Progress report on establishment of Water Management Institutions

1
Progress report on establishment of Water
Management Institutions

• PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
• 06 SEPTEMBER 2006
• Eustathia Bofilatos
• Director WMIG

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Contents

• Transformation of Irrigation Boards into Water
  User Associations
• Establishment of Catchment Management Agencies

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Transformation of IBs to WUAs

• Transformation of irrigation boards (IB) into
  WUAs is a statutory requirement in terms of
  section 67 of the NWA (Act 36 of 98)
• Due date of transformation of IB to WUA was 6
  months after promulgation of the NWA
• Due date was postponed to 2000
• Process not concluded to date

4
Legal framework

• Irrigation boards operate in terms of the 1956
  Act
• WUA operate in terms of chapter 8 of NWA (Act 36
  of 98)
• Voluntary membership promoted by the NWA (Act 36
  of 98)
• WUAs do not have to comply with the PFMA unless
  they have government loans

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Vision for WUAs

• To promote self-determination in local water
  management, to stimulate economic development,
  especially among the poor and to utilise existing
  water management capacity to the benefit of the
  population
• Inclusive membership organisations that provide
  quality services to the benefit of all its
  members, especially for productive water uses
  that are dependent on collective operation and
  maintenance of water supply infrastructure
• Public awareness to maximise the ability of water
  user groups to use the WUA tool to their
  advantage, especially among historically
  disadvantaged individuals.

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Statistics on water user associations

• 279 Initial number of irrigation boards
• 68 Transformed irrigation boards
• 38 WUAs from transformed IBs
• 211 Irrigation boards to be transformed
• 23 New WUAs established

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Internal challenges

• Insufficient capacity in Regional Offices to
  prioritise transformation of IB and new
  establishments of WUA
• Policies not in place by the time the due date of
  transformation completed
• Interpretation of policies by both Head Office
  and Regional Offices not aligned
• Establishment of WMI not done in coherent manner
• Water allocation (entitlements) to HDI not in
  place as Water Allocation Reform has yet to take
  place.

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External challenges

• Policy implementation
• Policy required extension of former IBs
  boundaries - required extensive consultation
• Irrigation boards felt that it was not their
  mandate to consult outside their boundaries
• Initially Government did not provide support for
  this process- (financially / technically)

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External challenges

• Cooperative government
• Successes of WUAs depends on the business of
  agriculture (Department of Agriculture)
• All water users need land in order to use water
  (Department of Land Affairs)
• Water is just one input to local economic
  development (Local government)
• Local government to sign off on establishment of
  WUA
• Co-operation with Local Government has proved
  difficult in some areas

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External challenges

• Viability
• Farmers are reluctant to establish due to
  challenges facing the future of the institutions,
  e.g.
• Absence of financial support and after care to
  WUAs
• Drought impacts upon viability
• Agricultural issues can impact upon viability
  (market, increasing costs. etc,)

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External challenges

• Redress
• HDIs do not have access to water and do not see
  benefits of joining WUA if they do not have water
  
• Time is needed to promote equal understanding of
  IWRM
• Capacity building requires time and money
• Some irrigation boards see transformation as part
  of a political agenda of disempowering
  commercial water users
• Government responsibility for consultation and
  public participation

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Fast tracking establishment

• DWAF is assisting irrigation boards to
• transform (consultation/ public participation
  ) and is investigating seed funding possibilities
• Focused pilot projects in KZN and Mpumalanga -
  aligned with CMA establishment
• DWAF is reviewing the chapter on WUA in the NWA
• To allow for smaller WUAs to be members of a
  larger WUA
• Improved policies on WUAs need to be developed
  and implemented
• Alignment in interpretation of policies between
  HO and regional staff is being addressed

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CMAs Role

• Manage water resources in a defined Water
  Management Area (WMA)
• Co-ordinate the functions of other institutions
  involved in water related matters
• Involve local communities in water resource
  management

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Progress of CMA establishment
CMAS GAZETTED FOR ESTABLISHMENT AC PROCESS INITIATED AC PROCESS FIN BOARD APPOINTED
INKOMATI 19 March 2004 March 2004 October 2004 July 2005
BREEDE September 2004 September 2005 September 2006
CROC WEST 17 August 2005. Jan 2006 October 2006
MVOTI 20 May 2005. Jan 2006 October 2006
USUTU TUKELA OLIFANTSDOORN GOURITS July 2006 Dec 2006
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Developmental Imperatives

• pro-poor, developmental WMI represent interests
  of all stakeholders, especially poor/
  marginalised
• More poor women and men using more water more
  productively- farming, livestock, fisheries,
  forestry
• (Re-) allocation of water
• Better sharing in benefits of water-based
  large-scale enterprises- farming, mining,
  forestry, tourism
• Flood protection
• Water is a social and economic good water use
  by the poor for multiple purposes is priority
  beneficial use
• Community-based integrated water management for
  livelihoods is corner stone of the WMI

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Time Frames - CMAs
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Inkomati
Mvoti Breede Croc West
Thukela Usuthu Gouritz Olifnts/Doorn
Olifants Upper Vaal Berg
Middle Vaal Levuvhu Limpopo Fish
Upper Orange Lower Orange Lower Vaal Mzimvubu
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The Establishment Process

• THE PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT (1-2 years)
• THE PROPOSAL EVALUATION (8 months)
• MINISTERS APPROVAL (4 weeks)
• PROPOSAL GAZETTING FOR COMMENTS (60 days) AND
  REQUEST FOR NOMINATIONS TO ADVISORY COMMITTEE (1
  month)
• ANNOUNCEMENT OF ESTABLISHMENT (2 weeks)
• ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND
  NOMINATIONS FOR GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS (3-4
  months)
• GOVERNING BOARD TRAINING (2weeks)
• GB FIRST MEETING

AVERAGE 3 YEARS
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Restructuring resource implications

• Transfer of staff - 200 people
• Funding for CMAs - R170 million over next 8 years
• Fully functional CMA - 5 yrs
• WRM tariff - less than 4 of the total water
  charge

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• Thank you