State-owned entity Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) had been put forward as a possible potential proto-agency for the implementation of the new National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA).

On February 11, 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the establishment of the NWRIA would be accelerated.

“TCTA is looking forward to this big challenge and is hopeful that it will be considered the ideal entity to herald in this new era in water management in the country,” said CEO Percy Sechemane during a virtual update on the 2019/20 financial year outcomes.

The TCTA has tabled its plans with Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, and will, in due course share its progress and plans being mapped out with stakeholders upon the perusal and final approval by the Minister.

TCTA believes it is the potential nucleus of phase one of the two-phase, three-year implementation plan, of which the first steps have already started.

A proto agency, possibly the TCTA, will be formed in first year of implementation.

The formation of the agency would simplify the institutional arrangements by removing one layer of transactions from the value chain, reducing risks and increasing integration efficiencies, while allowing for cross subsidisation within the water sector, from the metropolitan areas to the rural municipalities, which do not have an economic base to sustain their infrastructure.

The establishment of a water agency has been on the cards for a long time.

The strategic intent is to establish a well-resourced State-owned enterprise, with appropriate governance structures, to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the socioeconomic development and management of water resources infrastructure.

“At this stage, all these functions are separated and we are not getting economics of scale and the full [spectrum of] assets sitting within the State is not being used [to its full potential],” he said.

The NWRIA also aims to fast-track national advancement towards universal access to basic water supply, as well as fulfil the constitutional right to sufficient water, food, a healthy environment and wellbeing.

The agency will be responsible for the provision of ‘water for all’ in the most equitable manner, ensuring that ordinary South Africans have access to sufficient clean water, providing the economy with sufficient water to be functional and able to expand, and supporting the vision of universal dignified sanitation.