Ahead of its upcoming Operation Phakisa, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) has outlined several potential workstreams to assist in implementing the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.

Preparation is currently under way for the first Operation Phakisa for the water sector in March, with several Ministerial engagements having taken place throughout February to obtain input into the Phakisa process.

Water and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti reiterated government’s commitment to collaborative efforts to address sector challenges as well as facilitate a collaborative transformation process in the water sector.

The Ministerial Interactive Session on the Transformation of the Water Sector aimed to inform on the current status of transformation in the sector, the obstacles that have impeded transformation to date, strategies to overcome the challenges and the creation of a common vision and approach towards transformation, including the transformation of irrigation boards (IBs) to water user associations.

DWS strategic and emergency projects deputy director-general Trevor Balzer explained during a presentation to delegates at the interactive session that some 205 of the country’s 305 IBs and government water schemes had not yet been transformed.

Further, in the agriculture sector, about 95% of the water was estimated to be used by white commercial farmers, many of whom continued to use water under the existing lawful use clause of the National Water Act.

The sector had not made sufficient progress over the past 20 years on its mandate for water allocation reform and reallocation to address racial and gender discrimination, he said.

He pointed out that transformation was critical in three areas, namely ensuring that the use of water for productive purposes was equitable, that governance of water was representative and access to decent water and sanitation services was available for all.

“In most catchments in South Africa, there is little unallocated water still available; this requires the proactive transfer of water from current users to black water users – a process similar to land reform,” he said.

“Where the land that is being transferred is irrigable, a water allocation is necessary to enable the new land users to make full use of the land.

“To date, the response from government has largely been reactive, [as it waits] for licence applications from black water users to be lodged with the DWS. The prevalence of this situation has limited the ability of recipients to make productive use of the land,” he continued.

The masterplan can assist in addressing these sector challenges following implementation after the Phakisa process for water and sanitation.

“The Phakisa on water and sanitation will see sector partners agree on [the] concrete actions, budgets and timeframes necessary to implement the masterplan and ensure a water-secure future for the country, while also addressing the triple challenges confronting the country, namely poverty, unemployment and inequality,” Balzer added.

He said that the Phakisa would be a game changer for the department and the sector as a whole.

He further said the department was aligned to government priority initiatives in that it supported the President’s Economic Stimulus and Recovery Plan and gave effect to various initiatives and programmes that were announced when the President delivered the State of the Nation address.

Meanwhile, a number of work- streams have been proposed for Operation Phasika.

These include a workstream on municipal water and sanitation services;

a national water mix workstream; a workstream for agriculture;

one for water for industry; a

regulating and legislation workstream and

the deployment of research, development and innovation.

DWS special ministerial adviser Masiphula Mbongwa said that there was a need to establish a Council of Water Services Authorities (CWSA) to operate as a Ministers and Members of the Executive Council, or MinMec, to oversee water and sanitation delivery to the people and sectors of the economy.

The CWSA should establish an authorisation system for municipalities to operate as water services authorities, with the system later assigned to a yet-to-be-formed Water and Sanitation Regulator (WSR).

He further suggested the establishment of national water boards with assigned powers and functions to operate a Water and Sanitation Authority (WSA) and a WSR, as well as the formation of water boards with assigned powers and functions to operate as regional water boards in the official nine water management areas.

The DWS should principally function as a policy, legislation, programme support, and monitoring and evaluation organisation, with functions that required dedicated and ongoing technical, scientific, specialist, financial, operational and management attention being assigned to water boards, the Water Research Council, the envisaged WSA and WSR and the catchment management agencies.

Mbongwa said a Council of International Water and Sanitation Management should be formed to oversee activities of water management between South Africa and neighbouring African countries.