Water Research Act Amendment Bill BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

Rationale Reforming & strengthening of SA’s water research landscape Water research strategy (WRS) - framework for water research in SA WRS guided by government priorities including water related SIPs; thrust to accelerate achievement of MDGs global change and green economy drives SA’s future water security initiatives thrust on SA’s preparedness to deal with hydrological hazards generation of knowledge and skills required to understand the biophysical environment & hydrological cycle in its entirety 2

Rationale cont... Include provisions on the appointment of members of the Board and CEO in line with other entities of government Include provisions on alignment with applicable legislations PFMA – management of research fund, levies, etc. National Water Act – devolution of water management to catchment level Water Services Act – regulatory regime - safe drinking water in SA National Environment Management Act – interactions of water with other components of the biophysical environment Widen the scope of WRC’s collaboration with other institutions dealing with water related research ( e.g. CGS, CSIR, ARC, UNESCO water centers) 3

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed proposed amendments under this section include the removal of reference to specific institutions such as the CSIR; to open the WRC to working with a wider range of institutions than was envisaged in 1971; 4

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed proposed amendments in section 4 address the functioning of the Board; bring functioning of the Board in line with contemporary governance requirements and prescripts of the PFMA; one of the key elements of this section relates to the appointment of the Board 5

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed key issue in relation to governance relates to the membership of the Board where currently the Director General of DWA is an ex-officio member of the Board; this position, however, raises a potential conflict of interest in the Director-General both sitting on the Board and being responsible for the Departmental oversight and regulatory role; recommendation is, therefore, to remove the Director General as a member of the Board;   6

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed Sections 7, 8 and 9 deal with the functioning of the Board; Also include codes of conduct of the Board members and validity of the decisions taken by the board; these sections are aligned with the relevant sections of the NWA of all Boards of institutions for which the Minister is responsible for in line with international governance practice, an amendment to introduce establishment of an Audit Committee by the Board is proposed.  7

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed Section 10 deals with issues pertaining to the CEO, staff of the WRC & conditions of employment; it is amended to refer to the CEO, rather than the executive director; also clarify the appointment process of the CEO & staff of WRC; the proposed appointment process is that the Minister appoints the CEO on recommendation from the Board, for a period of not more than 5 years, with a possible reappointment for a second term of office; and the proposed amendments would also mean that termination of the employment of the CEO would be done by the Minister after consultation with the Board. 8

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed the needs to align this section with the NWA pricing strategy and the institutional arrangements in particular; this is to ensure that the determining of the charges and the collection of the charges is done in accordance with the requirements of the NWA; the intention is to limit the financial risk to the WRC of poor billing and under-collection by either DWA or CMAs in future when the billing function is transferred to them; the amendments should ensure that DWA or the CMAs carry any risk associated with under-billing, incorrect billing, or the failure to collect billed revenue; 9

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed currently, where there is under-recovery, the DWA opts to pay the WRC before allocating money to the DWA requirements, ensuring that the WRC receives its full budget; payment via CMAs may put this at risk unless appropriate contractual arrangements are in place; and such contractual arrangements must be supported by the legislation. 10

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed major amendment proposed in section 13 is that the WRC may use its funding of not more than 10% of total allocation outside South Africa for research purposes; and amendments are also proposed to tighten up on investment options and ensure alignment with the PFMA. 11

Some Of Sections Proposed OR Removed amendments to section 14 are proposed to improve the financial reporting and auditing requirements in line with current best practice and regulatory requirements.   12

Thank You