8.1. Staff Complement

8.2. Diepwalle Community

8.3. Diepwalle Crèche

8.3.1. Problems with regards to the Cr che

8.3.2. Successes with regards to the Crèche

9.1. Target groups

9.2. Processes and procedures followed to implement The project

9.2.1. Selection of participants

9.2.2. Price structure

9.2.3. Key findings

9.2.4. Lessons learned

10.1.Advantages of the project

10.2.Analysis of the Nursery Community Project

11.1. Joint activities as presented to the Committee

11.1.1. Questions raised by the Committee

11.1.1.2. Responses to the questions raised by the Committee

12.1.Water and sanitation overview

12.1.1. Recommendation made by Mayor

12.2. Presentation: Sanitation Project

12.2.1. Roles and responsibilities

13.1.Geohydrology/groundwater

13.2.Area visited by the Committee

13.2.1. Questions raised by the Committee

13.2.1.1. Responses by DWAF

13.3.Outeniqua Pass Groundwater Project

13.3.1. Responses and concerns of the Committee

13.3.1.1. Responses by DWAF

14.1.Community involvement in the process of VIP toilets and in the

decision-making process

14.1.1. Challenges identified by DWAF

14.1.2. Concerns and responses by the Committee

14.2.Community Project, Gamka Wes-Calitzdorp

14.2.1. Questions by the Committee to the Community

14.2.1.2. Responses by the Community

15.1.Concerns and questions raised by the Committee

15.1.2. Responses by DWAF

15.2.Heidelberg: Overberg Water Board

15.2.1. The future role of the Overberg Water Board

15.2.1. The nature of the schemes of the Overberg Water Board

15.2.2.1. Challenges

15.2.2.2. Questions and concerns raised by the Committee

15.2.2.3. Reponses by Overberg Water Board

17.1.Overview of the Theewaterskloof Dam

17.1.2. Questions raised by the Committee

17.1.3. Responses by DWAF

17.2.Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA)

17.2.1. Berg River Project

17.2.2. Questions raised by the Committee

17.2.2.1. Responses by TCTA

18.1.The Assegaaibos Working for Water Programme

18.1.2. Questions asked by the Committee to the workers

18.1.2.1. Responses by the workers

18.1.3. Concerns of the Committee raised with TCTA

19.1.Sanitation conditions in Boland

20.1.Questions raised by the Committee

20.1.2. Responses by the City of Cape Town

20.2.Khayelitsha site visit: VIP pilot project

20.2.1. Questions raised by the Committee

20.2.1.1. Responses by the City of Cape Town

22.1.Conservation forestry management

22.2.Planning and management of the Southern Cape Forests

22.3.Field visit: Diepwalle Forestry Estate

22.4.Khoisan Community Project

22.5.Water supply Calitzdorp

22.6.Community Project, Gamka Wes, Calitzdorp

22.7.The bucket system in Zoar

22.8.Overberg Water Board, bucket system in Genadendal

22.9.Khayelitsha, water and sanitation

22.10.Khayelitsha site visit, VIP sanitation project

1. Names of Delegation

Ms. C.C. September (ANC), Ms. S. Maine (ANC), Ms. M.M. Gumede

(ANC), Ms. M.S. Manana (ANC), Mr. Z. Kati (ANC), Ms. L. Ngwenya

(ANC), Ms. T.E. Lishiva (ANC), Mr. J. Phala (ANC), Mr. V. Mabuyakhulu

(ANC), Mr. S. Simmons (NNP), Ms. D. van der Walt (DA), Mr. M.W.

Sibuyana (IFP), Ms. S.N Sigcau (UDM), Mr. G.D. Corker (Researcher),

Ms. S. Cassiem (Committee Secretary), Ms. O. Siebritz (Committee

Assistant).

A delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry

undertook a study tour in the Southern Cape and parts of theWestern Cape

from the 2nd to the 6th of August 2004. The Committee previously visited

the other provinces, excluding the Southern and Western Cape. The

purpose of the study tour was to:

_ Evaluate the delivery of Free Basic Services (water and sanitation).

_ Evaluate the viability of forestry and deforestation, including poverty

alleviation.

_ Assess water resources management in the Western Cape.

The delegation held sessions in eight towns of the Western Cape, i.e.

Knysna, George, Calitzdorp, Heidelberg, Bot River, Franschoek,

Stellenbosch and Khayelitsha in Cape Town. The delegation also visited

and had a session in Tsitsikama and Stormsrivier in the Southern Cape.

During these sessions, the delegation engaged in discussions with various

stakeholders, including the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry,

non-governmental organisations, the Khoisan community who presented a

community project. In Khayelitsha the Committee had a session with

officials from the City of Cape Town and also embarked on a visit to

Khayelitsha where officials from the City of Cape Town presented the

Committee with a pilot sanitation project.

The report presents the daily activities undertaken by the delegation while

on the study tour. The report therefore outlines the various presentations

introduced to the Committee by the various stakeholders. Secondly, the

report outlines site visits undertaken by the Committee. Thirdly, the report

identifies the concerns and questions raised by the Committee to the

institutions who presented to the Committee and in addition the report

outlines the responses of the institutions. The report also discusses the

salient issues and common problems that were identified by the Committee

during the presentations and while on site visits. Lastly, the report outlines

the recommendations put forward by the Committee for action.

The delegation met with the officials from the Department ofWater Affairs

and Forestry, namely, Dr. Henk van Vliet (Chief Director, Southern

Region), Mr. L. Mossop-Rousseau (Manager, Forestry), Mr. Ceba Mtoba

(Director, Forestry) and Mr. M. Lucas (Area Manager, Southern Cape).

Other officials present were introduced as Mr. J Truter, Mr. Mfeleshake

Mahlangu, Mr. Kobus Venter, Mr. G. Durrheim, Mr. Siya Kobese, and Mr.

W. Vermeulen. Other officials who joined in the study tour at a later stage

are Mr. Rashied Khan (Director,Water Affairs and Forestry,Western Cape),

Mr. Klaas Havenga (Estate Manager, Diepwalle), Mr. K. Havenga, Mr. L.

du Plessis, Mr. J. van Staden and Mr. Mike Smart. The objective of the

Committee was to obtain a sense of Forestry and Deforestation, and also to

determine whether these two aspects are benefiting the notion of poverty

alleviation. These Officials were tasked to inform the Committee about

these issues. From their presentation, the following was extracted:

_ DWAF manages 41 538. 6 hectares of State forest land in the Southern

Cape and Tsitsikama. This land is scattered on the narrow coastal strip

to the South of the Outeniqua and Tsitsikama mountain ranges,

between George in theWest and Kareedouw in the East, with a small

area known as Loerie Nature Reserve occurring further East at

Longmore plantation near Hankey.

_ 43 000 mountain catchment areas (MCA’s) have been added to the

areas managed by DWAF from the 1st April 2004 after the SAFCOL

area was sold to Cape Timber Resources.

_ With the exit of SAFCOL another 41 000 hectares will be added to the

Southern Cape and Tsitsikama management areas over the next 12 to

15 years because of the conversion process of Commercial Forestry

State Land to other land users.

DWAF officials informed the Committee that they have a limited number of

staff with a limited budget to manage areas under DWAF management.

Table 1 represents the number of existing staff for existing management

areas. Table 2 represents the existing budget for existing management

areas.

Management 6 5 3 1 7 0 0 11

Administration 0 16 0 10 6 0 0 16

Scientific Services 5 2 1 3 3 0 0 7

Supervisors 8 0 1 (11*) 0 0 1 8

Other 100 1 6 72 1 0 2 (101*)

Vacancies 83

Employees 3 814 4 113 2 271 2 523 12 721

Goods & Services 1 743 531 118 2 200 1 973 2 040 8 656

Transfers/Subsidies 10 13 13 18 54

Machinery &

Equipment

22 30 20 50 47 96 215

Total 5 589 561 138 6 376 4 304 4 677 21 646

According to DWAF officials with the number of staff (as depicted in Table

1) and the budget (as depicted in Table 2), DWAF has to manage the

following:

_ 46 000 hectares of indigenous forests.

_ 5 000 hectares of fynbos.

_ Arboretums (FVC research areas).

_ An area office and three estate offices.

_ The infrastructure of 215 buildings.

_ Seven water schemes.

_ Eleven water reservoirs.

_ Five sewerage purification plants.

_ Two licensed radio communication systems.

_ A fleet of 21 imperial vehicles.

_ Fifteen road construction and specialized harvesting machinery.

_ Thirty-two horses.

_ 318, 93 km of A and B types roads.

_ Seventeen picnic spots.

_ Two hiking trails (173 km) with 9 overnight huts and day walks (127

km).

_ Mountain bike trails (130 km).

_ Three horse trails.

_ Two viewpoints with one in the Garden of Eden and the other at the

Tsitsikama Big Tree, together these viewpoints attract approximately

120 000 visitors per annum.

_ A youth group center.

_ An up market tree top chalet.

_ Transformation: DWAF has a sub-forum in place, consisting of

sixteen members.

_ Participatory Forest Management (PFM): DWAF has three established

PFM community forums with several projects in place. In

addition DWAF also has conservation forums in place.

_ Women’s Day Award: DWAF recently won the mini women’s day

award in theWestern Cape. In addition some women will be awarded

at the next women’s day for their achievements in the communities

and forest villages.

_ The Forestry Certification Award (FSC): The Indigenous forests in

the Tsitsikama and the Southern Cape managed by DWAF received

the FSC certification for the sustainable management of these forests

during December 2002. The area managed by DWAF in the Southern

Cape and Tsitsikama which received this certification comprises 36

000 hectares (ha) of indigenous forests and 5000 ha of Fynbos. The

assessment was done by the SOCIETE GENERALE DE

SURVEILlANCE (SGS), the world’s largest independent inspection

agency.

_ Promoting poverty alleviation and reduction through the participatory

forest management of indigenous forests.

_ Providing sufficient indigenous timber for the indigenous timber

industry to avoid or minimize job losses.

_ Proper and sufficient control and eradication of alien vegetation in

indigenous forests, fynbos and management areas, through the proper

management of the area’s budget.

_ Working together with other governmental departments to create an

enabling environment within forestry management.

_ The Biodiversity Act, Forestry Act, Veld Fire Act, makes significant

impact on how things are done. This requires sustainability of forestry

management. Forestry management should therefore be rural-based

and should focus on rural development.

_ One of the major concerns raised by DWAF officials was that the

forests were invaded by communities.With invasion trees are felled to

build houses, for firewood and agricultural purposes. Communities

should be made aware of participatory forestry management. There is

a need to create awareness amongst communities and inform them of

what they can do and what they cannot do. Communities should be

informed about protected trees in the forests, so that when they engage

in harvesting of the trees they would know what to do and what not to

do.

_ Another concern raised by DWAF officials was that trees lying on the

edge of the mountains are mainly fynbos trees, andDWAF has no staff

to manage these trees. In addition, there is no budget available to

manage these trees or to acquire additional staff.

_ With a limited budget it should be noted by the Committee that 90%

of the commercial areas will be converted into conservation areas and

this will put more pressure on DWAF. DWAF with a limited staff and

budget already manages 580 000 ha of forests in theWestern Cape. In

addition DWAF also maintains two types of roads within the 580 000

ha of forestry namely A roads which are used by visitors and the

public and B roads which are used internally by DWAF.

SAFCOL was established in 1992 in terms of the Management of State

Forests Act, Act 128 of 1992. SAFCOL was incorporated and registered on

21 September 1992 in terms of the Companies Act, Act 61 of 1973, with the

State as sole shareholder. SAFCOL’s mandate was to manage State owned

plantations on a fully commercial basis and to report profits made through

the ‘‘commercialization of State owned plantation forests’’. The State’s

commercial plantations were transferred to SAFCOL on 01 April 1993. In

1996, it was decided that Government should exit from plantation forestry

operations. This was to be achieved through the privatization of SAFCOL,

who during this period had management authority over the State’s

plantation forestry assets based on an agreement between the State and

SAFCOL in 1994, whereby Government was to sell the State forest land

and standing timber to SAFCOL.

However, the incorporation of the former homeland plantations by DWAF

required the State to reconsider the privatization of State plantations.

DWAF’s plantations were mostly situated next to the SAFCOL plantations

which made selling a combined asset more of an option for Government if

it was to exit from all its plantation operations without having residual

liabilities.

This led to DWAF and SAFCOL combining their forestry activities into

seven regional forestry packages and categorized plantations as follows:

_ Komati package: comprising State and SAFCOL forests in the

Northern Province, subsequently joined with the Mpumalanga forests.

_ Siyaqhubeka package: comprising mainly SAFCOL plantations in the

northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

_ Singisi package: comprising State and SAFCOL plantations in the

former Transkei regions of the Eastern Cape.

_ Amathole package: comprising State and SAFCOL plantations

around the Border-Kei region.

_ Mountains to Oceans package: mainly SAFCOL plantations in the

Southern and Western Cape regions.

DWAF officials informed the Committee that in April 1996, Prof Kader

Asmal (then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry), informed SAFCOL

that the sales agreement was no longer enforceable in terms of the

provisions in the National Forests Act, Government’s programme for

restructuring State owned enterprises as well as its objectives with the

restructuring of State owned forestry interests.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) lead Government’s team to

restructure SAFCOL through placing its five forestry business units on the

market, inviting offers from interested bidders to purchase a majority share

in the forestry business. The land on which the businesses were located

would be retained as State forest land, pending its transfer in terms of the

land reform programme to their rightful owners. The forestry businesses

would lease the land back from Government and the new landowners for a

period of 70 years.

In June 1999, SAFCOL’s Board was asked to consider phasing out its

plantation forestry businesses in the Southern andWestern Cape as well as

parts in the Eastern Cape. Government contended that these plantations

were not economically viable as it had a return of less than 10 cubic metre

hectares a year. This issue was raised at Cabinet level, and in September

1993, Cabinet approved in principle to remove approximately 45 000 ha of

State owned plantation land from further commercial forestry production

under SAFCOL and to make the land available for conversion into other

land uses. Cabinet’s decision was announced in a joint media statement on

14 September by the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. Cabinet

mandated an inter-departmental committee, generally referred to as the

Cape Conversion Committee, to oversee the process. The Cape Conversion

Committee commissioned a study to investigate the most viable alternative

land uses for the so-called exit areas. A report from the Cape Conversion

Committee was presented to Cabinet in 2001 (Cabinet Memorandum No 21

of 2001). On 27 June 2001 Cabinet approved that within a twenty year

period, approximately 45 000 ha of plantations should be converted into the

following land uses:

_ 29 000 ha for conservation.

_ 6000 ha for community forestry.

_ 9000 ha for agricultural purposes.

_ 200 ha for housing and settlements (this excluded DWAF villages).

The transfer of the management functions of the Southern Cape and

Tsitisikama State forest areas to SANPARKS is part of DWAF’s objective

to transfer its management functions to other agencies while retaining

policy-making and regulatory functions.

In 2001, a combination of Cabinet memorandums and agreements at

Ministerial level identified three priority areas to be transferred to

SANPARKS through delegation and assignment provisions in the National

Forest Act. These are:

_ The Knysna Tsitsikama forests in the Southern Cape, to create the

Garden Route National Park.

_ Forestry areas around Port St. John’s in the Eastern Cape to create

Pondoland Park.

_ Blyde natural forests and conversion plantation areas in the

‘‘Lowveld’’ to create the Blyde Canyon National Park.

The delegation of the management functions of 97 294 ha of State forest

land in the Southern Cape and Tsitsikama to SANPARKS are:

_ The Southern Cape (Knysna) indigenous forests currently under

DWAF’s management totaling 35 756 ha.

_ The plantation forest areas released by SAFCOL in terms of the MTO

conversion process totaling 14 229 ha.

_ The adjacent mountain catchment areas also previously under

SAFCOL management, totaling 33 562 ha.

Also transferred with the management function was all movable and

immovable assets, budget and staff of the indigenous forests attached to the

establishment and these are:

_ Offices and housing, including movable assets and stock, valued at

approximately R6 million.

_ Personnel and an operational budget of approximately R21 million.

_ Secondment of approximately 130 operational staff.

The additional responsibilities associated with the incorporation of the land

areas previously under SAFCOL’s control are not provided for in DWAF’s

budget and represents an additional budget implication for the Department

and subsequently, Government.

The Committee was informed that the conversion process is place and is

managed by the conversion manager together with the Cape Conversion

Committee. The objective of the conversion process is to transfer the

ongoing management responsibility over commercially viable State owned

plantation forest land areas which has been managed by the State for

approximately 70 years to a private enterprise in terms of a lease

agreement. Given the nature of the land areas, three leases are being

finalized and these are:

_ A sustainable forestry lease.

_ An exit areas forestry lease.

_ The Tokai Cecilia lease.

In addition another objective is to transfer, economically unviable forest

land areas, which has been cleared back to the State, for rehabilitation and

conversion into land uses other than forestry. Transfer agreements are

therefore being negotiated with:

_ WCNCB: areas west of the Touws River into the Boland for

conservation purposes.

_ DWAF: for incorporation into the areas going to SANPARKS for

conservation purposes. These areas are areas east of the Touws River

into Tsitsikama.

_ Land Affairs or Agriculture for areas of such nature throughout the

region.

_ Local authorities and SAFCOL to take over 9 forestry worker

villages.

_ DWAF to take over community forestry areas the details of which

have not yet been resolved.

Officials of DWAF also reported to the Committee that the clear-felling

programme, scheduled for a duration of more than 20 years, have over the

past 4 years been implemented and is envisaged to end in 2020.

Approximately 11 000 ha of land is already available for transfer to the

receiving agents. DWAF is therefore under pressure to accept transfer of

management for the land, but is concerned about additional budgetary

allocations for additional line functions.

In the beginning, DWAF opted for a temporary delegation for the Knysna

transfer. This was because of a result of the inability of SANPARKS to

manage any other land other than a park. It was envisaged that the

arrangement of a temporary delegation would change to an assignment as

soon as the appropriate legislation and systems is in place.

The delegation document was then negotiated and signed by the DWAF

Minister in November 2003. The delegation covers all aspects of

management functions, assets and finance, excluding the transfer of staff.

However, employees entered into a dispute about the delegation document

and its contents. DWAF officials, however, believes that the dispute could

not affect the actual delegation. The dispute process of employees is in the

process of being resolved.

_ The finalisation of the lease negotiations should be completed by 20

August 2004.

_ The finalisation of the Tokai Cecelia lease should also be completed in

the near future.

_ The finalisation of the transfer agreements is also in the process of

being completed.

_ DWAF is still waiting for the approval of the budget for the additional

line function.

_ DWAF officials reported to the Committee that one of the main

outstanding issues is employee dissatisfaction around the security of

tenure demanded by the workers living in the four villages owned by

DWAF. The workers staying in these houses have demanded that they

are granted ownership of the land and houses since they have been

staying in these houses for a long time. Most of these workers have

been staying in these houses for approximately 30 years. DWAF’s

official position is that workers only have occupier rights in terms of

the ESTA Act. DWAF officials also stated that if they allow workers

security of tenure it could set a precedent for other Government

departments with similar accommodation arrangements. DWAF is

careful as this could have far reaching implications for Government as

a whole. The matter was referred to the GPSSBC to resolve with the

workers Union. A collective agreement is expected at the end of

August 2004.

_ In addition is the taxation of the workers pension at the time of

transfer to other funds. DWAF officials told the Committee that this is

unfair as restructuring has not been workers doing. In addition

workers state that it is against S197 of the Labour Relations Act

(LRA) as it results in workers being worst off. The matter has been

taken up with the Department of Public Service and Administration

and the National Treasury. DWAF also informed the Committee that

some of the workers have demanded cash payouts of their retirement

benefits. However, the Department has rejected this demand as it is

against the principle of continued employment as reflected in S197 of

the LRA transfer. In addition granting workers cash will be morally

irresponsible from the Department given the history of wastefulness

that results in some workers making little provision for retirement.

_ The reallocation of management over approximately 88 000 ha of

what is now categorized as State forest land to conversion agencies

over the next 20 years.

_ The transfer of 9 former SAFCOL worker villages and 4 DWAF

managed villages to local authorities.

_ 12 600 ha of land for agricultural settlement.

_ The settling in of DWAF over its new function (policy making and

regulatory role).

_ Incorporation of particular large land areas into the conservation

network of the Southern and Western Cape, and preserving a part of

South Africa’s national heritage and securing important water

catchments for future use.

_ Unlocking former State forest land for new economic opportunities,

including:

— Increased investment of approximately R143 million in terms of

agricultural and urban land values.

— Doubling work opportunities from 2400 presently to 4900 at the

end of the exit and conversion period.

_ Securing enough finance (R134 over 20 years or R53 million as a once

off payment) to fund the additional conversion line-functionary

responsibility for Government.

_ To assess the financial implications of incorporating agricultural use

areas and villages into Government programmes.

_ Seek and establish greater involvement and participation between

government departments and tiers of government to ensure

sustainability of process during and after implementation. There has

to be ongoing development responsibilities between different stakeholders.

DWAF officials reported to the Committee that the Chief Directorate

Forestry within DWAF has undergone a re-orientation and transformation

process in line with the current South African democratic principles,

policies and international trends.

Within this context the Chief Directorate is now considering local peoples

forestry based needs, their role in forest management and is empowering

them through sharing decision-making over forest utilization.

Prior to 1994 the management of indigenous forests in South Africa had a

narrow scientific focus and there was little concern for the social

development potential for forests and forestry. Consequently the majority

of people, especially the poor rural communities, were deprived of access

to forest resources and the benefits derived from them. To enhance the

capacity of poor rural communities to participate in forestry management,

the concept of participatory forestry management was considered by

DWAF.

As a first measure to address the newly adopted departmental approach of

participatory forestry management (PFM), workshops were held throughout

the region to introduce the local communities to this aspect of service

delivery. Contributing to the success of the workshops was the involvement

of the South Cape Business Centre; a non-governmental organization

(NGO) specializing in empowerment of previously disadvantaged communities.

The local communities expressed interest in becoming involved in

the management of forests in their localities and wanted to derive any

possible benefits from PFM.

As a means to promote more community participation in indigenous forest

management, PFM forums, comprising the local communities and DWAF

staff were set up on the three forest estates. Extensive training to local

communities, through PFM forums, on basic management and business

enterprise formation and management skills took place. This resulted in:

_ The development of a PFM Constitution for the region.

_ There was a general consensus across forums that their status is

advisory only, their role being limited to tabling recommendations.

_ Potential projects were introduced which were either accepted or

rejected.

Arising from the above, the following internal systems and procedures

were developed:

_ Procedures for the approval of PFM projects.

_ Criteria for project approval/selection.

_ The formulation of standard project proposals/business plans.

_ The development of a register for PFM projects.

PFM projects included:

_ Harvesting of ferns once they attain seven weeks of age.

_ A nursery and woodturning project in the Khoisan Village.

_ A joint venture in conjunction with Stormsriver Adventures.

_ Established forums on all three estates (Farleigh, Diepwalle,

Tsitisikama).

_ Communities derived tangible benefits in the form of skills development,

training in business skills, and permanent employment in the

tourism industry (approximately 80% permanent jobs).

_ The realization of more PFM projects to ensure tangible benefits to the

communities.

_ Community ownership of PFM projects.

_ Maintaining continuity of membership on PFM forums.

_ DWAF has to play a more pro-active role in identifying and initiating

forest based enterprise.

_ Transformation: The Committee expressed concern that the transformation

of DWAF is not gender sensitive, and this is reflected by the

officials of DWAF present. The officials present are all male with no

female representative, which raises questions around transformation

within DWAF.

_ Black Empowerment: The Committee expressed their concern in that

the transfer of forests was only taking place amongst sectors and not

considering the poorest of the poor. It was the opinion of the

committee that empowerment helps the poorest of the poor and thus

far in DWAF’s presentation they have not indicated to the Committee

how the poorest of the poor are facilitated.

_ Vacant posts: From the presentation handouts the Committee has

noted that there are 83 vacant posts. The Committee inquired as to

why these posts are still vacant, for how long has it been vacant and

whether there is a budget to fill these posts? In addition, the

Committee inquired as to whether DWAF has considered how many

of these posts will be filled by women as the existing staff component

are imbalanced, with very little women and only 11 Black staff

members.

_ Involvement of the local community: The Committee inquired as to

whether DWAF has a plan in place for the involvement of the local

community. Has DWAF considered why the local community should

be involved, how they will be involved, and if they are involved, will

their involvement alleviate poverty, sustain peoples lives and will it

create employment?

_ Budget: The Committee was concerned as to why DWAF was not

sufficiently covered in the budget. When applying for money, do

DWAF not consider the reasons for applying for money?

_ Youth Empowerment: What plans have DWAF put in place to

capacitate and empower the youth, and have DWAF done anything

thus far to facilitate youth.

_ Mpumalanga and National Parks Board: DWAF officials mentioned

that the Mpumalanga Parks Board was going to manage one of the

National Parks, has an agreement been reached on this aspect and is

there any budget to manage National Parks?

_ Worker/Union deadlock: In terms of the worker/Union deadlock what

arrangements/agreements has been reached with the Unions? The

Committee also required from DWAF officials to inform/brief them

more on the issue of women’s day in the department.

_ Transformation: DWAF indicated to the Committee that there is a

huge backlog in terms of Black staff members and women in the

department. It is envisaged that with the 83 vacant posts, these posts

will be filled by women and Black staff members.

_ Black empowerment and community involvement: DWAF informed

the Committee that through participatory forest management (PFM),

the department would inform the community about forestry. DWAF

also intends to create community structures, through which the

community can be informed about legislation covering forests which

are subject to land claims (i.e. how to gain access to forests).

Communities can also be made aware that plantations were created

for their use and access. Through PFM, DWAF would be able to

provide communities with opportunities (i.e. what can be done with

mushrooms, medicinal plants and what trees can be cut for firewood,

etc.) DWAF is also of the opinion that through PFM employment

opportunities can be created, and also ensure that communities are

given permits to allow them these opportunities. DWAF is also of the

opinion that through PFM, communities can be educated about forests

for commercial use and forests for own use. DWAF wishes to ensure

that communities are given shares in transfers and hopes that

communities will be given access to forests by those taking over

forests. DWAF feels that they are challenged to ensure that they

optimize opportunities to benefit the poor through these structures.

_ Budget: DWAF could not satisfactorily answer the Committee in

terms of their budget deficit and indicated to the Committee that they

did consider all avenues when applying for money.

_ Vacant Positions: DWAF officials informed the Committee that they

are aware of the gender sensitivity issues in the department. The

managerial positions of the department is male dominated and has

been so for many years. In the Knysna Conservation Forestry

management employment equity requires 60% female, therefore,

DWAF officials expect that the 83 vacant positions will be filled

mostly by women. DWAF officials admitted, that the whole of the

Southern cluster is underrepresented by women.

_ Youth: DWAF officials informed the Committee that they have

employed youth in the department. Youth have been employed as fire

foresters, with 6 administrative clerks and 2 young women have been

employed in the scientific services section. DWAF is looking at

employing more young people in the future to capacitate the

department.

_ Mpumalanga Parks Board: The Committee was informed that the

agreement has been signed. The plantations was supposed to be taken

over by SANPARKS, but was eventually taken over by the

Mpumalanga Parks Board. However, there is no budget to manage

these plantations and this will be the case foe next year as well.DWAF

is in the process of applying for money to add into the Medium Term

Framework (MTEF). Approximately R53 million is needed in

additional funds, to assist in managing these plantations. If this proves

to be successful, there are 10 000 ha of plantation land. For

environmental reasons these plantations would be cleared. The

clearing process would result in pulp and firewood being available to

communities; this would also create more jobs for communities. An

impact study is in the process, and negotiations have been done with

all stakeholders as to what is best to do in this regard. DWAF needs to

ensure what is the best land use for the area, taking into account the

socio-economic impact that this venture will have.

_ Worker and Union deadlock with DWAF: The workers are trying to

secure tenure of land and this led to the deadlock between DWAF and

the Unions. Currently, the case is in a conciliation process, however,

it seems that progress is being made. SAFCOL has offered 2 pieces of

State land to Knysna Municipality for the development of residential

areas. These workers would be offered first choice for housing and

these would be serviced properties. DWAF hopes the workers and

Union will accept this instead of wanting ownership of Diepwalle

Village.

_ Women’s day: The Committee was informed that DWAF launched the

competition between provinces. It was a request submitted as to how

to uplift women. This does not only include women in the department,

but also includes women from the villages. TheWestern Cape panel of

judges decided that Knysna has done the best for women. DWAF is

initiating that for the next women’s day competition, which will take

place on the 11th August 2004, women from the community will be

invited to participate. The Minister will identify which women

contributed the most over the past couple of years in the regions and

the Minister will announce the winner the Friday after the 11th August

2004.

8. Day 2: Field Visit: Diepwalle Forestry Estate

The objective of the Committees visit was to observe the management of

the Diepwalle Estate.

The Diepwalle Estate is situated in the center of approximately 45 000 ha

of forest land. The Estate has approximately 20 000 ha of land, of which

1000 ha constitutes fynbos. The Diepwalle forest station remains open 7

days a week.

During the December holidays, approximately 30 to 35 000 people visit the

Diepwalle Estate. Places visited by tourists on the Estate includes, the

Garden of Eden and the Big Tree. The Estate also hosts events such as cycle

tours on its cycle trail. DWAF officials informed the Committee that

Diepwalle Forest Station is the largest Forest Station in South Africa and

hosted the recording of Fiela se Kind (a South African film) featuring one

of South Africa’s famous actors, Dalene Mathee during the apartheid era.

The roads running into the estate are also used for television commercials

during the year.

The Diepwalle Forestry Station has approximately 75 posts of which 40 is

occupied. The following table represents the staff compliment at the

forestry station only, of which other posts are occupied by field/site

workers.

Estate Manager 1 Male White

Assistant Forester 2 Female 1 White/1 Black

Senior Administrative

Assistant

1 Female Coloured

Administrative Assistant 1 Female Coloured

Cleaner 1 Female Coloured

The Diepwalle community consists of approximately 160 people, of which

only 50 are employed. In one case the Committee heard that in the houses

of Diepwalle one family living in a house consists of 10 people and the

home has only one income. With the salary paid by Forestry these people

cannot survive and mothers are therefore forced to go and work. These

mothers have to leave home early in the morning to reach their workplaces

and return home very late at night, often not having transport and having to

walk home. Recently, contract work was arranged for the mothers, and

many of the children had nobody to care for them during the day. In some

cases, children were left alone at home, some locked out of their houses,

and there was a situation where a child of 2 years old was locked into the

house for the whole day. This had DWAF realize how desperate these

mothers were and approximately 5 months ago (March 2004) a cr che was

opened for the children.

From the houses built by DWAF one of the houses was identified as a

crèche. Seven children between the ages of 2 to 5 were enrolled

immediately, with 3 being enrolled shortly afterwards. DWAF officials

reported that they have 9 children from Buffelsnek (SAFCOL), who can

use the facility, but have no transport. DWAF is struggling to arrange

transport for these children with the school bus, and have recently started to

negotiate with the Department of Education for transport.

The crèche project has been financed by the community through

fundraising and hard work. The cr che is also sponsored by the local people,

Pick & Pay in George who supplies bread for the soup kitchen, and Fruit &

Veg in Knysna who sponsors vegetables and fruit. In addition a soup

kitchen has also been opened at Buffelsnek school and the same is provided

for the community as for the community in the forest village.

_ There is no transportation and they are not able to make use of the

States vehicles as they did in the past.

_ The children are unable to go on field trips.

_ The soup kitchen in Buffelsnek is in danger of being closed down, as

they rely on private transport to take the soup ingredients to the

school.

_ If a child should become ill and needs to be transported to a hospital

there is no vehicle to take the child.

_ The créche has a committee who has already drawn up a Constitution,

which will be sent to a Non-profit organization for a fundraising

number, to enable the crèche to achieve more credibility.

_ The library, which was started a few years ago, is being used again.

Old books have been repaired, and other books were also received

from the Knysna Library. They are awaiting more books from the

library.

_ A community vegetable garden has been started, people are supplied

with onion and spinach seeds, and seedling turnover is encouraged.

From this project successful people earn a basic minimum wage of

R35 00 per day.

The harvesting of ferns on an economic scale from natural forests in the

Southern Cape dates as far back as 1970 when private landowners were

issued permits to harvest small quantities of ferns on their land for the local

flower market. These licensed suppliers could not meet the increasing

demand for fern fronds, resulting in the escalation of illegal harvesting on

State forest land.

In 1982 4 000 ha of State forest land was released for commercial

harvesting of ferns for the European market when tenders were invited to

harvest for a 1 year period. The rapid growth of the industry and the

employment opportunities created, resulted in major economic benefits for

the region, and by 1989 20 000 ha of State forest land was subject to fern

harvesting.

However, little was known about the ecology and dynamics of the species

when commercial harvesting commenced to guide planners and managers

to enforce measures to ensure the sustainable harvesting of the species. In

1983 a research programme was initiated to gain more information on the

ecology, dynamics, phenology and demography of the species and its

response to harvesting. This resulted in the initial picking rotation of five

weeks gradually being increased as research results became available to the

current 15 months. Initial results from intensive monitoring since commercial

harvesting started, indicates that the current levels of harvesting is

sustainable and that fluctuations in yield could be attributed to natural

trends.

Target groups are the unemployed, previously disadvantaged individuals,

especially women, living in close proximity of the natural forests of the

Goudveld section of Farleigh Forest Estate. Fifteen individuals were

identified by the existing Farleigh PFM forum through the PFM structures

to participate and benefit from the project.

Communities closest to the Goudveld forests were earmarked as beneficiaries

to the project. The communities included communities from Keurhoek,

‘‘Lapland’’ and ‘‘Nuwe Gedeelte’’. Approximately 15 people benefited

from the project and the 3 areas were ‘‘awarded’’ participants in relation to

their population size. Existing community structures (local leaders)

together with PFM forum members devised a representative composition

for each area, taken into consideration gender and specifically targeting the

poor.

The minimum tariff prescribed for ferns are R3. 00 per armload, and the

quantity thus not clearly defined. It was decided to give the project a ‘‘once

off harvest’’, giving consideration to a second rotation harvest at a later

stage. It was determined that a team of 15 pickers can earn R35.00 per day

if each picker earns R0.07per leaf harvested. It was decided that prospected

buyers (flower export companies, florists, etc.) must pay at least R0.10 per

leaf frond in order for the beneficiaries to earn R35.00 per day and for the

department to cover overhead costs.

_ Although the harvesting of Seven Week Fern fronds from the

Southern Cape forests became less attractive to larger buyers, it could

still be a viable business opportunity for the small entrepreneur. New

price structures need to be developed to improve the economic

viability of the project.

_ Communities do not have the necessary infrastructure to start

businesses of this magnitude, and needs to link up with already

established businesses to provide logistics like cooling rooms,

transport, existing markets, etc.

_ The department could play an important role in the identification of

viable business opportunities for communities and offer support to get

projects going. The sustainability of projects would require the

development of business skills within the target community.

_ An adaptive management approach whereby provisional harvest

prescriptions are formulated, subject to baseline surveys and the

implementation of monitoring programmes, was successfully followed

to get the project off the ground.

9.4. Lessons learned

_ Sustainable harvest systems should be revised as product specifications

(e.g. size, dimension) change with market demands. An adaptive

management approach is required to quickly react to new demands.

_ Consumptive use of non-timber forest products requires scientific

input in the form of applied research and monitoring to ensure

sustainability. DWAF must be prepared to provide this support to

ensure that consumptive forest-based community projects are successful.

An adaptive management approach can be used successfully

to get projects off the ground while more scientific studies are

conducted to refine harvest prescriptions.

_ The input required from DWAF to develop and adapt sustainable

harvest systems, where necessary, should not be underestimated.

These costs should be viewed within the context of the long-term

benefits from such projects, and DWAF’s commitment towards

ensuring access to forest resources by local communities.

_ The uncertainty regarding the compatibility of DWAF’s PFM policy

and objectives, and other Government legislation, departmental

policies and tariff instructions could handicap the implementation of

PFM projects on the ground and the realization of benefits from forest

resources.

_ Legitimate PFM forums or community structures, through which

projects could be initiated, are essential. Identifying beneficiaries for

projects must be done by the PFM forum in conjunction with existing

structures within the community, and not by DWAF alone. Expectations

must not be raised by DWAF and PFM forum members must

form part of the initial planning (cash flow projections, etc.)

The Committee visited the Khoisan Village with the objective of observing

the practical side of the Nursery Community project initiated by DWAF in

joint partnership with the community. DWAF officials informed the

Committee that off-cuts from the trees that have been cut is used by the

community to make different types of woodcrafts. Examples include:

blackwood bowls, honey scoops, goblets, oak-rolling pins etc.

In addition, before harvesting,DWAF allows the community to take out the

small plants from the forests, and these plants are then prepared at the

nursery by the community and sold by the community. The nursery has a

community trust with the members originating from the Tsitsikama area.

The members are prominent leaders amongst the community and are

chosen to represent the community on the trust. Moneys from the trust are

used to assist sports programmes, school projects etc. DWAF depends on

the trust budget for money distribution. People from the community are

trained by Setas, in areas such as fundraising, awareness programmes,

administrative skills (i.e. announcing events, co-coordinating the placing of

notices etc.).

_ Creates employment opportunities.

_ Opens up opportunities for skills development.

_ Helps to reduce poverty.

10.2. Analysis of the Nursery Community Project

Although the nursery existed, on the arrival at the Khoisan Village, the

Committee was met by only one person (female) who was introduced as

being the project co-coordinator. The community, involved in the projects

as explained by DWAF officials was not present for the Committee to

capture the working of the actual projects by the community. However, the

Committee was escorted by DWAF officials and shown completed bowls,

roller pins, honey scoops, goblets etc., by the officials of DWAF and the

project co-coordinator. The Committee was also escorted by DWAF

officials and the project co-coordinator to the nursery to see the plants that

are removed from the forests, by the community and cared for at the

nursery. Here as well none of the community involved in the projects could

be observed and the Committee could not capture the working of the

project as explained by DWAF officials.

The Committee visited Storms River Adventurers and Tree Top Canopy

Tours with the objective of observing the joint activities between DWAF

and Storms River Adventurers and Tree Top Canopy Tours. In addition, the

Committee intended to observe the Bark Harvesting Project as indicated by

DWAF in their presentation, and to be informed about sustainable bark

harvesting.

The Committee was informed through a presentation that these joint

activities were established in 1998. The activities are based on ecoadventure

tourism and have a 10-point commitment statement, which is

compatible with environmental issues. Tree top canopy tours are operated

in partnership with DWAF and are conducted in such a manner that the

trees are not damaged. The activities consist of mountain bike trails (bike

riding along these trails), cannoning (water activities and bunji jumping),

abseiling, tubing and a woodcutter’s journey.

The Committee was told that in 1998, communities from Storms River

were employed to develop products. In addition, forests and rivers was

utilised to create additional employment. Communities are employed from

five villages around Stormsriver and include, Colestream, Petrusville,

Thornim, Mpumele Village and Sandriftridge. Approximately 180 people

have been trained in field guiding. Communities develop the basic skills

needed in tourism and tour guides. According to the presenter, some of the

youth employed by Storms River Adventures have over the past few years,

obtained employment in Dubai through the skills that they had developed.

In addition, they also have a canopy tour and recommended black-water

tubing as being one of their main products. The canopy tour is based on a

concept from Costa Rica, and is done in an environmentally free manner,

bringing in more tourists and creating more employment. Storms River

Adventures is ranked on the BEE scorecard with approximately 86 points.

In addition, employment was created through the opening of a kitchen,

where ladies from the community provides refreshments and meals. The

kitchen sells approximately 28 000 meals per annum.

_ The Committee was interested to know who actually owns Storms

River Adventures and Tree Top Canopy Tours.

_ What opportunities are created for the youth?

_ What is the staff complement of the business?

_ What types of people use the facilities, because drawing from the

pictures outlined on the walls it creates the picture that the activities

are only for those who have money and can afford it and does not cater

for the poor.

_ In what manner does the company give back to the poor?

_ The Committee was informed that the company is a Close Corporation

(CC) company and has an individual owner who has sole surety

for the company. The owner has however set empowerment through

the opening of the kitchen and catering services which is 49% owned

by women from the community. The owner mentioned that he would

however start looking at equity shareholding in the near future, so that

he can give back to the community.

_ The Committee was informed that opportunities are created for the

youth; tour guides are employed and vary between the ages of 18- 30

years old.

_ The Committee was informed that 84% of employment is created for

the disadvantaged.

_ The Committee was informed that the activities created by the

company do apply to people who can afford to pay for the activities.

The market are split between 60% South Africans and 40%

International tourists.

_ The Committee was informed that the company creates job opportunities

for the local community, and on occasions schools from the

local areas are treated to a free day at Storms-river.

The objective of the Committees visit to George was to be informed

through presentations with the water and sanitation project presently

underway in the Eden District. The Committee was welcomed to George by

the Mayor Mr. Andy Lamont who gave the Committee a brief overview

about the water and sanitation conditions in Eden; the sanitation project

was presented by Mr. Faan van der Merwe, the project co-coordinator.

Eden is situated along the garden route stretching from George into the

Klein Karoo. The Klein Karoo being the area that is highly scarce in water

resources.

According to the Mayor, the Eden District Municipality is meeting its

targets in service delivery. With its money coming from the Consolidated

Municipal Fund and DWAF, in August 2004, 1514 VIP toilets have been

completed. The Mayor stated that it is envisaged that by November 2004 a

total number of 3500 VIP toilets will have been completed in Eden.

The Mayor however, stated that, in Uniondale a settlement not far from

George, the Municipality is experiencing problems in delivering water to

the people. According to the Mayor, ‘‘just to lay the pipeline into the area

has been very problematic with lots of red tape, the people of Uniondale

could have had water supplied to them more than six months ago, but every

six weeks there is a hitch in the process’’.

Water, intended to supply Uniondale, comes from the Harlem Dam, which

also partly supplies the Harlem area with water. However, the ownership of

the Dam is divided between different role-players, for example, the

municipality, DWAF and farmers. This causes lots of discrepancies in

creating the pipeline. The pipeline will supply 86 homes with some homes

having approximately five children per household, a school with approximately

150 pupils in Uniondale with water. However, the Mayor is

optimistic that these problems will be sorted out and that water will be

supplied to Uniondale by December 2004.

The Mayor informed the Committee that a reservoir in Uniondale has been

identified, to build houses for a certain number of people, with the required

infrastructure to make it possible for these people to have access to the

basic water and sanitation services. In addition, Zoar, a town not far from

George, still uses the bucket system. Nothing has been done to provide the

town with water and sanitation. However, the Mayor on the successes

achieved by the Municipality wishes to extend the help of the Municipality

to other Municipalities in other Provinces who are busy struggling to

provide water and sanitation to its people.

The Mayor recommended that services for the people be decentralized for

example, the Home Affairs offices is situated in George, people from

Uniondale wishing to get to Home Affairs for example to register a birth

have to pay R70 in transport, and these people only earn a salary of

approximately R150.00 per week. This places more burdens on these

people in terms of poverty and survival. If services for the people are

decentralized, it would make living for the people much more convenient.

Information gathered for water services development during 2000 showed

that a total of 3791 households in particularly the Klein Karoo, which forms

part of the Eden District did not have adequate sanitation. A structural

approach including both technical and social operations in terms of the

provision of sanitation to farm dwellers was considered and eventually

instituted by the Eden District Municipality. Also needed was a strategic

approach in terms of conducting participating hygiene and sanitation

training (PHAST) for farm dwelling communities prior to the provision of

sanitation units. It was also agreed that peer educators from the

communities be trained to assist health officials with the training of the

various communities.

The vast implementation area and the pressing need for sanitation facilities

asked for new ideas, innovative thinking and planning. After careful

consideration of the different practical ways of construction and bearing all

other constraints in mind, it was decided to provide toilets from lightweight

prefabricated concrete panels (commonly known as VIP’s). The presenter

acknowledged the following advantages of the VIP toilets as:

_ Easy handling.

_ Easy transport.

_ Quick construction, which adds to a vastly reduced logistical process.

It was estimated that with the necessary groundwork, approximately 15 to

20 units (toilets) could be constructed per day. The project would take 6

months to complete i.e. from September 2003 to February 2004. A total

budget of R2.6 million for the first phase and the number of toilets to be

constructed during the first phase should be 1152. Labour intensive

construction methods would be used and the toilets would be constructed

by local small emerging contractors.

The Eden District Municipality will fund the project, monitor the project,

approve budgets for implementation, procure pre-fabricated units and

equipment and provide feedback to DWAF.

DWAF will approve the business plan, provide funding, provide guidelines

for groundwater protocol, provide monthly progress reports, and give

variation order approval. The contractor will determine the salary and

labour standards of workers.

It was also decided that there will be a special project steering committee,

which will monitor the project as a whole, appoint the contractors, approve

the budget for implementation and provide feedback to DWAF. In addition,

the project agent, Vela VKE Engineers, would co-ordinate the management

of the project, provide in service training and capacity building of key

personnel, train small contractors and supervise the technical and social

implementation.

The Committee was informed that:

_ The number of people served thus far is 6912.

_ The number of toilets constructed is 3791.

_ The construction cost is estimated to be R8 754 000.

_ The labour cost is estimated to be R300 000.

_ Training costs is estimated to be R380 000.

The Committee informed the presenters that they will not give their views

and opinions on the presentations made, as the Committee had arrived in

George from their previous visits very late. The Committee will however,

ask questions, and give their views and opinions to the presenters the

following day, when making site visits to some of the areas mentioned in

the presentations.

The objective of the visit was to observe the Sanitation Project, which was

completed at a farm in Calitzdorp and to be informed by DWAF about

geohydrology, better known as groundwater. The Little Karroo RuralWater

Supply Scheme utilizes groundwater to supply Dysselsdorp and the rural

communities between Dysselsdorp and Calitzdorp, as well as drinking

water for livestock. The scheme is the property of DWAF, with Overberg

Water appointed for operation purposes according to the guidelines of

DWAF.

On route to Calitzdorp, the Committee was introduced to the term

groundwater by the officials from DWAF. The Committee was informed

that the geology of the area consists predominantly of Table Mountain

Group (TMG) sandstone/quartzite and Bokkeveld Group shale and

sandstone. These rocks are folded and faulted and are overlain by young

reddish coloured Enon Formation conglomerate.

The TMG forms the higher mountains in the area (Swartberg, Kamanassie

and Rooiberg Mountains) and the Bokkeveld Group and Ennon Formation

the lower areas and hills in the Olifants and Gamka River Valleys.

Groundwater is being abstracted from fractured rock aquifers (groundwater

transmitted through fractures in rocks, yielding usable quantities of water),

located in the TMG rocks in which highest yields and better water quality

are obtained.

Up to the beginning of 1998, 18 boreholes were used and another 15 were

used as non-pumping monitoring boreholes. The number of active

production boreholes has since been reduced to 9. Water abstracted from

the boreholes is transferred via pipeline to the two water purification works

situated in Calitzdorp and Dysselsdorp. PVC pipes are used because of the

corrosive nature of the water.At the purification works the water undergoes

the following processes:

_ Oxidation.

_ Lime addition, to reduce the iron concentration in the water and to

raise the pH of the water.

_ Chlorination.

The water then flows to the different reservoirs and distribution points.

Water flows for most of the time under the influence of gravity through the

pipe system over a total length of approximately 365 km.

The Committee was also informed about the monitoring processes in place

in terms of groundwater abstraction, groundwater chemistry, the practical

abstraction process, and how the abstraction rate is determined. In addition,

the Committee was told that the scheme currently subsidizes the water for

domestic consumption and excessive usage is discouraged. A sliding scale

tariff system for water payments is utilized to stop water wastage. As long

as a family keeps within the planned usage per household per month, the

water is very affordable. The water becomes much more expensive if more

than the planned usage is used. Water for stock watering is not subsidized,

and sold at full operating cost.

The Committee was also informed that the Little Karoo RuralWater Supply

Scheme is the largest water supply scheme in South Africa that abstracts

water from fractured rock aquifers.

The Committee requested that DWAF officials provide a brief explanation

of the area that the Committee will be visiting. In addition the Committee

requested that acronyms not be used when making presentations or giving

explanations to the Committee.

DWAF officials acknowledged their use of acronyms and assured the

Committee that they will try to use full sentences. The Committee was

informed that the area that they will be visiting forms part of the Klein

Karoo, where the Committee will be shown the VIP toilets that were

completed on a farm. The area is very dry with very little surface water and

for this reason groundwater is the main source of provision. The Water is

clean and disease free (potable water) as the water undergoes the normal

cleaning procedures. The water is extracted from the ground (deep ground

water) so as not to have an impact on agriculture. A policy was

implemented by DWAF and the farmers, whereby water is given to the

farmers, who in turn, deliver the water to the farm workers and livestock.

DWAF is in the process of transferring the scheme to local government, as

this is a non-core function.

There are also farm schools and local schools in the area, of which farmers

donated land to build farm schools, DWAF will supply the water and

sanitation, but the responsibility to ensure that schools gain access to water

remains with the Department of Education.

_ What is the possibility of building dams in the area, and has any

studies been done in this area?

_ DWAF mentioned that farmers would be supplying water to farm

workers, according to a policy established, has this process been

negotiated and what progress has been made?

_ How far has DWAF come in supplying free basic services, if targets

for supply were not met what is the problems that is being

experienced?

_ Was a feasibility study done on the VIP toilets mentioned at the

presentation of the Eden Municipality?

_ Dams cannot be built in the area, because of the dryness of the area.

There is no surface water in the area and the area experiences very

weak rainfall.

_ Yes, the process with farmers has been negotiated, but DWAF

acknowledges that there is room for improvement.

_ Progress has been made on water supply but sanitation remains a

problem. Two pilot projects have been instituted in the Central Karoo,

but because there are two municipalities in Eden, one being the Eden

District Municipality, and the other the Local Municipality, an

agreement on operating standards have not been reached. This creates

a cross boundary scheme between the municipalities, and also causes

cross subsidization, together with other social issues, this might

impact on the community. However, the transfer of the schemes is in

process. The same agreement needs to be reached with the farmers as

well. DWAF is sure that an agreement will be reached soon.

_ A feasibility study was done before the building of the toilets.

Feasibility studies were also done in Zoar, and the results were

recommended to Government. Communities were also educated

about health issues and this was also a success.

On route to Calitzdorp, the Committee was introduced to a possible project,

which will be undertaken by DWAF to see whether water can be drawn

from the aquafirs, in the mountains. The Committee was informed that the

mountains has a fracture drop, which extends from the Outeniqua Pass,

through Citrusdal and into Port Elizabeth and also into Cape Town. These

rock fractures in the mountains contain a vast amount of water.

The Cedarberg Mountains, which extends into Port Elizabeth, for example

contains a vast amount off hidden water. This water, according to Mike

Smart and Jannie van Staden, is not only at surface depth, but also at the

bottom of the ground. The rocks also have vast amounts of fracturing and

it is here where lots of water is stored. DWAF therefore needs to look into

this, and see if water is drawn from these mountains, how it will affect the

ecosystem.

The Committee was informed that the Cape Town Municipality is busy

doing a pilot project in Oudtshoorn, to establish if ground water is drawn to

the surface, what types of effects it will create.

_ The Committee asked DWAF what the relationship of the aquifer in

the Klein Karroo and other areas is to that of the aquifer in False Bay.

The Committee also believes that some problems were experienced

with the bottling companies, however, would these companies not

have completed a study already and could DWAF not inquire from

them.

_ The Committee was also concerned about the fluoride content in

groundwater, as this is a problem in Limpopo, where groundwater has

a high fluoride content which affects the children and especially

elderly people who because of this suffer from arthritis.

The groundwater in the Western Cape does not experience high intensities

of fluoride. However, DWAF is aware of the high intensities of fluoride and

iron in groundwater, however, concrete solutions to these problems have

not as yet been achieved.DWAF is however sure those possibilities do exist

to cure these problems.

Because of ground water reticulation, the interpretations of studies are

based on geology. It is always difficult to do studies underground, and

therefore interpretations of studies are accumulated from surface observations

and through this attempts are made to interpret what is happening

underground.

The Committee was informed that the CSIR had set up networks to monitor

procedures. It is estimated that ground water lies approximately 5

kilometers below the earth’s surface. The Oudtshoorn Municipality will

therefore use the pilot project as a study to see if water can be drawn from

the ground, what effects it has on surface water, as surface water are used

extensively for agricultural purposes. Therefore monitoring systems will

have to be put into place to monitor the project.

DWAF officials informed the Committee that a meeting was first held with

the local farmers ward where the idea was relayed to them. A meeting was

then called between the farmers and farm workers and a liaison committee

was formed, and the implementation of the project was agreed upon.

The farmers would identify the houses on the farms where the VIP toilets

were to be set up.An environmentalist was called in to do an environmental

impact assessment. Thereafter, it was advertised for tenders and local

contractors to put up the units (VIP’s). The local community is being used

to set up these VIP’s and this creates employment. The units cost

approximately R55.00 per unit.

Holes are dug on the farms, and if the hole is okay, these holes are filled

with bags and rocks and the units are placed on these holes. On completion,

the community are given training around health issues, by a peer training

educator who is identified by the farmer, who in turn uses those that has

been trained to train others as well, and then plays the role of

co-coordinator and monitor.

The project at Zoar however, is incomplete, with some communities having

access to drinking water via communal taps while others do not have.

Communities in Zoar are still using the bucket system as no VIP toilets

have been placed there as yet.

14.1.1. Challenges identified by DWAF officials include:

_ The involvement of women in the projects.

_ The possibility of Government transferring maybe R1800 to farmers

directly to allow the farmer to give the farming communities flush

toilets.

The Committee was concerned that getting women involved in processes

still remains an issue. Is there enough being done to get women involved,

or is nothing just being done at all? The notion of wanting to transfer

monies to farmers remains an issue. Can farmers be allowed to control

Government finances? The Committee also finds it strange that the farmer

can find ways and means to provide his household with flush toilets and

inside taps, but finds it difficult to provide this to his workers.

DWAF is saying that the land around is barren and that there is not enough

water. Does this mean that there is not enough water for everybody, or for

only a selected few? The Committee finds it strange that water cannot be

provided for sanitation, but somehow, there is water to feed into the

communal taps.

The Committee feels that water is a national resource and this allows

everybody equal access to water. The water should not be considered as

being for farmers use alone.

The Committee was taken to a farm and shown a sanitation project that has

been completed by DWAF officials. The VIP toilets are situated on the

outside of the house, with a latrine (toilet pot), on the inside, attached to a

hole at the bottom. The toilet has open spaces at the top that allows for

ventilation.

The communal taps are also situated outside the house, with one communal

tap per household. The Committee was informed that the Overberg Water

Board operates the scheme, which is subsidized by DWAF. This however,

will change once these schemes are transferred to the municipalities. It is

envisaged that the end users will then pay for the water that they use.

Present on the farm was some of the farming community who lived in

adjacent houses where the Committee was shown the pilot project. This

created an opportunity for the Committee to pose questions to the

community.

14.2.1. Questions posed by the Committee to the community included:

_ Whether they were happy with the VIP toilets?

_ Are they happy with both the communal taps and VIP toilets?

004

_ Did they participate in the decision-making processes?

_ How many families use these facilities and do all homes have the

facilities?

The responses of the communities present varied significantly, however the

Committee was informed that there are approximately 12 families living on

each farm. Some houses have 4 people per family, where in others one

could find close to 8 people living in a house.

Although the community is happy that they are provided with water, the

problem is that the taps are outside the house, and when it rains they have

to go out to fetch water. Sometimes it rains so hard that they are drenched

when fetching water and are exposed to illnesses such as flu.

The toilets are also problematic in the sense that it is situated outside the

house and they have to move from inside to the outside to use the toilet. At

night, this is a problem because it is dark, and there is no lighting on the

farm and people have to grope around in the dark to reach the toilet. The tap

is also far from the toilet and they just have to ignore washing their hands

and this is also unhealthy, especially for their children. One gentlemen

informed the Committee that he is very unhappy that his wife must be

exposed to such conditions, but this takes away her dignity, where he at

times feels so bad that he walks into the field to go and relieve himself.

The Committee also found out that one of the houses on the farm has a flush

toilet. This house the Committee was informed belongs to the foreman of

the farm. The Committee was informed that the foreman’s mother used to

work for the previous owner of the farm as a domestic and he had the toilet

installed for her. The Committee was informed by the community that there

is pipelines hat supplies water running past the farms from the Overberg

Mountains, but the farmer does not want to have extensions from his farm

to the pipeline fitted to supply water to the farm. The farmer is happy

drawing water from the borehole to supply the farm-workers with water.

The Community felt threatened when the farmer arrived at the farm and

informed the Committee that they could not speak to the Committee with

the farmer present, as they would be victimized by the farmer once the

Committee had left. The Chairperson assured the workers that they have

the full support of the Committee if they are victimized by the farmer and

should not hesitate to contact the Committee if they were victimized. A

contact number was forwarded to one of the community members present.

The Committee departed for Heidelberg with one of the objectives being to

capture the conditions of the people living in Zoar, who currently still use,

the bucket system. The other objective was to be informed by the Overberg

Water Board, on the progress made in terms of free basic water and

sanitation to the people. However, with limited time in hand, and the long

bus trip to Heidelberg, the Committee decided not to stop at Zoar, but to

proceed directly to Heidelberg.

On route to Heidelberg, Zoar was shown to the Committee by DWAF

officials. DWAF officials reminded the Committee that Zoar, still has no

proper sanitation in place and still uses the bucket system. Zoar is home to

about 450 people who are mostly unemployed. The Committee was also

shown a town called Amalienstein and was informed that most of the town

had RDP houses with potable water and sanitation.

The Committee was interested to know why Zoar is still using the bucket

system, and what is being done to change this. In addition, DWAF

mentioned that most of the people are unemployed. The Committee wanted

to know whether no community projects was conducted in Zoar because

this could in some way help people to earn a living. The Committee was

also concerned about the health of the people of Zoar, because without

proper water and sanitation people and especially children remain

vulnerable to diseases.

DWAF officials informed the Committee that one of the reasons for Zoar

not having proper water infrastructure was due to a flood which occurred in

January 2004 most of the pipeline which supplies water to Zoar was

washed away. A recurring flood in March 2004 washed away another part

of the pipeline. The Municipality installed a temporary plastic pipeline to

supply water to Zoar. DWAF officials informed the Committee that

approximately R13 million is needed to eradicate the bucket system in

Zoar. The Committee was also informed that the Kanaland Municipality

has no funds to install proper sanitation facilities.

DWAF officials also informed the Committee that at present there are basic

health care services in Zoar. There is also a primary health care facility for

the people of Zoar. The town also has two people working on home-based

care services. People are given voluntary counseling about the Aids

pandemic, and mother to child transmission services are also done.

The Committee met a delegation of the Overberg Water Board in

Heidelberg who informed the Committee through their presentation of the

current issues at the institution.

The Overberg Water Board is the only Water Board in the Western Cape.

Although the OverbergWater Board cannot be compared to the RandWater

Board, it is equally important in terms of service delivery.

The Overberg Water Board is proud of its transformation achievements in

terms of equity, with the Board as well as its staff. The Board is also proud

of its transformation processes and has fared well over the past years. It has

a proud record in terms of skills development and staff capabilities ad is

proud of the results of its restructuring. The Board has a bad legacy in terms

of its financial position, where in the past the Board was lying close to

bankruptcy, but this has changed significantly over the past years and the

Board now has a positive financial position.

The Overberg Water Board is a market leader of its sector in the region. It

has the basic systems and structures in place (management and other

structures) for water services delivery that has the potential to expand. The

Overberg Water Board leads discussions in institutional reform i.e. future

transformation, efficient and effective delivery of quality water services.

The Overberg Water Board has a purification plant and it is the first

purification plant in the Overberg region, however, it needs upgrading. The

Overberg Water Board is the leader in the whole of the Western Cape

regarding delivery in the Working for Water Programme (WFW).

2004

The Overberg Water Board foresees itself in a significant role as service

provider fro Catchment Management Agencies (CMA’s), including

amongst others, the management of rivers, dams and other resources. It also

sees itself as and important provider of services to DWAF.

_ Provides water for human consumption and stock watering. This,

according to Overberg is unique in the whole country.

_ It provides water to the most important economic sector in its region,

SA Molsters (SAM), who exports ostrich meat, etc.

_ The schemes are by nature designed by DWAF and are expensive

schemes to operate. It has a legacy of financial difficulties, and

receives no financial provision or support. Overberg however, is in the

process of overcoming this predicament.

_ Overberg Water supports the curtailment of water provision and is

positive that with partnerships it is possible to achieve goals through

tighter management.

Overberg still plans to grow. It has an imaginative management team, and

good development of secondary activities.

_ Overberg Water is not subsidized by DWAF.

_ It has an interest free loan of approximately R35 million.

_ A town called Genadendal in the region still has the bucket sanitation

system in place with very little untreated water that usually runs dry in

the summer.

_ OverbergWater is in the process of working on a proposal to have the

loan written off in particular for the benefit of Genadendal, and also

for the region in general.

The Committee acknowledges the achievements that Overberg has raised

to the Committee, however, the Committee is concerned that the present

representation of the Overberg officials shows the Committee that they are

not gender sensitive, as there seems to be no women present in the

delegation as outlined. This raises cause for concern, as Overberg stated

that it is proud of its transformation. The Committee needs to know why

Overberg has a debt of R35 million and what mechanisms are in place to

overcome the debt.

In addition, the Committee would also like to know from Overberg, what is

the progress in terms of the free basic service delivery policy? The

Committee also wants to know if there is any other areas that has the bucket

system in place? The Committee also needs to know whether farmers in the

region buy quotas, and whether they pay tariffs during the dry season? The

Committee needs to know how the water is allocated for agricultural

purposes and domestic use?

The Committee informed Overberg that theWorking forWater Project was

initiated in Genadendal some time ago, and the Committee would like to

know what happened to the project.

The top management structures of Overberg consist of 7 councilors of

which 1 is female and 6 male. Overberg officials present informed the

Committee that they are unclear as to the gender representiveness of the

Institution and could not inform give the Committee the true reflection of

the situation at present.

Overberg Officials informed the Committee that in the past there were not

enough reserves (finances) to allocate to the upgrading of the Overberg

region. Ten years ago the scheme that is now in place was a Government

scheme and made no provision for reserves. Overberg has tried to turn this

around through tariffs. Ten years ago, the schemes cost Overberg

approximately R70 million when handed over to theWater Board. The then

Water Board negotiated a take over price of approximately R40 million,

and over the last ten years Overberg has slowly attempted to pay off this

debt. Overberg will submit an application to DWAF and to the Treasury to

write off this debt, and then lend Overberg the money again, to use to the

advantage of Gendendal to eradicate the bucket system.

Overberg officials informed the Committee that the municipality makes

arrangements for free basic service delivery. It is not the duty of Overberg

to ensure that the people have free basic services. Theewaterskloof

municipality ensures free basic service delivery to every household within

its jurisdiction. Free basic service provision does not apply to service

providers but to water associations. In terms of other area’s in the region

that is using the bucket system, Overberg was not sure, but indicated that

there could be.

Overberg informed the Committee that farmers do not buy quotas for water

but applies for their water. Overberg then manages the allocation of water

by keeping the water at a constant level through hydraulic pressure. Tariff

structures are based on how efficient farmers use the water.

On theWorking forWater Project in Genadendal, Overberg firstly wishes to

inform the Committee that Overberg is the best service provider for the

Working for Water Programme, however, the WFW project stopped in

Genadendal due to unforeseen circumstances. In terms of water provision,

the Committee was informed that 60% of the water is allocated to farmers,

20% for domestic use, and the other percentages are allocated to SAM and

stock farming.

The objective of the Committees visit to the Arabella Golf Estate was to be

informed through a presentation of the water recycling systems in place at

the estate.

Representatives of the Arabella Country Estate informed the Committee

that the Estate was built in 1995, on an old piece of farmland in Kleinmond,

with a water sewerage works, water treatment works and a golf estate. The

Arabella Estate is part of the Shukuba Group of Companies and invests

approximately R1 million per year in the country.

The estate alone creates about 250 jobs for people from the immediate

surroundings.With the construction of houses from a new development, the

Arabella has created approximately 1000 jobs also for people and builders

from the surrounding communities.

The Committee was informed that the Arabella has a sustainable

development plan. It attracts healthy tourism throughout the year, although

it attracts more tourists at during the summer holidays. It is the only golf

course, which is self-sustainable, with its own water supply, and the

Arabella has good quality water. The Arabella is famous for hosting the

Nelson Mandela Trophy (golf tournament).

The Arabella receives its water from the Hermanus River, which constantly

dries up during summer. Water is therefore mostly extracted during winter

via a pipeline, which runs directly from the river. The Arabella also makes

use of boreholes and surface storage water which is treated at the Estate’s

own water reservoir. Water is continuously recycled and treated at the

Estate’s water treatment works and therefore water is not wasted at the

Arabella.

Boreholes are continuously monitored through data reading, which is very

important. The Arabella also makes use of groundwater, which is extracted

from fractures between the rocks in the surrounding mountains. An

immense amount of iron is found in the water; therefore the Arabella relies

on its water treatment works where the water that is extracted is treated.

Ground water has the following positives:

_ It is close to the needs of the people.

_ It is close to the earth’s surface.

_ The smaller community can be easily facilitated (water supply).

_ It is easy to maintain.

The Committee was informed that the Arabella pours back into the

community through:

_ Creating opportunities for academics.

_ School projects, where matriculants are prepared/trained to become

chefs.

_ The Estate is part of the Overberg Development Plan.

_ It creates employment for the surrounding communities.

_ It also has other activities in schools.

_ It adds to the individual upliftment of skills.

_ It creates approximately 400 jobs.

_ It is busy with a housing construction and has created approximately

1000 job opportunities especially for builders from the surrounding

communities.

Representatives of Arabella informed the Committee that they are in the

process of constructing a new borehole in the surrounding mountains which

is done through aquifers, where fractures are identified in the mountain

rocks, and in these fractures, drilling takes place and boreholes are created

here water will be extracted to supply the Estate. Representatives of the

Arabella informed the Committee through presentation about the logistics

of the whole process.

Because the Committee arrived at the Arabella Estate very late in the

evening, from Helderberg, the Committee felt that they had been through a

tough day, and that they would appreciate it if the representative of the

Estate could visit Parliament to give the Committee an informed

presentation of the envisaged water supply area that the Arabella wishes to

create in the mountain area. The Committee will extend an invitation to the

Arabella, when the Committee arrives back at Parliament in Cape Town.

17. Day 4: Theewaterskloof Dam visit

The objective of the visit by the Committee to the Dam, firstly, was to

observe the low levels of water that the dam contains at present. Secondly,

the objective was to be informed about how the dam functions in its supply

and demand areas.

The Theewaterskloof Dam is the largest storage dam of the Western Cape

Water System. It is filled by runoff from its own catchments and by the

diversions during the winter months of the Wolwekloof and Banhoek

Rivers into the Riviersonderend-Berg River Tunnel System. In future it will

also receive water pumped during the winter months from the proposed

Berg River Dam at Skuifram.

The main irrigation demands from Theewaterskloof Dam comprises the

following:

_ Direct abstractions from the dam by riparian irrigators and releases

into the Riviersonderend River for downstream irrigators and

Overberg Water.

_ Releases via the Riviersonderend-Berg Tunnel System to irrigators in

the catchments of the Berg and Eerste Rivers for the City of Cape

Town.

On arrival at the Theewaterskloof Dam, DWAF the Committee was

informed that the dam holds approximately 4,8 million cubic metres of

water. The Committee was shown the level of the dam currently, and what

the dam level should be if the dam is completely filled with water. At the

time of the visit the dam was approximately one third of its normal

capacity. This according to DWAF officials was a major concern, as dams

at such levels causes problems when needing to supply the greater Cape

Town community with water. If the dam and surrounding dams do not fill

up due to the shortage of rains at present,DWAF and the City of Cape Town

Would have no other alternative but to apply water restriction measures.

The Committee was also shown the reddish colour of the water in the dam,

and was informed that because of the colour of the water, which represents

the colour of rooi-bos tea, the dam was named Theewaterskloof Dam.

The Committee was taken to the dam’s main pumping station and

introduced to the logistics of the pumping station by an official from

DWAF.

_ Because of the present conditions of the dams in the Western Cape,

and its water shortages due to a lack of rain, the Committee wishes to

know how the City is informed about the conditions of the Dams.

_ What mechanisms are in place for water distribution, for example how

are the water services to farmers and communities monitored and

controlled.

_ How is the water distributed to the farmers and to the wider

community?

_ The officials informed the Committee that the City is part of the

Provincial Flood Management team, and they together link up around

issues of flooding, droughts etc. They have a good information sharing

system, and also links up with the weather bureau. They also have

emergency preparatory plans in place, which provides them with

indicators about the weather conditions and patterns. They can for

example warn farmers that live downstream of the rivers that there

will be chances of flooding occurring in the region. They also have

technical warning systems in place, which is of a high standard.

_ The Committee was informed that the Irrigation Board monitors all

individual water use; water monitoring is the responsibility of the

Water Board and farmer’s answer to the Board on how they use their

water. DWAF plays an oversight and monitoring role. The Irrigation

Board implements the procedures for water usage by farmers who

apply for water through quotas. Farmers are then monitored in terms

of how they use water through the quotas. DWAF bills the Irrigation

Board, who in turn bills the farmers.

_ Most water in the dam is used by farmers (no specific percentage), and

the other percentage goes towards domestic use. Farmers apply for a

licence to able to get water and have to predetermine how much water

they will need. For domestic use the same procedures for getting

water applies, however, in terms of water needs priority is given to

domestic use. For example, if farmers need more water and they have

used their total water in terms of their quota’s and water restrictions

are applied, they will have to get/buy water from someone else, as first

priority will be given to domestic use first. This is in terms of the

Water Act that states, the needs of the consumers comes before

irrigation needs. Farmers can, however, when applying for a new

licence obtain water again.

The objective of the Committees visit was to be informed firstly about the

progress made in terms of the construction of the Berg River Dam.

Secondly, to observe theWorking forWater Programme, and determine its

achievements thus far.

The Department ofWater Affairs & Forestry (DWAF) has been involved in

a 14-year process that led to the decision to implement the Berg Water

Project (BWP). It started with theWestern Cape Systems Analysis (WCSA)

in 1989, to determine the future needs and water resources available in the

region, and was subjected to a rigorous public-participation process and

debate, after which a Record of Decision (ROD) was issued in 1999 by the

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).

In December 2001, the Minister was satisfied that appropriate progress

regarding water demand management had been made by the City of Cape

Town (CCT), and in April 2002, the Cabinet approved the implementation

of the BWP. On 6 May 2002, the Minister of Water Affairs & Forestry

directed TCTA in terms of section 103(2) of the NationalWater Act, 1998,

to fund and implement the BWP as the agent for DWAF.

The BWP is designed to overcome the impending water shortage in the

CCT and for agricultural water usage supplied from the Riviersonderend-

Berg River Government Water Scheme. It is the first bulk water resource

development project that is directly linked to water demand management.

The existing components of the Western Cape Water System (WCWS),

including the addition of the Berg River Dam (BRD), are depicted in the

diagram below. The BWP will increase the yield of the WCWS by 81

million cubic metres or 18% to 523 million cubic metres a year by 2007.

This project is an important benchmark of TCTA’s success. The full

responsibility for implementation and funding rests with TCTAand, unlike

LHWP, this project will be funded without Government guarantees. The

groundbreaking agreements between TCTA and DWAF, and DWAF and

the City of Cape Town (CCT) were signed on 15 April 2003. The two

agreements were:

_ An Implementation Agreement between DWAF and TCTA.

_ A Raw Water Supply Agreement between DWAF and CCT.

These are the first public-public agreements of their kind in South Africa

that guarantee service delivery between public entities. The agreements

provide a sound basis to obtain a favourable credit rating for the project and

offer a model to other similar projects in Africa.

The design and supervision consultants were appointed in December 2002.

An agreement was reached with the consultants and DWAF whereby

DWAF staff could be seconded to the consultants with the aim of

transferring commercial skills and capacity. Although this arrangement was

not fully exploited due to changes in DWAF staffing, it provided a sound

basis for future capacity building on similar projects. Since the review and

approval of the appropriate dam type, TCTA has completed the design of

advanced infrastructure development, compiled a shortlist of pre-qualified

construction contractors for the Berg River Dam (BRD) and issued tender

documents to them. The tender-evaluation process is under way. The award

of the BRD construction contract should be completed by the end of May

2004. Construction should start by June 2004. The construction of the

advanced infrastructure will also be completed during this year.

Adecision on the timing of implementation of the Supplement Scheme will

be taken during the next financial year. Further investigation is required on

the impact it may have on the salinity and water quality in the Berg River.

Examination of the extent of the original environmental approval issued in

1999 indicated that additional Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)

were required for the advanced infrastructure components such as housing

and access roads.

The DWAF Construction Unit was appointed to implement the advanced

infrastructure construction and mobilised in January 2004. The participation

of DWAF was agreed at Board level and flows from the directive

issued by the Minister to utilise DWAF technical resources. It also allowed

TCTA to make up time lost in obtaining the additional environmental

approvals mentioned above. Both the financial value and additional risks,

by not transferring risks to the contractor, are within an acceptable limit.

The process of preparation, approval and inception of an integrated

Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was the focus of

socioenvironmental activities during the year under review. Following the

July 2003 endorsement of the EMP by the Environmental Monitoring

Committee (EMC) — a representative forum of interested and affected

parties — the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT)

gave its approval in October 2003. This facilitated the start of the

construction of project.

The EMC brought the issue of individual liability to the fore and this led to

the re-naming of the committee (from ‘management’ to ‘monitoring’),

while the entire liability issue has been taken up by Government. The

decision will affect the role of all similar bodies on future projects. An

independent EMC secretariat that will operate in a self-regulatory

framework has been established in the La Motte Village near Franschhoek.

It will include the Environmental Control Officer (ECO) who reports to the

EMC? The ECO will monitor compliance policies and procedures.

TCTAapproached development-financing institutions to provide long-term

funding for the project. Following various reviews (technical, environmental,

financial, governance, etc) the funding was approved subject to a

guarantee. The development-funding agency believes that the project could

provide an example and break new ground in the way it is implemented.

Going forward, TCTA will address:

_ Impact-mitigation strategies in both the natural and social environment.

_ Finalisation of the Working for Water contract with DWAF to clear

alien vegetation in the previous Assegaaibos State Forest, which

includes the future dam basin.

_ Finalisation of the tri-partite agreement between TCTA, Stellenbosch

Municipality and the community of La Motte regarding the transfer of

ownership of project housing to local government on completion of

the project. The financial benefit derived from the sale of the

properties will be shared with the other communities in the greater

Franschhoek Valley.

_ Continued rollout of the public-participation strategy to ensure

appropriate involvement of all communities from source to sea along

the Berg River.

_ Development of a Sustainable Utilisation Plan (SUP) for the BWP.

The Committee was taken to the offices of TCTA, where they were

introduced to the project through a model, which was displayed in the office

of the TCTA. The Committee was shown the development around the

various catchment areas, which would supply the dam for example, the

Assegaai Bos Dam, which is situated in between the mountain and was

never developed. This is a very large water catchment area.

The Committee was also shown control point areas, which will be used, and

these are, Klein Plaas Dam, with in-points in Wolwekloof and Waanhoek.

The Committee requested TCTA to provide an explanation as to the

situation of small emerging farmers. In addition, the Committee wished to

know how many small emerging farmers is being served, or will be served

on the completion of the project?

The Committee was informed that not enough small emerging farmers are

being served. However, there are some projects underway to include small

emerging farmers.

The Committee left the offices of the TCTA, for a site visit of the Berg River

Project, however, because of the rain, the Committee could not enter the

site. The Committee was shown the Berg River project on route to a site

visit on the Working for Water Project.

The Committee was informed that then Minister For Water Affairs and

Forestry, Minister Kader Asmal, initiated the Programme in October 1995

with a grant of R25 million from the RDP fund. The programme would

protect the water resource of the country from the rapid spread of invasive

alien vegetation, with the added social benefit of employing the poorest of

the poor to do the work through mainly manual labour. The programme has

since grown to the most successful poverty alleviation programme of the

Government and has won several awards including some international

conservation awards.

The Committee was informed that the upper reaches of the Berg River has

always been a very important source of water for primary use in the Cape

Peninsula and also for irrigation in the very fertile Berg River Valley, well

known for some of the world’s best wines. Over and above the water benefit

the upper catchment area is also a very important bio-diversity hotspot.

All these factors contributed to the start of the Assegaaibos Working for

Water Project in 2000. Most of the State owned land in this catchment was

used by the then SAFCOL forestry. A partnership between DWAF and

SAFCOL started the project with 8 contractors and approximately 96

workers.

The project has since spent more than R4 million in the catchment clearing

and following — up more than 4000 hectares. Of the money spent more

than 60% was spent on the workers.

In 2004 the project took a historic turn when TCTA with the support of the

City of Cape Town, agreed to contribute R21 million to the project in the

next eight years in an effort to control the spread of invading alien plants in

the catchment. This means that the project will now have an annual budget

of more than R5 million per year, employing more than 200 people. The

project staff consists of 2 project managers, a quality controller and an

administrator.

The Working for Water Programme forms part of Governments extended

PublicWorks Programme and exit contractors and workers after a two-year

employment period and the required training of 48 days. This is to support

the development of independent contractors/entrepreneurs who can compete

for work in the open market. Training includes:

_ Functional training.

_ Health and safety.

_ First aid.

_ Chainsaw operating.

_ Herbicide and life-skills training.

_ Business development.

_ Substance abuse awareness.

_ HIV/AIDS and primary health care.

The Committee was also informed that work in the Assegaaibos project is

extremely difficult due to steep slopes, mountains and the heritage of a

forestry plantation. This is coupled to environmental conditions of extreme

heat and cold. This requires special teams who can camp out in the

mountains; abseil the rock faces and conquer the elements to eradicate the

invasive alien plant species. All clearing in the area is done on a contract

basis. Teams obtain a clearing contact and get paid when the area is cleared

to the required standard. The programme also ensures that workers are

protected by the highest standard of health and safety.

The Committee was also shown on site training which people of the

community was receiving for the housing complex that would be built as

part of the development of the Dam.Workers were given in the site training

in bricklaying, plastering and construction of the types of houses that would

be developed in the area.

The Committee also had the chance to speak to workers who was employed

in the Working for Water Programme.

The overall questions from the Committee was the happiness of employment

of the workers, whether they were happy with the types of skills

training they were receiving, whether they were happy that the project is

successful.

The overall feeling of workers was that they were happy with the work that

they were doing, with the skills training that they were receiving. The only

concern was that as the Committee could see it was raining outside and that

in such conditions it was very dangerous to work out in the mountains.

The Committee was concerned that once the houses have been built, then

these people would again be unemployed. How will they be able to prove

to other employees when seeking employment that they were trained in

building skills, because most of these people were uneducated and had no

school records.

The Committee was informed that they are registered with the Sector

Education Training Authority (SETA), and they are given a number of their

file held by SETA, whereby they can when seeking employment obtain the

required information from SETA to prove to employers that they were

trained and had worked on the project.

The objective of the visit to Stellenbosch, was to gather information on the

progress made by the municipality in delivering water and sanitation to the

people of Boland.

The Committee arrived in Stellenbosch, where the Committee met with the

Acting Mayor and some of his officials. The Mayor started his presentation

to the Committee by informing the Committee that the building of the Dam

was done without the participation of the Communities of Boland.

The Mayor informed the Committee that the community of the Boland is

upset about the building of the Dam as they feel that they are sidelined in

terms of employment and participation in decision-making processes. The

poor and marginalized are sidelined and the Mayor feels that he needs to

bring this to the attention of the Committee as it is the duty of the District

to seek help for the people, as it would benefit the community if they could

understand what is happening around them.

In the former ‘‘towns’’ within the Boland, only Drakenstein and

Stellenbosch Municipalities reported to have any buckets still in use. In the

case of Drakenstein it was reported that 50 buckets were still in use in Saron

and 130 in Wellington. Funds are available and these buckets will be

eradicated within this financial year.

In the case of the Stellenbosch Municipality, buckets are still used in

Kylemore and Jamestown. Uncertainty does exist over funds allocated by

DWAF for the eradication of the bucket system as DWAF funds are now

included within the MIG allocations. If these funds are confirmed, all

buckets in use will be eradicated within this financial year. This is in

contrast to the figures of the 2001 Census and it is therefore assumed that

the bucket systems still operational during 2001 have all been eradicated.

Municipalities in general do not supply water and sanitation services in the

rural areas and the supply thereof is still a debatable issue on private land,

especially on farmland. All municipalities within the area have implemented

a policy for the provision of free basic water and sanitation in their

respective urban areas.

The Boland District municipality, in an effort to improve the provision of

water and sanitation in the rural areas, approved the following policy

during 2002. An amount of R 3 000 000 p/a has been spent by the Council

on the implementation of the policy while this amount can be multiplied by

at least two to get the annual amount spent (farm owners and Council) on

improving water supply and sanitation in the rural areas.

The objective of the Committee was to be informed by officials from the

City of Cape Town about its pressure reduction project and to evaluate the

pilot sanitation (VIP) project which in underway in the informal settlements

of Khayelitsha.

The Committee was taken to the pressure reduction pump station in

Khayelitsha, where the Committee was informed that the purpose of

introducing the pressure reduction system in Khayelitsha was because of

the high rate of water leaks that the area is experiencing. The Committee

was taken to the pressure pump and told that during the evenings and at

night, the pump is used to release the water flow in the pipelines that

supplies water to the area.

Water leaks has always been a problem in Khayelitsha, with lots of water

being wasted. This project has thus far proved to be successful in the sense

that when the pressure in the pipelines is released, the water flow slows

down, and prevents continuous water leaks.

20.1. Questions raised by the Committee

_ The Committee asked of the City of Cape Town to inform them how

the project is monitored to be able to detect whether the project is

successful?

_ The Committee inquired as to whether the City of Cape Town had

informed the people prior to the implementation of the project, and if

they did what were the responses of the people?

_ The Committee inquired if all the people in Khayelitsha, has been

served by this project, and if not by when will the project reach the

other people?

_ The Committee inquired about the situation of sanitation in the area,

and whether people have been given the basic sanitation requirements.

The Committee also asked the City of Cape Town to inform

them of the problems that are being experienced in terms of the

implementation of the basic services of water and sanitation?

_ The Committee inquired from the City of Cape Town as to how they

balance the supply of water to Khayelitsha and the adjacent Mitchells

Plain area?

_ The Committee inquired from the City if they were aware that

children are crossing the Lansdowne road to get water from the other

site on the opposite side of the road, which is very dangerous, and

children have been involved in accidents. The Committee informed

the City that this had been televised as well. The Committee would

like to know why this is happening?

_ The Committee wished to know how many of the bucket systems are

still in use in Khayelitsha?

_ The Committee inquired as to how the buckets are disposed of once

they are used, and what methods are in place to dispose of these

buckets?

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that the project is 2

years old, and that there are 25 000 water meters in the whole of the

area. Readings are taken each month and from the readings it is

determined how much water has been used. The Committee was

informed that at the beginning, 2 500 kilolitres of water were used per

hour, this then dropped to 1 500 kilolitres per hour, a saving of 1000

kilolitres of water on average. The challenge according to the City of

Cape Town is to make people aware of water saving methods.

_ The Committee was informed that with the implementation of the

project people were informed and made aware of the issues.

Therefore, feedback from the people is successful, and the

sustainability of the project has also proved to be successful.

_ The Committee was informed that a high amount of people has not

been served as yet. However, with the installation of the meters,

people will also start to be billed for the water that they use.

Previously, 2 households would use one water meter, and this created

problems in the billing system. However, the City of Cape Town is

sure that most of the people will served in the near future, and the

billing system will also be implemented within 3 years.

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that not all the areas

in Khayelitsha have been provided with sanitation. However, 40 000

sites in Khayelitsha have been served with a tap and a toilet. Thus far,

installation on these sites have costed approximately R3 million.

There is also the problem of double occupation, in towns like Mxolisi

Phetani, Bongani, Victoria Mxenge, Graceland and Mandela Park. In

these areas, more than one family/household uses the communal tap

and toilet. In addition, the City of Cape Town informed the Committee

that some informal settlements are built on private land, and the City

of Cape Town has to obtain permission from the landowners if they

want to provide the land with the water and sanitation infrastructure.

This is problematic as the landowners are not easily available, or they

do not respond to the City at all.

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that Mitchells Plain

and Khayelitsha use the same water supply (pipelines), and no

problems are experienced through the system. The Committee was

also informed that in Khayelitsha, most of the sites use the bucket

system, which means that lesser water are being used, and also

communal taps are used in Khayelitsha.

_ The City informed the Committee that the land that these children are

staying on is intersite (private) land, which is situated close to the

railway line. This land has not been serviced, and these children have

to cross the road to get water from the serviced site on the other side

of the road. The City is in the process of acquiring land in Mfuleni,

and would then service the land and propose to move the people to this

area. This is always a problem, as people are not prepared to just move

from the place where they are staying. The City has asked to purchase

this piece of land, but is still waiting for a response. The City of Cape

Town also informed the Committee that the upgrading of land started

in July 2004. R140 million (capital and operating expenses) was set

aside for the project. Initially, the project will take 5 years, with a

review period of 3 years. It is envisaged that R600 million for

expenditure will eventually be set aside for upgrading purposes.

_ The City informed the Committee that 95% of the informal

settlements have been served with the VIP systems and communal

taps. It will take the City approximately 3 years to eradicate the bucket

system completely.

_ The Committee was informed that the disposal from the buckets is

transported to the purification plant at Sandvliet Waste Water

Treatment Works. The buckets are cleaned twice a week.

The Committee was taken on a site visit. The objective was to observe a

completed VIP toilet, which was installed as a pilot project at one of the

informal houses in Khayelitsha.

The Committee was shown the completed pilot project (VIP toilet), at one

of the informal houses in Khayelitsha. Because informal houses in informal

settlements are built quite close to each other, the toilet was situated

between quite a few of the informal houses. The Committee also observed

piles of solid waste lying around the informal houses, and on the pavement

along the road.

20.2.1. Questions raised by the Committee

_ The Committee was interested to know how the Community is

involved in the building of the VIP toilets, and especially in the

decision making process. The Committee also wished to know to what

extent the youth is involved, and how the implementation of these

toilets is monitored?

_ The Committee was interested to hear from the City of Cape Town, for

what informal house the toilet was actually constructed?

_ The Committee inquired from the City of Cape Town, why the solid

waste was lying on the pavement, and when the municipalities remove

solid waste.

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that the community

had an established forum, with two representatives from each ward

serving on the forum. The forum acts as a task team, and monitors the

provision of services in the whole of Khayelitsha. Representation on

the forum also includes youth and is highly represented by women.

The youth is also involved with the rollout and construction of the VIP

toilets.

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that the toilet was

constructed for the house, which was closest to the toilet. However, it

was brought to the Committees attention that the people living around

the constructed toilet was all using the same toilet, and believed that

the toilet belonged to all of them and not only to the one informal

house.

_ The City of Cape Town informed the Committee that solid waste is

removed twice per week.

Upon questioning some of the community who gathered close by, the

Committee was informed that the rubbish has been lying there for quite

some time. According to the community the rubbish is not always collected

twice a week, and some times lies around for a long time. With the rains

over the week, the rubbish spreads everywhere, and causes problems in

terms of health, and blocked drains.

The Committee departed to the Faure Water Treatment Plant, with the

objective of listening to a speech delivered by Mr. Saleem Mowzer, and

also a presentation by the City of Cape Town. The Committee however felt

that it was late in the afternoon, and recommended that Mr. Mowzer deliver

his speech, and upon an invitation from the Committee the City of Cape

Town can do their presentation at Parliament, on a day that will be decided

by the Committee. The Committee will inform the City of Cape Town,

when they will be able to listen to the presentation.

Trading Services encompasses the directories of Electricity Services, Solid

Waste Management and Water Services, including the sanitation function.

Its vision is to provide quality, affordable, efficient and sustainable services

to all households and consumers in the City of Cape Town.

The city has stark contrasts, but possesses immense development potential.

However, the city severely suffers from the effects of decades of apartheid

policies, planning and service delivery that have created urban slums,

sprawling informal settlements and disparate inequities in service delivery,

particularly among underdeveloped and disadvantaged communities.

In line with Government’s vision to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment,

we have prioritized the need to overcome these contrasts as a central

component of effective leadership and governance in Cape Town and to

place the city on a sustainable growth path.

Over the past few years there has been a fundamental rethink of the way in

which the water services is managed and delivered. This has been aimed at

ensuring greater alignment with national government’s policy and service

delivery agenda for the water sector, including:

_ Meeting the strategic objectives of the recently released Strategic

Framework for Water Services;

_ Enhancing sector regulation, policies, planning, investment and

delivery;

_ Ensuring adequate investment into critical water infrastructure to

support growth and development, including the extension of services

to unserviced informal settlements; and

_ The provision of free basic water and sanitation to assist in poverty

eradication

The City is proactively engaging the Department of Water Affairs and

Forestry at a local level through the regional operations headed by Mr.

Rashid Khan and at a National level through the strategic engagement and

consultation of the Director General, Mr. Mike Muller and Minister

Buyelwa Sonjica.

Internally we have ensured the alignment of water services functions with

the Council’s Indigent Policy, Equitable Services Framework and Integrated

Development Plan. In this respect the tariff is designed to

accommodate the needs of low-income households and poor consumers by

providing the first six kilolitres of water free, per month. This is consistent

with government’s policy on the provision of free basic services.

The remaining tariff structure is broken down as follows. Consumption

between:

_ 6 to kilolitres is charged at R2, 15 per kilolitre;

_ 12 to 20 kilolitres is charged at R4, 30 per kilolitre;

_ 20 to 40 kilolitres is charged at R5, 48 per kilolitre;

_ 40 to 60 kilolitres is charged at R6, 67 per kilolitre; and

_ Consumption above 60 kilolitres is charged at R8, 60 per kilolitre.

The progressive nature of the tariff allows for the needs of the poor to be

met and discourages excessive consumption.

By the end of September, we hope to be in a position to make a final

assessment of dam levels in the Western Cape Water System to inform the

severity of restrictions on domestic water consumption. The City will

embark on a highly visible and intensive public awareness, user education

and media campaign, to support the restrictions.

The development of future water supply options has already commenced

through the construction of the Berg River Dam, which the Committee has

recently visited. The city is also considering various alternative water

resource development and management options, including:

_ The extraction of ground water between rock fissures one kilometer

below the earth’s surface through the Table Mountain Group Aquifer;

_ Feasibility studies into desalination;

_ Feasibility studies into domestic prepaid water meter installations;

_ A comprehensive bulk water supply and infrastructure planning

study;

_ The establishment of a ‘water think tank’ comprising experts in the

water sector and large water users in the industrial, commercial,

institutional, sports, recreation and tourism sectors of the Cape Town;

and

_ Sustained enhancement of the City’s Water Demand Management

Strategy to respond the ever-changing urban landscape.

Further with regards to water demand management, earlier today we visited

one of Cape Town’s world-class installations, the Khayelitsha Pressure

Management Station. This facility represents state of the art technology and

international best practice in water pressure management, not to mention

the fact that is the largest of its kind in the world. Since being

commissioned the project water leakage and the amount of unaccounted for

water passing through the City’s water supply system.

International best practice for the amount of unaccounted for water stands

at approximately 15% and is held by the Yarro Water Utility of Australia.

Through this installation and the maintenance and repair of aged and

damaged water fittings Cape Town’s record for unaccounted water stands at

around 18%, placing us in a favourable position to narrow in on the

international benchmark.

Through this project it is now possible to provide lower water pressures to

the Khayelitsha community thus reducing their monthly water consumption

to levels to which they can afford. These high pressures previously

caused serious damage to the plumbing and reticulation networks in

Khayelitsha resulting in household leakage that accounted for more 80% of

the non-revenue water supplied to the area.

We are striving to eliminate the existing inequities and inequalities in the

delivery of the service, thereby tackling the inequities and inequalities of

the city as a whole. We are beginning to turn the tide on decades of

sustained under-investment in the water network, particularly the systematic

under-investment in un-serviced informal settlements, townships,

disadvantaged and underdeveloped communities.

This is being achieved through the provision of basic water, sanitation and

sewerage services to informal settlements through the Informal Settlements

Upgrading Project. Through the site visit today, you would acquired an

appreciation for some of the interventions we have made on the sanitation

front through grant funding assistance totaling R52 million from DWAF.

In light of the heavy rainfall we received over the past 24 hours, you would

also have been informed through the media and witnessed for yourselves

this morning the problem of flooding faced in informal settlements during

winter months. This, together with the fact that the upgrading of informal

settlements is a moving target due to the constant sprawl of new

settlements, demonstrates the need for a coordinated approach for the

upgrading of informal settlements. For this reason we have established a

dedicated project office that is appropriately staff and resourced.

This project office coordinates with the City’s and the provincial

Government of the Western Cape’s Disaster Management function to

address flooding and appropriate contingency measures for the 171

informal settlements located within the city. Together these settlements

house approximately 520 000 people, many living direct access to safe

water and sanitation services.

During this financial here R8, 48 million has been allocated for community

water and sanitation supply through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant

(MIG) administered by the Provincial Government of theWestern Cape, to

implement the Informal Settlements Upgrading Plan. In terms of this

business plan we are awaiting a response on an additional MIG funding

application of R16 million.

The Water Services capital budget for all projects in this financial year

totals R257 880 million — a significant increase from previous financial

years. This figures is expected to increase to more than R330 million in the

2005/6 financial year and to more than R358 million in the 2006/7 financial

year. In terms of water and sewage infrastructure investment, R137,3

million will be invested during this financial with an additional R11,3

million for further water supply and sewer extensions yet to be approved

through MIG allocations.

In previous financial years the investment into critical water infrastructure

and network to support city growth and development, was badly lacking

and resulted in sever asset stripping and disinvestments of the network.

These factors have resulted in the ageing of the water network without

appropriate replacement and upgrading of infrastructure.

In many cases infrastructure component have approached the end of their

lifespan, resulting in the high risk of non-compliance with regulated health

and environment standards and frequent breakdowns in service delivery.

From the facts and figures, it is clear that over the past 12 months our focus

has been to turnaround this high-risk situation through appropriate risk

management measures and to move in line with the levels of reinvestment

into the water network desired by national government and provide access

to water and sanitation to many more residents in terms of government’s

water ladder to achieve universal access by 2008.

Another budget feature is that, compared to previous years when the budget

was skewed in favour of affluent suburbs and well development areas of the

city, this year’s budget is geared toward reducing poverty, inequality, lack

of access and poor service delivery in disadvantage communities. It is also

aimed at injecting investment into the water network to support city growth

and development for economic purposes.

Despite all of this progress and the good work that has commenced, I will

be the first to admit that much, much more remains to be done to undo the

legacy we inherited in 1994 and which continues to be burdensome on

thousand of our people. This is a legacy that we are committed to unwind.

The purpose of this section of the report is to provide the recommendations

of the Committee on the findings of the study tour. To make better sense of

this section, it is necessary to consider the whole report.

22.1. Conservation forestry management:

DWAF officials consider as one of its major concerns, that forest’s, are

invaded by communities.With invasion trees are felled to build houses, for

firewood and agricultural purposes.

The Committee therefore wishes to informDWAF that globally, people live

in or at the edge of forests. They are some of the least privileged groups in

our global community. They depend on the forests for many important

products and environmental services. These services not only meet their

economic needs for food and shelter but also form an integral part of their

culture and spiritual traditions.

The Committee therefore recommends thatDWAF enhance participation in

decision-making and benefit sharing. Technically sound initiatives usually

fail to arrest deforestation because they are conceived without the true

participation of all interest groups (i.e. communities, and other land users).

DWAF must therefore take into account the special interest groups from

within the forest sector and the other sectors that share, and at times

compete for the same land base.

Of particular importance is deciding on a just formula for sharing in the

benefits and responsibilities that derive from using forest resources

sustainably as an alternative to deforestation.

Transformation: The Committee expressed concern about gender representativeness

by DWAF with their participation in the study tour. The

officials of DWAF were all male, and this led the Committee to question

DWAF about gender representation in the department. This can be noted in

the report. The Committee therefore recommends that DWAF pursue this

issue vigorously, and identify the gaps that are in place in terms of gender.

More women and especially Black South Africans should be the focus of

employment by DWAF.

Black Empowerment: What emerged from the presentations is that the

transfer of forests was only taking place amongst sectors and not

considering the poorest of the poor. The Committee therefore recommends

that the poorest of the poor be empowered when transfers of forests takes

place.

Vacant posts: The Committee recommends that the 83 vacant posts should

be filled by women as the existing staff component are imbalanced, with

very little women and only 11 Black staff members.

Creche: The Committee acknowledges the efforts that DWAF has put into

securing a crèche for the children of Diepwalle. However, the Committee

recommends that DWAF, works in collaboration with the Department of

Education to secure transport for the children. The Committee also notes

that there is a need for social development amongst the communities of

Diepwalle, in terms of social grants for the children, child support grants,

etc. This is a means to alleviate poverty amongst the community. DWAF

must ensure that the people of Diepwalle receives education around these

issues.

The Committee recommends that whenever DWAF presents projects to a

Committee that when visiting the project sites, communities involved in the

projects should be present. The Committee is concerned that that none of

the community was present, as it would have been more practical for the

Committee to see the community busy with the projects in the way DWAF

officials had informed the Committee during their presentation. The

Committee also requested to see the financial records kept in terms of the

profits and distribution of finances to the various beneficiaries as reported

by DWAF officials. DWAF officials had informed the Committee that

records of finances are not kept at the office of the co-ordinator, but is kept

at the office of the Trust. The Committee therefore recommends, that

DWAF officials should ensure that copies of reports of such nature be kept

at the office closer to the people for public scrutiny. This would be in

accordance with the concept of open and transparent governance. The

requests that a copy of the financial report be passed on to the Committee.

The Committee was concerned when DWAF mentioned that the farmers

supplied the land to build farm schools and this creates problems when

DWAF wants to provide infrastructure for the basic water service. The

Committee informed DWAF that this provides room for debate. If the

farmers provided land to build the schools then the land that the school is

built on does not belong to the State but to the farmer. In essence there is

then no security over the land and neither over the school. The farmer can

then turn around and reclaim his land.

The Committee therefore recommends that DWAF find clarity on this

issue, because it can create problems in the long run. DWAF should

approach the Government about the issue, and the Government should

consider what is good for the children and the people. The Government can

negotiate with the farmer and seek the possibility to expropriate the land.

DWAF must also consider asking the Department of Education for

assistance, together they can look into the matter to see what the long-term

solution could be.

The Committee reminded DWAF officials that a groundbreaking policy of

the provision of free basic water and sanitation has been implemented and

this means that everybody in South Africa has the right to a basic amount of

water and a basic amount of sanitation that is affordable. These basic rights

should also apply to farm workers, bearing in mind that they have to pay for

services where these are provided over and above a basic service.

In addition, farmers are employers and are responsible for the housing and

related services of their employees living on the farms. Farmers are

therefore intermediaries and are responsible for the provision of (at least)

basic services to farm workers living on their farms. DWAF should

therefore reconsider the position that the people on the farms are living in,

reconsider the responsibilities that the farmers have towards the people

living on their farms, see what is set out in the law, and see that the law is

enforced.

The Committee felt that not enough was being done by DWAF and the

Municipality responsible, to assist the people to acquire the basic povision

of water and sanitation.

The Committee felt that DWAF officials were not responding to the issues

at Zoar positively and the Committee was not happy with the way the

problems of the people to access proper sanitation and water were

addressed. The Committee also felt that it would seem that municipalities

are always not having enough money to be able to provide the people with

the basic services that are constituted in the Constitution of the country.

However, the Committee feels that the municipalities are either not

planning there budget accordingly and therefore under spends and the left

over money goes as rollovers.

The Committee recommends that all Water Service Associations do the

Section 78 assessments in order to determine gaps and problems they are

facing to deliver services to the people. This would therefore allow the

council to make informed decisions whether to outsource these functions or

to do them in-house.

Firstly, the Committee is concerned when Overberg states that they want to

borrow money again for the benefit of Genadendal. Who will have to pay

off this debt. Wouldn’t it be the People of Genadendal. The Committee is

concerned that the poor must always be the people who have to suffer.

The Committee recommends that Overberg investigate the condition of the

bucket system in the whole of its region as the Committee is of the opinion

that Overberg should be well informed about these circumstances.

Overberg also needs to determine what is the backlog in terms of theWater

Service Associations and what has been done in terms of service delivery.

Overberg should relook their Water Services Development Plan, because

through these plans Overberg can be informed as to what has been done in

terms of numbers of provision of services and what is going to be done

about it. Water Services Associations can come to the Water Service

Providers and together they can make informed decisions as to what is

going to be done, whether they are able to provide services to the people or

should they consider bringing in contractors to do the work.

The Committee acknowledges the plight of the City of Cape Town to

reduce the high rate of water leakages in the area. However the Committee

is concerned that so many people have not been provided with the basic

infrastructure for water and sanitation. The Committee is also concerned

that people are sharing these very same facilities. The Committee therefore

recommends that the City of Cape Town works towards reducing the

numbers of people that are not yet provided with the basic infrastructure for

water and sanitation and also the numbers of people sharing these facilities

should be reduced. Once people have to share facilities such as water and

sanitation, it becomes problematic and will remain a problem.

It will also be to the advantage of both the people and the City of Cape

Town, if water meters are installed at all households using water. In this

way people are able to monitor their water usage and the City of Cape Town

can monitor this as well. This also assists people in understanding the

importance of sustainable usage of water, as they will have to pay for the

services that are provided to them. The Committee therefore recommends

that the City of Cape Town speed up the process.

The Committee remains concerned that children have to cross the

Lansdowne Road to collect water from the other site. Children and even

adults are killed and remain prone to accidents. The Committee finds that

this has to be dealt with in all urgency by the City of Cape Town. The

Committee therefore recommends that the City of Cape Town either

accelerates the establishment of the new land in Mfuleni, or the problem

with land ownership between the City of Cape Town and private owners

should be solved in all urgency.

The Committee also feels that the cleaning of the buckets that is still in use

by the people should not be done twice every second week. This to the

Committee is problematic, because not only is one household using these

facilities, but in some instances more than one household uses these

facilities. The Committee is also concerned that over weekends these

buckets could create problems, because people use this facilities and the

Committee is sure that these buckets are not collected over weekends. The

Committee therefore recommends that the buckets are collected and

cleaned more than twice a week, and especially on Fridays, as this would in

some way help over the weekends.

The Committee also proposes that the City of Cape Town eradicates the use

of the bucket system as soon as possible. This bucket system takes away the

dignity of the people, and people are prone to illnesses and diseases.

The Committee was not at all impressed with the VIP toilets throughout the

tour, as this was not far different from the bucket system. The Committee

feels that this type of toilet is not suitable for the people, especially disabled

people, the aged, and the sick. For example, a disabled person using a wheel

chair would find it difficult reaching the toilet, more so when having to use

the toilet.

The Committee also felt that people of Khayelitsha are not properly

informed when these toilets are constructed, hence the confusion around

the toilets which are used as pilot projects. The Committee was also not

impressed with the solid waste that was lying on the pavements of the site,

which the Committee visited and felt that this reflection shows that other

sites could be having the same conditions and this is a reflection that people

are not receiving proper services from the City of Cape Town.

The Committee therefore, after observation, feels that people are living on

land that is not suitable for living. This is reflected in the flooding that is

taking place in the informal settlements. These people need to be resettled

on land that is made suitable for living conditions. Although the Committee

was informed that in some cases people are reluctant to move, land needs

to be identified so that these people can live in better conditions.

The Committee therefore recommends that a land audit be undertaken, and

suitable land be identified, proper houses with the proper infrastructure for

water and sanitation be implemented on these lands, so that these people

could live in better conditions. The focus should therefore be on housing

delivery. Informal settlements are not the answer, and while informal

settlements exist, these problems will exist.

The Committee also recommends that the people should be better informed

about the use of the water and sanitation services that are being

implemented in the area. If people are well informed, this would lessen the

confusion that the Committee observed, is taking place amongst the people.

The Committee also recommends that the City of Cape Town, improve on

solid waste removal from the sites, as waste that lies around exposes people

to various diseases. Children play in the waste that lie around and become

seriously ill. Even animals dig in the waste, and carry around diseases,

which is easily spread amongst communities. As the Committee was

informed by the community, waste are not regularly removed and this

needs to change.

23. The Way Forward

In the report, the Committee has identified issues that should be acted on by

different role players. The major tasks identified are for DWAF to attend to.

The Portfolio Committee recognises, of course, that DWAF has a wide

range of responsibilities, and limitations of funds, resources and staff. The

Portfolio Committee is not suggesting that all the many tasks identified in

this report should be attended to immediately. However, over time, with

due recognition of the department’s constraints, the Committee believes

that action should be taken on these issues. The Committee intends to

discuss with the department what is practically possible, and will over time,

monitor developments in this regard.

Of course, it is recognised that DWAF on its own cannot address the many

issues raised in this report. Other departments, community organisations,

the private sector and other stakeholders have a crucial role to play as well.

So too do Parliament and the Legislatures, and in particular, our Portfolio

Committee.

The report should be published in the ATC (Announcements, Tablings and

Committee Reports) of the National Assembly.

The report should be debated and adopted in the House early in the next

quarter of Parliament.

Copies of the report should be sent to DWAF and the Committee should

ensure that all those who interacted in the study tour get a copy of the

report.

Obviously what and how much can be done to take forward the issues

raised depends on a wide range of factors. Among these, obviously, are our

legislative and other Parliamentary responsibilities, constituency work,

political party deployments, technical and other resources, funding, and the

co-operation of a wide range of stakeholders.

DWAF were extremely co-operative and received us very warmly. The

Committee extends sincere appreciation to them. The George Municipality,

Overberg Water Board, Arabella Golf Estate management, Stellenbosch

Municipality, the TCTA and the City of Cape Town, your reception and

co-operation is highly appreciated.

The organisational details were dealt with by our committee secretary, Ms.

Shereen Cassiem, and her assistant Ms. Olivia Siebritz, to them the

Committee expresses their gratitude. Other organisational arrangements

were dealt with by the outstanding Mr. Tony Brutus from DWAF and to

him, the Committee expresses their gratitude. The Committee also thank

the Researcher who accompanied them on the study tour, Mr. Glen Corker

for the background reports he did which were helpful in drafting this final

report.

Report to be considered.