Water Management Institutions PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE 6 SEPTEMBER 2006

DWAF’s Role Broadly DWAF’s role at a National level is to:  Develop policy  Facilitate implementation  Regulate However, there are particular strategic issues that DWAF will continue to perform in line with it’s role as the resource custodian

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

Water User Associations role Operate at a localised level Pooled resources and mutual benefit Localised implementation of the Catchment Management Strategy

STATISTICS ON TRANSFORMATION OF WUAs 279 Initial number of irrigation boards 68 Transformed irrigation boards 211 Irrigation boards to be transformed 38 WUAs from transformed IBs 23 New WUAs

Progress of CMA establishment CMAS GAZETTED FOR ESTABLISHM ENT AC PROCESS INITIATED AC PROCESS FIN BOARD APPOINTED INKOMATI19 March 2004 March 2004October 2004 July 2005 BREEDESeptember 2004 September 2005 September 2006 CROC WEST17 August Jan 2006October 2006 MVOTI20 May Jan 2006October 2006 USUTU TUKELA OLIFANTSDOORN GOURITS July 2006Dec 2006

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 an 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

Time Frames- CMAs 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

The Establishment Process  THE PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT (1-2 years)  THE PROPOSAL EVALUATION (8 months)  MINISTER’S 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

Restructuring resource implications Transfer of staff -200 people Funding for CMAs- 170 million over next 8 years Fully functional CMA- 5 yrs WRM tariff-less than 4% of the total water charge

VISION FOR WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS Redress To support socio and economic development, especially among the poor Inclusive membership organisations that provide services to the benefit of all its members, especially for productive water uses Public awareness to maximise the ability of water user groups to use the WUA, especially among individuals who do not have access to water for productive uses.

INTERNAL CHALLENGES No sufficient 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 in a coherent manner Water allocation (entitlements) to HDI not in place

EXTERNAL CHALLENGES 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 –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)

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- Irrigation boards align transformation with political agenda of disempowering commercial water users Non transformation of IBs maintains status quo ito water entitlements

FAST TRACKING ESTABLISHMENT DWAF is assisting irrigation boards to transform (consultation/ public participation ) and is investigating seed funding possibilities Focused Pilot projects are in KZN and Mpumalanga regions-aligned with CMA establishment DWAF is reviewing the chapter on WUA in the NWA Improved policies on WUAs need to be developed and implemented Alignment in interpretation of policies between HO and regional staff is critical

STRATEGIES FOR WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS Clear and agreed policy direction Facilitation of acquisition of water use entitlements by the HDIs Fostering co-operative governance Community mobilisation Providing support by Government (establishment and aftercare)

Challenges  Transformation of Irrigation boards  Human resources  Restructuring transition  Revenue collection  CMA credibility/viability  Governance and management  Creation of partnership with civil society