Report of the Portfolio Committee on Water
Affairs and Forestry on Budget Vote 34,
dated 13 April 2005:
The
budget review of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) was
conducted on the 6th and 7th of April 2005. The Portfolio Committee on Water
Affairs and Forestry, having considered Budget Vote 34: Water Affairs and
Forestry, reports as follows:
A. Introduction
The
Committee received presentations from various stakeholders in the sector, which
includes:
(a) The Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry (DWAF)
(b) The South African Local Government
Association (SALGA)
(c) The Overberg Water Board
(d) The Timberwatch Coalition
(e) The Minister of Water Affairs and
Forestry
(f) Geosphere
(g) The National Movement of Rural Women
(h) The Mvula Trust
(i) The South African Water Caucus
A
list of representatives from the different organizations is annexed. The report
does not follow the order in which organizations or individuals presented
during the hearings, but has been consolidated to avoid incoherence.
2. Political
input by the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Ms B.P. Sonjica
The
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Ms B P Sonjica addressed the Committee
and Forestry, and raised the following key issues:
(a) Water
Affairs
The
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has initiated a process of substantive
change and restructuring currently in process and that is reflected in the
budget vote. The process of transferring water services to local authorities
has gathered momentum in that 20 transfer agreements have been signed.
An
audit of all water services schemes to be transferred has been completed and a
total of 512 schemes are to be transferred. She mentioned that some local
authorities were not ready to receive these functions, as they still needed to
develop/enhance their capacity. The local authorities that require intervention
are in the process of being identified and assistance will be provided to them.
This assistance will either be in the form of technical or financial capacity.
The
Minister emphasized that it is important that the commitment with respect to
enhancing democracy at local government level is delivered. Within this
context, the transfer of water services to local authorities is important. The
Constitution also mandates the transfer of these services to local government.
The necessary guidance and leadership for local government will be provided to
ensure the success of this process.
Expenditure
relating to water resource management is accorded priority status. The primary
purpose of this process is to ensure that the country’s water resources are
protected, used, developed, conserved and managed in a sustainable and
equitable manner for the benefit of all people. Because the country is going
through a period of climatic change, water resource management needs to be
given serious priority. A strategy for this has been developed and the National
Water Act also provides guidelines in this regard. In National Water Week, 2
strategies were launched. One of these is the National Water Resource Strategy.
The
implementation of this strategy will be prioritised, including the institutional
reform of water service provision arrangements. The National Water Resource
Strategy provides the national framework for managing water resources and for
the establishment of catchment management agencies. These agencies are intended
to bring about equity in the allocation of water resources. These agencies will
perform water resources management functions performed by DWAF regional
offices.
Expenditure
in relation to water resource management has increased rapidly in the last few
years. This is largely because the Operations of Water Resources sub-programme
has more than doubled. Provision has also been made for continuing the
investment in water infrastructure. Three dams are being built in Limpopo. The
raising of the Flag Boshielo Dam in Limpopo is expected to be completed in
2006. Advance works for the Berg River water project have begun and the
Olifants River water resources development project has been approved. Water
summits are being held in all provinces to consult with the public on matters
in the public interest.
The
Minister emphasized that policies that are friendly to the poor must not be
compromised in the restructuring process. The Free Basic Water and Sanitation
policy is a step towards ensuring universal access to basic water and sanitation.
The Department’s role in this regard will include ensuring that water and
sanitation projects and agencies that manage these services are sustainable and
can maintain and expand access.
There
is a need to focus on the infrastructure-related projects to create the
capacity to deal with reducing the backlog in implementing poor-friendly
policies. Addressing this backlog is central to the eradication of poverty.
Direct responsibility for infrastructure has shifted away form DWAF and funding
will in future come from the municipal infrastructure grant, the local
government equitable share and the capacity-building grant.
(b) Forestry
The
Minister indicated that there is a need for the restructuring process in
relation to forestry conservation to be accelerated. Employees are frustrated
because this process is moving very slowly. Timeframes must be determined for
the completion of this process. The Department’s main role in this regard will
be to provide the national policy and regulatory framework within which
appropriate institutions will manage forest resources with sustainability as a
critical priority. The Minister noted that efforts to monitor the
implementation of forestry-related policies would be increased.
Priority
has been accorded to the consideration of Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment in forestry conservation and in their commercial and community
uses. In this way, the contribution of forest resources to economic development
and poverty eradication is ensured. A national forestry indaba will be held on
14 April 2005 to further explore the contribution to Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment.
With
regard to the transfer of indigenous forests, the transfer of forests in the
Eastern Cape has been delayed. The management of several State forests has been
transferred to external institutions such as SAFCOL.
(c) General
In
relation to expenditure on administration, it is expected that expenditure
pertaining to administrative costs may decrease once the restructuring process
is completed. Expenditure in this regard has increased steadily over the course
of the past four years. Much of the increase in expenditure is to cover the
costs of transferring water service operations to local government.
Efforts
have been made by the Department to ensure compliance with the PFMA and to
achieve a clean audit report. This is because qualified reports have been
received in the past. To resolve this issue, the Minister has met with various
Directorates to discuss the issues. It subsequently emerged that the Finance
Branch is grossly under-capacitated, both in relation to being under-staffed
and in relation to a lack of capacity among the staff employed. A need has been
identified to upgrade posts and 3 Director posts have been advertised.
The
Minister noted that the African Minister Council would meet to discuss matters
pertaining to the access to finance for attaining the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) for countries on the continent. Finance is particularly required
for the poorer countries on the continent.
The
Minister concluded her address by emphasizing the need for the Department to
contribute to the development of the first economy and the integration of the
second economy into the first economy to ensure that the most important
beneficiaries of the Department are the poorest of the poor.
(d) Discussions
Members of the Committee raised the
following issues during the discussion:
·
What
is meant by the impact of serious climatic change over the course of a medium
to long-term period? What would the impact of such change entail?
·
In
relation to the financial resources that will be transferred to local
authorities, will municipalities be in a position to manage these resources
adequately? It is critical that these resources are used to assist the poorest
of the poor. How will this be monitored?
·
A
question was posed as to whether local authorities were sufficiently involved
in the National Water Week Campaign.
·
With
regard to the building of technical and financial capacity among local
authorities, it was stated that SALGA had indicated that the budgetary
allocations for the 2005/2006 period are insufficient to maintain the desired
level of support to local authorities.
·
The
Committee on Trade and Industry is currently considering the Co-Operatives Bill
[B4-2005]. What has the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry done to ensure
that there are synergies between the Trade and Industry and Water Affairs
Departments?
·
A
question was posed as to whether the Department has considered the issue of
aquaculture.
The Minister
responded with the following key points:
·
With
regard to the changes in the climate, the industrial world has increasingly
been producing more pollution, which has resulted in a blanket around the earth
causing it to warm. This impacts upon climate patterns. In South Africa, it is
forecast that this will result in increased dry conditions on the west side of
the country, which means in turn that this will result in hotter conditions and
that dams here will yield less water. Because global warming affects us at an
international level any one country in isolation cannot change this situation.
It must be addressed at an international level. South Africa as a country
could, however, prepare for the impacts of global warming.
Africa as a
continent also needs to consider the impact of climate changes, given that poor
countries are likely to suffer most as a consequence. Discussions in this
regard are necessary.
·
With
regard to aquaculture, the Minister pointed out that South Africa does not have
a fish farming industry to the same extent as many other countries in the
world. This industry is more pronounced in the other parts of the world, which
depend less on fishing from trawlers and more on fish farming. One of the main
controversies pertaining to fish farming relates to the pollution that it causes.
·
The
Minister raised the issue that there has not been much engagement as yet on the
Co-operatives Bill. There is a need to engage on the legal framework for
agricultural co-operatives.
·
The
Minister mentioned that there are currently 139 local authorities that have
been identified as requiring assistance in terms of developing their technical
and financial capacity. A project has been developed to deal with and monitor
project consolidate.
·
The
Minister stated that South Africa is classified as a water-scarce country. In
periods of good rainfall, the sum total of rainfall is estimated to average
454mm a year. In comparison to the average in most other countries, which is
estimated to be at about 860mm, South Africa is clearly at a disadvantage. Within
the context of an expanding population, this problem becomes critical. It is
therefore essential that a culture of using water efficiently is inculcated.
Public campaigns in this regard are therefore designed to communicate this to
the public in general. The Minister raised the point that much work has been
done in this regard, but there is a need to ensure that these campaigns reach
communities.
3. Presentations by Government and
Organizations
3.1 The Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry (DWAF)
The
Director-General of DWAF, Mr. Mike Muller, briefed the Committee on trends in
the Department’s Budget.
The total budget
of the Department comprises 2 parts, i.e. the Exchequer Account and the Trading
Account. The Exchequer account refers to the account voted in Parliament, while
the Trading Account refers to those accounts that are intended to generate
revenue, such as the income from water users. If the Trading Account generates
insufficient revenue, it is augmented from the exchequer allocations. The
generated revenue and the augmentation therefore make up the total Trading
budget.
In the 2005/06
financial year, the Exchequer Account constitutes R2 069 993 million (34%) of
the total departmental expenditure, whilst expenditure on the Trading Account
amounts to R4 103 397 million (66%).
Total DWAF
expenditure therefore amounts to R5 342 million. Expenditure in the Exchequer
Account remains fairly stable between 2001/02 to 2007/08, whilst expenditure in
the Trading Account increases rapidly during the same period.
3.1.1 Trading
Account
The Department’s
Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) distinguishes between 2 different
trading accounts, i.e. a water trading account and an equipment trading
account.
The Water Trading
Account has 2 main sources of funding, i.e. revenue generated by a water
management charge levied on all registered water users, and revenue collected
through the sale of water in bulk to various institutions and individuals. The
shortfall is funded through allocations from the National Revenue Fund in the
normal budget process. Expenditure under the Water Trading Account is divided
into 4 components. Each component is designed to provide a channel for funding
a specific activity in the water sector. These components are:
1. Integrated water resource management -
this component aims to develop catchment management plans and to implement
these through the effective integration and rollout of water quality standards,
water use and water conservation measures in all catchments in the country.
2. Integrated systems - where locally
available water resources in a particular area cannot meet the demand, water is
transferred from water-rich areas. This component reflects the management,
operation and maintenance of these schemes as integrated systems, as well as
the revenue collected from water users.
3. Bulk water supply - expenditure in this
component covers operations and maintenance, as well as management costs.
Revenue is earned through the sale of water, mostly in bulk.
4. Water services - in 1994, a number of
water and sanitation schemes were transferred from the previous homelands to
DWAF. More than 7million people are currently served through these schemes. The
operational, management and maintenance costs of these schemes are reflected in
this component.
The Equipment
Trading Account provides for equipment for the construction and maintenance of
government water schemes. This Trading Account has 3 main sources of income,
i.e. income from leases; revenue from the sale of plant and equipment; and the
collection of maintenance fees.
3.1.2 Exchequer
Account
The Department
has organised the expenditure of its Exchequer Account into 4 Programmes, i.e:
1. Programme 1: Administration - This Programme provides for
the management of the Department, including policy formulation; centralised
administrative, legal and office support services; departmental personnel
management and financial administration; Information technology (IT);
determining working methods and procedure and exercising control through head
office and regional offices. Expenditure under this Programme experiences a
slight decrease of 3% in the 2005/06 financial year, but is expected to
increase steadily over the medium term. The increase in expenditure will mainly
be to cover the costs of transferring water service operations to local
government. These include the personnel costs associated with the transfer and
the operational costs. The increases are also a result of the change in the
Department’s focus from operations to policy development and regulation, and
the restructuring costs attached to such a change in focus.
2. Programme 2: Water Resource Management - This Programme
ensures that water resources are used and managed sustainably and equitably. It
is the priority programme of the Department, as it consumes the bulk (43%) of
the budget. Expenditure under this Programme decreases from R1.6 billion in the
2004/05 financial year to R1.5 billion in 2005/06. Expenditure is expected to
increase to R2.1 billion in 2007/08. Future increases in expenditure will
finance the operations and maintenance of infrastructure, and the Working for
Water Programme. The Sustainable Supply sub-programme increases rapidly between
2005/06 and 2007/08, from R344.4 million to R624.1 million. This includes the
investment of R500 million in dams and related infrastructure.
3. Programme 3: Water Services - This Programme ensures
access to effective, sustainable and affordable water and sanitation services
through policy development and planning and regulating and monitoring the
sector. This includes institutional and implementation support to local
government. The Programme experiences a steady decrease in expenditure and is
expected to fall to R1.3 billion in 2006/07, as the expenditure on new water
and sanitation connections are transferred to the municipal infrastructure
grant. The large increase experienced by this Programe in the 2003/04 financial
year was mainly due to drought relief allocations, to help reduce the backlogs
in the provision of water and sanitation services and to support the process of
transferring water services to local authorities.
4. Programme 4: Forestry – This Programme promotes the
conservation of plantation and indigenous forests and their commercial and
community uses, to achieve optimal social and economic benefits and to promote
rural development through policy development, regulation, facilitation, as well
as monitoring and evaluation. Expenditure under this Programme is heavily
influenced by expenditure on the commercial and indigenous forests that are
under the Department’s control. The aim in the long term is to transfer this
responsibility out of the Department. However, the process is taking longer
than expected, as it is difficult to hand commercial forests over in a
sustainable manner. The trends in expenditure on this Programme are not
consistent, although it is expected to rise steadily over the medium term.
The Department
attributes fluctuations in expenditure to allocations to restructuring packages
for forests transferred to the South African Forestry Company Limited in the
2001/02 financial year, and increased funding to salvage fire-damaged timber,
as well as to cover the operating costs of the Mpumalanga forests in the
2003/04 and 2004/05 financial years.
3.1.3 Discussions
Questions that
were raised by Members of the Committee during the discussion following the
presentation include:
·
From
which Programme in the budget will the funds to transfer water schemes to local
government be allocated? The Department indicated that these funds would be
allocated from Programme 3: Water Services.
·
The
Working for Water programme was started with foreign funding, and the question
was raised whether the Department still receives foreign funding and if this
forms part of the Vote amount. The Department indicated that the foreign
funding is separate from the Vote amount. However, it does not envisage any
increase in foreign funding and the programme is essentially funded through
domestic sources, such as the grant from the poverty relief fund.
·
To
what extent does the Department’s budget conform to the national priorities
outlined in the State of the Nation Address and what are the difficulties in
transforming, i.e. will the Department be able to meet its budget. The
Department indicated that there is a degree of consistency between the State of
the Nation Address and its budget. For example, it pointed out 3 specific areas
in which the budget conforms, i.e. providing basic services; the 2nd
Economy and rural development; and creating a framework for economic growth in
the 1st Economy.
·
Why
is the Strategic Plan of the Department and the budget not aligned? The
Strategic Plan has 14 Programmes, whilst the Department’s expenditure is
divided into only 4 programmes.
According to the
Department this is a difficult process, as the Strategic Plan has to conform to
the format requirements of the Department of Public Services, whilst the budget
has to conform to the format requirements set by the National Treasury.
However, the activities in the Strategic Plan are linked to the different
Programmes of the budget. Furthermore, there is a matrix system of reporting
between the Head Office and Regional Offices, which makes the linkage between
the Strategic Plan and the budget possible.
·
The
Department appears to have shifted targets that have not been met. The
Department conceded the fact that targets set by them are optimistic,
especially if the achievement of such targets is dependent on consultation with
other role-players. In its opinion, the Department can only be held responsible
where it has direct responsibility for an activity, but not where it has to achieve
goals through other agencies, such as municipalities.
·
When
will the restructuring process end? The Department is trying to adopt a
responsible approach to the restructuring process that takes into account all
role-players. The restructuring process is budgeted for in the Administration
Pogramme and other line functions. This will take some time, for example, Water
Services will only be transferred by April 2006.
3.2 The Overberg Water Board
Mr. D. Abrahams,
Chairperson of the Water Board, and Executive Mayor of Theewaterskloof
Municipality, briefed the Committee on the work of the Board as follows:
Overberg Water
started out as a rural scheme, which was initiated by the commercial farming
community in Overberg. Initially, the scheme was State controlled, as it was
subsidised by Government. This meant that no reserves were built up and tariffs
were kept low. During the early 1990s, the Scheme was transformed into the
Overberg Water Board, and the subsidy from Government was terminated. Despite the
fact that the Board was at a disadvantage because of a lack of reserves in the
reserve fund, as well as low tariffs, it was expected to be economically viable
and sustainable. In terms of its equity profile, the Board consists of 7
members, of whom 2 are white males, and 5 are previously disadvantaged persons
(of whom only 1 is a female). Also, there is only 1 woman in the top management
structure of 6 people and women constitute only a quarter (25%) of the entire
staff establishment of 75 employees. The Board has an equity plan in place that
is aimed at improving these employment figures.
The Overberg
Water Scheme is expensive by nature, as relatively small amounts of water are
distributed over long distances, using expensive infrastructure. The area of service is
roughly ±200 km from Botrivier in the West to Riversdal in the East, and ± 60km
from the Langeberg to the sea. Fortunately, the Scheme has a good cost recovery
rate of almost 100%. However, the challenge is to address the backlog in its
reserve fund caused by the previous regime.
Overberg
Water distributes 60% of its water to rural areas (i.e. farmers) and 40% to
Towns. Despite its financial position, the Scheme has managed to keep its
annual increase in rural tariffs fairly low, at 4.8% over the last 10 years.
The Scheme believes that its tariff structure is unique, as it allows clients
to be allocated water on request. The aim is to encourage farmers to keep their
requests for water allocations as low as possible, and to use their allocations
as efficiently as possible. As the nature of Overberg Water differs
substantially from other Water Boards and its tariff structure is unique, it is
difficult to ascertain which comes cheapest. However, the Scheme’s tariffs do
compare favourably with other Water Boards.
As local
government in the Overberg area battles with a lack of capacity, Overberg Water
considers itself to be in a good position to assist with the provision of water
services in the region. For example, the Scheme could provide the quota of free
basic water (6kiloletres) free to rural areas. However, this is dependent on
instruction from municipalities and an agreement has to be entered into with
municipalities. Negotiations in this regard are ongoing with municipalities.
Furthermore, the Scheme believes that it can play a leading role in the setup
of institutional mechanisms for the provision of water services. However, a
major obstacle that has to be overcome relates to conservatism in the region.
The Scheme plans to host a summit (which they agreed after inquiry by the
Committee should include the whole province), to inform stakeholders about
where Overberg is headed in terms of the provision of water services.
Overberg Water
also performs well in the Working for Water programme. The Scheme is of the
opinion that an increased Working for Water Programme could possibly contribute
towards curbing the problem of water shortage experienced in the Western Cape.
To this end, they propose that 1000 hectares in the Sonderend River valley, from the TWK
dam to the confluence with the Breede River be cleared (±120 km), at an
estimated cost of R 4 million. The total amount of water, i.e. ±3,000 000 m3,
that Overberg Water subtracts from the river annually, can be saved. This water
will then be available for the metropole. It will cost approximately R34
million to clear the whole valley. Overberg Water can also assist DWAF to
manage the river as well as the subtraction from the river and other rivers.
This will not only contribute to a further saving of water, but will also
create jobs for an estimated 176 people.
3.2.1 Discussions
Questions that
were raised by Members of the Committee during the discussion following the
presentation include:
·
Overberg
Water claimed that it would cost R4 million to clean up 1000 hectares of land
in an effort to save water. Has a cost estimation been done in this regard? The
figure provided is rough, based on accurate research and calculations by DWAF.
·
Does
the Board provide water services in consultation with anyone? Yes,
services are
provided in consultation with municipalities as the water authority, as there
is a lot of capital that has to be invested in terms of infrastructure. In
fact, the Board is in the process of proposing models to municipalities of how
water services can be provided.
·
How
will the Board address gender imbalances in its equity profile? The term of
Office of the current Board expires on 30 September 2005. It is hoped that at
top management level, this imbalance will be addressed with the appointment of
the new Board. However, many of the posts in the establishment are of a
technical nature, and there is only a small pool of women to draw from.
·
How
affordable are the Board’s tariffs. The Board believes that its tariffs are
favourable. This is evident in the low default rate of approximately 4%.
·
What
steps have been taken against people who extract water illegally from dams? The
Board noted that it is difficult to control unauthorised water extraction, as
there is currently no system in place to do this. However, this can be done at
some cost.
·
The
Board indicated that the Working for Water Project creates jobs and alleviates
poverty. How many people are currently employed in the project, disaggregated
by categories such as race and gender? The Board did not have the data
available, but indicated that it could provide the Committee with the
information at a later stage.
3.3 The South African Local Government
Association (SALGA)
The objective of
SALGA is to assist municipalities in delivering services in an equitable,
affordable and sustainable manner. The Organization recognizes that not all
people are benefiting from government policies as a result of local
government’s poor delivery track record, and acknowledges that many
municipalities need to improve the efficiency of their water and sanitation
services.
Key challenges
faced by SALGA include:
·
The
delivery of Free Basic Water and Sanitation is a problem for people who do not
have access to piped water.
·
With
the restructuring process, it is important that DWAF assets are transferred in
a sustainable manner.
·
It is
difficult to eradicate the sanitation backlog in the absence of a comprehensive
policy.
·
The
impact of the restructuring of water services providers on local government.
·
In general, SALGA
supports the Budget of DWAF for the 2005/06 financial year. Its presentation
focused on 5 key areas in the budget, i.e.:
1. Sanitation - SALGA views the delivery of free basic sanitation
as one of its key priorities. It acknowledges the fact that the White Paper on
Basic Household Sanitation should be amended to align it with the new Water
Services Strategic Framework. Furthermore, SALGA considers it necessary to
revisit the sanitation policy and subsidy levels if the service delivery
targets in the Strategic Framework document are to be met.
2. Free Basic Water - Local Government is making continuous
progress with the provision of free basic water. Almost all municipalities now
provide free basic water to their residents who have access to services.
However, some of the challenges that confront municipalities in the provision
of free basic water are:
2.2.1
The
development and implementation of indigent policies. There is a need to define
that constitutes indigent or poor people in order to determine who should be
getting the subsidized water.
2.2.2
There
is a need to extend the delivery of free basic water to those people who are
not currently served and poor households, by extending water networks or
constructing local water schemes. This requires funds and skills, but
municipalities should be empowered to extend this service in a sustainable
manner.
2.2.3
Large-scale
meter installation is required, which is an expensive exercise.
2.2.4
Billing
systems, debt collection and municipal arrears remain problematic.
3. Transfers - The Joint Transfer policy indicates that all
schemes are to be transferred by June 2005. Although SALGA is supportive of the
transfer process, it has consistently stated that the timeframes may not be
met, as this is a process which requires co-operation between different
role-players, including local government, communities, politicians, etc. SALGA
is of the opinion that the transfer of schemes must be done in the proper
manner, and that another year would constitute a reasonable timeframe for the
completion of this process.
4. Catchment’s Management Agencies - Seven proposals for the establishment
of catchment’s management agencies have been under consideration for some time
and debates between SALGA and other agents with regard to the cost and where
this will be sourced from has been ongoing. In terms of the Department’s
targets, 6 catchment management agencies were to be established by March 2005.
5. Restructuring of water services providers
in South Africa – the
benefits of the restructuring process, as highlighted by SALGA, are that it
provides an opportunity to:
5.5.1
Create
viable water services providers and use scarce human resources in the sector
more effectively.
5.5.2
Create
water services providers that can provide competitive services to communities
in South Africa and beyond its borders.
5.5.3
Create
efficient institutions that result in less duplication of functions and lower
costs.
However, the
restructuring process is an expensive exercise that needs to be adequately
funded and resourced. It is also important to ensure that there is a regulatory
framework within which the restructuring process occurs, as the absence of such
a framework will increase the costs and impact negatively on the efficiency of
services provided. SALGA is of the opinion that the budget allocations in the
2005/06 budgets are insufficient to maintain the desired level of support to
municipalities.
3.3.1
Discussions
Questions that
were raised by Members of the Committee during the discussion following the
presentation include:
·
Are
there any mechanisms in place for the maintenance of municipal infrastructure?
A benchmarking project is underway to establish indicators for measuring loss.
Unfortunately, local government inherited the legacy of poor maintenance from
the past, and it requires a lot of funds and professional skills upfront to get
the process started before getting any returns.
·
SALGA
reported that one of the key challenges is to eradicate the backlog in the
provision of sanitation services because of a lack of national policy in this
regard. Do municipalities not create individual policies in this regard or do
they have to refer to a national policy? SALGA indicated that a common
framework is required in this regard. A lot of work has been done towards this,
but the process needs to be concluded. For example, there is no agreement on
what constitutes basic sanitation.
·
Another
challenge reported by SALGA is that the concept of indigenous/poor people has
to be defined, in order to determine who should benefit from the Free Basic
Water programme. Members wanted to know who constitutes the poor. SALGA
indicated that this couldn’t be measured, as there are no indicators in this
regard. Steps should be taken to ensure that directing resources more
accurately at them as the intended beneficiaries of the programme targeting the
poor.
·
What
is SALGA doing to address the lack of capacity in municipalities? Yes, SALGA
does provide assistance to municipalities where there is a lack of capacity.
3.4 The Timberwatch Coalition
Timberwatch was
founded in 1995 by a group of concerned members of civil society. It has since
developed a volunteer network, working together with a coalition of
environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The mission of Timberwatch
is to promote and coordinate action by members, organisations and the public,
and to keep such bodies adequately informed, in order to ensure that timber
plantations are not established on land where food, other crops and livestock
could be farmed to the greater benefit of both local communities, and South
Africa as a whole. The organisation is privately funded and does not receive
any funding from Government.
The organisation
submits that natural resources such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, clean
air, water and food should be valued in order to set off any loss of amenity
against the claimed economic benefits from plantations. This process is known
as resource economics.
The impact of
timber plantations is varied. On the social front, timber plantations could,
among other impacts, cause health problems from exposure to toxic
agri-chemicals and in-field injuries; disrupt family and community life as a
result of the contract labour system; and spread sexually transmitted diseases
as a result of both the contract labour system and the trucking of timber.
Implications for water resources include that large-scale timber plantations
negatively affect surface and groundwater resources; and timber plantations
(especially eucalyptus plantations) are known to dry up local streams and
wetlands. Other negative impacts include damage to public roads; pollution of
streams and rivers; air pollution and water pollution.
The presentation
highlighted the plight of the Sabokwe People who were removed from their
ancestral land north of Richard’s Bay (KwaZulu Natal) in the 1970’s to make way
for pine plantations. After 1994 the Sabokwe people reoccupied a small portion
of their land. However, they are now surrounded by alien timber plantations,
and do not have sufficient land to keep their livestock. The people of Sabokwe
feel that they have very little hope of regaining their identity and
self-respect as a community.
3.4.1
Discussion
Questions that
were raised by Members of the Committee during the discussion following the
presentation include:
·
Is
there any consultation with traditional leaders when plantations are created?
The Coalition indicated that traditional leaders are represented in some forums
dealing with these issues, but that their representation could be increased.
·
What
is the Coalition doing for the people of Sabokwe as an NGO? The Coalition has
to some extent been involved in trying to assist the Sabokwe people. It
identified youth development as important in the community, and has run a
workshop with them. It is currently also working on a proposal for developing a
project in the community, though with limited resources. A proposal for funding
of such a project has to be submitted.
·
Is
there any partnership between the Coalition and Government? The Coalition desires
a working relationship with DWAF, as it believes it is in a good position to
point out information to the Department. However, the challenge in the past has
been to get an appropriate response from the Department to efforts made by the
Coalition. The Coalition requires the co-operation of the Department to
exchange ideas and information and possibly share resources.
3.5 National Movement of Rural Women
3.5.1 Water
Affairs
In 2005 there are
still people who do not have access to clean water. Consequently, people source
drinking water from rivers where there are crocodiles and from places where
animals drink water and this leads to acquired waterborne diseases such as
cholera, malaria, and diarrhea. The needs of women are not catered for when
discussing water issues and women feel marginalized. Women are not consulted
when there are discussions on where to place communal taps, and when the taps
will be connected to their areas. Many women in rural areas are not catered
for, nor are they consulted when most of the water policies are being
discussed, whereas the President in his State of the Nation Address said, “ We
must achieve a new and democratic State which truly serves the needs of the
people”. This seems not to be the case when considering the marginalization of
rural women. Rural women are the ones who use water mostly, but the decisions
on where to erect taps are taken by men.
In the Mpumalanga
areas of the Ntsikazi and Nkomazi regions there are illegal connections of taps
outside the borders of those regions. This is the result of lack of running
water for these rural people. Moreover, people from Nelspruit come to Ntsikazi
with trucks to sell water, because there is a lack of infrastructure to provide
clean water to the people.
In areas of
Ga-Mashashane in the Limpopo province, women in this rural village travel for
long distances to collect drinking water. The Government must provide for a
budget to cater for water needs in the rural areas. The situation is worse for
children between 6 weeks and 6 years, 14% of whom are dying because of
waterborne related diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and malaria found in rural
provinces such as Northern Natal, Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, and
North West.
It seems that the
Government has not put much emphasis on gender and children’s issues in the
Water Affairs and Forestry’s Budget Vote.
There is a need
for water to be used for sanitary purposes. Government must engage with the
communities to allow for a situation where water will be supplied for
sanitation purposes.
The government
must also negotiate with communities about the privatisation of water services.
The Movement is against the privatisation of water services.
3.5.2 Forestry
The Government
has abandoned Arbor Day, which was commemorated on a day in a week dedicated to
planting trees. There is a need to revive the custom of having a specific day
set aside for planting trees. There is also a need for grazing land in the
rural areas, since there is high demand for green trees. There are people in
the rural areas that sell firewood for profit from trees that are not theirs,
but belong to nature.
3.5.3
Discussions
Members raised
the following key general question during the discussion that followed the
presentation:
·
What
is the relationship between the National Movement for Rural Women (NMRW) and
the municipalities? They also wanted to know whether is there any training is provided to women.
3.6 The Mvula Trust
3.6.1 Water
Affairs
There is a need
for Government to provide financial assistance to small-scale farmers. The
government has allocated R5000 per household to be rolled out to five thousand
households. This allocation is covered in this year’s budget, which was
increased from R27 million to R37 731 million.
According to the
Trust there is a need to redefine what is meant by water supply and sanitation.
The Water Services Act provides for water supply and sanitation and potable
water.
The Government
must commit itself to 6 000 kilolitres per month per household of Free Basic
Water. Moreover, the Government should devise the best way for the Municipal
Infrastructure Grant (MIG) to be spent. There is a need to develop water policy
synergies within the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry directorates for
water for domestic and productive use.
There is a also a
need for engagement between DWAF, the Department of Agriculture, the Department
of Provincial and Local Government and the SALGA on the application of the MIG
funding to strengthen this important initiative to provide sustainable water
for multiple use to vulnerable households.
3.7 The South African Water Caucus
3.7.1 Water
Affairs
The South African
Water Caucus (SAWC) is a national organization, which represents civil society
organizations in the area of water. The organization is concerned that there
are 1.5 million people who are currently not serviced. There is a backlog that
faces the Government. The organization has questions that relate to the budget
on which it is not clear, as to why their budget has dropped from R236 209,00
to R157 364,00 for this current year.
There is also a
need for the budget to cater for civil society organizations to enable them to
participate and make input into the vote and enable them to attend public
hearings. However, it is appreciated that the budget for stakeholder
empowerment has increased substantially.
The Budget vote
does not provide for the empowerment of women.
The Government
and other institutions have co-modified water. The Government should therefore
attempt to increase Free Basic Water to poor households.
The SAWC is
concerned that the consumers are charged higher rates than bulk agricultural
users. For this reason, it is suggested that the tariff structure should be
revised.
The SAWC is also
concerned that the Department spends much money on consultants and not on
service delivery.
3.7.2
Discussion
The following
were key general questions and comments that were raised by Members of the
Committee during the discussion following the presentation:
·
The
Members raised the concern that Mvula Trust has not made follow-ups after
donating funding to communities for water connection to ascertain whether the
money was used appropriately for the intended purpose. This arises out of the
fact that there are communities that leave pipes lying around after they have put
pipelines underground for transporting water.
·
The
Members of the Committee also wanted to know whether Mvula Trust has alerted
communities that water harvesting was temporary and whether they engaged with
the communities where there are rivers and streams, such as KwaZulu Natal, to
develop catchment areas.
·
Are
there training programmes that the Women’s Movement is providing to women?
·
The
Members wanted to ascertain whether the R27 million is money that is projected
by the Trust or whether it is a Departmental budget allocation.
·
Members
also commented that the input by SAWC was more of a list of questions and
comments about the strategic plan than the Budget vote.
·
Lastly,
Members wanted to ascertain whether the Trust has applied for funds as stipends
to people who work on the water projects responsible for putting the pipelines
in the different communities.
The following
were general answers and comments to the above questions:
3.8 The Contact Trust
Contact Trust
addressed the Committee on its work, particularly in relation to opposing
timber plantations and their “Value Grasslands” project. The Chairperson raised
the fact that the presentation did not address the budget vote. Notwithstanding
the presentation would be useful to the Committee. The Chairperson therefore
decided that no discussion would be entertained in this regard, but requested
that Contact Trust be invited to do a full presentation at another meeting in
future. The work of Contact Trust will then be dealt with separately from the
budget vote.
4. Response by the Department of Water
Affairs and Forestry to the inputs
4.1 Essentially, water is governed by the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
4.2 The
Government is restructuring entities that were established and operated beyond
South Africa’s borders. During this process, municipalities would have to look
for services that they can source from outside the government and itself.
4.3 The Water Services Act provides for authorities
to come together and form a Water Services entity like the Umngeni Water in
KwaZulu-Natal. The National Treasury will increase funding for the municipality
as the Department lowers its contribution to water services to municipalities.
4.4 The definition of Free Basic Sanitation
should be revamped, but not in the manner suggested by Mvula Trust, because
currently the definition provides for safe, reliable, private, easy to keep,
clean, hygienic and easily removable of human waste. Thus it is broad enough,
but it may need further revamping.
4.5 There will be four catchment areas that
will be established and R12 million has been put aside for Catchment Management
Services. The Department acknowledges that not everybody has access to clean
water and it recognises what women are doing in the area of water access.
4.6 The Government will work with Water
Service providers and municipalities on Water Service Development Plans
(WSDPs).
4.7 The Government is also concerned about the
illegal connection of water and steps will be taken regarding these illegal
acts.
4.8 Arbor Week has not been scrapped. It is
still being catered for in the Department’s calendar and will take place in the
first week of September 2005.
4.9 The debate on privatisation of water
services is not closed and the Department engages with stakeholders, including
the South African Municipal Workers Union, Anti-Privatisation Forum, and other
stakeholders.
4.10
There
is a need for legislation that deals with the supply of water to
communal taps and
the catchment areas. The Government has allocated 72%
of the Municipal
Infrastructure Grant (MIG) to water and sanitation.
4.10 There has been spending on consultants and the
Department will try to build an in-house capacity.
4.11 The
Government is trying its best to develop gender sensitive policies at all
levels, and all government policies are gender sensitive.
4.12 The
Department will ensure that Regional offices communicate with the different
civil society movements to invite them to engage with the Department on Water
Affairs and Forestry matters.
4.13 There are laws that govern forestry and
veldfires. There are also Forestry Development Plans, which deal with
forestation and other matters connected therewith and the Minister is still
looking at these issues.
4.14 The
Ministry is also looking at the government’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)
policy in forestry through the planned Izimbizos. An assessment will also be
made on Sappi and Mondi’s BEE. This will, among other things, look at how the
Previously Disadvantaged benefit from forestry. In the forestry Indaba, there
will be a discussion and decision on how to use forestry, herbs to benefit the
poor and the use of forestry by the traditional doctors.
Appendix A
Names of
Presenters
Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry
Mr M. Miller
(Director General)
Ms N. Mohoboko
Mr L. Mufamadi
Mr P. Botha
Mr J. Sindane
Overberg Water
Board
Mr D. Abrahams
(Executive Mayor)
Mr D. Potgieter
Mr. A. Behardian
Timberwatch
Coalition
Mr. W Mene
Minister of
Water Affairs and Forestry
Hon Ms B.P.
Sonjica
Geosphere (Contact Trust)
Mr P. Owen
Mr G. Siloale
National
Movement of Rural Women
Ms P. Sithole
Mvula Trust
Mr P. Davids
South African
Water Caucus
Ms H. Deedat
South African
Local Government Association
Mr Neil McCloud
Executive
Summary: Key Issues Emanating From the Public Hearings Of the Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry Budget Vote
1. Introductory Overview
The key
distinguishing feature of the budget vote of the Department of Water Affairs
and Forestry is that the budget is divided in two parts, namely; the Exchequer
Account and the Trading Account. The Exchequer account refers to the account
voted in Parliament, while the Trading Account refers to those accounts that
are intended to generate revenue, such as the income from water users. In each
financial year the exchequer account and trading account, fused together, make
a composite whole of the budget vote.
In the 2005/06
financial year, the Exchequer Account constitutes R2 069 993 million (34%) of
the total Departmental expenditure, whilst expenditure on the Trading Account
amounts to R4 103 397 million (66%). The
Department has organised the expenditure of its Exchequer Account into 4
Programmes, i.e: Administration, Water Resource Management, and Water Services
Forestry
Programme 1
Administration 272 491
Programme 2 Water
Resource Management 1 506 657
Programme 3 Water
Services 1
405 075
Programme 4
Forestry 373 189
The Strategic
Plan of the Department has fourteen (14) Programmes while the Appropriation is
divided into four (4) programmes. It seems that there is a disjuncture between
the Budget Vote and the Strategic Plan of the Department. The strategic plan
contains the objectives of the department. The objectives are or should be
specific, measurable, achievable, real and time-bound. This will be able to merge with the Strategic
Plan and the Budget Vote together with the Appropriation.
The disjuncture
between the two arises because the Strategic Plan has to conform to the format
requirements of the Department of Public Services, whilst the budget has to
conform to the format requirements set by the National Treasury. However, the
activities in the Strategic Plan are linked to the different Programmes of the
budget. Furthermore, there is a matrix system of reporting between the Head
Office and Regional Offices, which makes the linkage between the Strategic Plan
and the budget possible.
The Department
adopts a responsible approach to the restructuring process that takes into
account all role-players. The restructuring process is budgeted for in the
Administration Programme and other line functions. This will take some time, for
example, Water Services will only be transferred by April 2006.The process is
therefore dependent on the other cross-departmental services.
Moreover, the
Government is restructuring entities that were established and operated beyond
South Africa’s borders. During this process, municipalities would have to look
for services that they can source from outside the government and itself.
4. Gender and the Budget Vote
The government
develops policies that are gender sensitive at all levels. However, there is a
weakness in the budget vote in that it does not cater fully for rural women who
bear the brunt in communities where there is lack of sanitational and water
services.
5. State of the Nation Address
There is a degree
of consistency between the State of the Nation Address and the budget of the
Department. For example, the budget provides for the provision of basic
services; the 2nd Economy and rural development; and creating a
framework for economic growth in the 1st Economy which are areas
covered in the State of the Nation Address.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Where the department has shifted targets in a
budgeted year and are reliant on other departments and tiers of government,
that those targets remain the responsibility of the department of Water Affairs
and Forestry to monitor and effect through a process of co-operative
governance.
2. That the restructuring process with regards to
water services to local government and forestry to other departments, that the
target dates be relooked at and that service delivery and human resource
concerns and capacity not be compromised in the process.
3. That all provinces, which have not held
Provincial Water Summits, be encouraged to do so and that it should not be left
for individual municipalities to organise.
4. That the Working for Water programmes to
be enhanced so as to contribute in curbing the water shortage problems as
currently experiencing in the Western Cape.
5. That the department of Water Affairs and
Forestry in conjunction with provinces and municipalities take steps to
continue to investigate illegal use or extraction of water where they occur.
6. That the department of Water Affairs and
Forestry assist in clarifying the policy positions on Basic Household
Sanitation so as to build capacity in municipalities and ensure that service
delivery targets are met and that our people obtain the quality services the
budget sets out to be.
7. That the department on Water Affairs and
Forestry as sector leader provide guidance on the implementation on indigent
policies so as to ensure that especially poor people who has not received free
basic services by municipalities can receive them.
8. As SALGA is of the view that the 2005/2006
budget is insufficient to maintain support to municipalities, DWAF together
with SALGA should embark on further capacity programmes especially with regard
to Project consolidate.
9. That the department on Water Affairs and
Forestry enhances its focus on the impact of inaccessible water services and
forestry for women in rural areas in relation to clean drinking water and the
impact on their health (water borne diseases).
That DWAF investigate the claim by the National Movement of Rural Women
with regards to illegal connections of taps and that allocation of water
services and infrastructure that mitigates against service delivery to women in
rural areas, that the regional offices of DWAF initiate co-operate community
participation to overcome these backlogs.
10. That the department of Water Affairs and
Forestry initiate engagement with the departments of Provincial and Local
Government, SALGA, Agriculture and other relevant departments on the need to
strengthen important initiatives to provide sustainable water for multiple use
to vulnerable households including a programme on sustainable multiple use for
forestry to vulnerable households.