Introduction
The Minister of the Department of Water Affairs (DWS) decided that the 1998 Water Act must be fully implemented. Currently, the old act (1956 Water Act) is still operational and used in conjunction with the new act mainly due to the new act not sufficiently implemented yet. As part of this process, the DWS is now focusing on the establishment of Catchment Management Agencies (CMA) and Water User Associations (WUA). Many Irrigation Boards (IB) is still operational and is currently responsible for local management of water distribution to irrigators. The question asked by many irrigators is whether they should continue as IB’s as long as possible or if they should establish WUA’s at the current stage.
Water Management at Local Level
Based on the DWS policies, the 9 original planned CMA’s will be reduced to 6. While the CMA’s role was more linked to the implementation of their strategy in their management areas, it is now a much larger area than what was originally planned. They will probably also play an important role in the oversight of WUA’s on behalf of the Department.
While the CMA’s focus is the implementation of a high-level strategy, the WUA’s are responsible for the management and water distribution to water users at a local level. Like the IB’s played a critical role in local water management to irrigators, the WUA’s will play this critical role in future, but even more importantly, it will now include a water management service to all water users within a specific water management area. Where CMA’s and the Departmental regional offices played a role in the local management of water distribution to the other sectors, it will all be done by WUA’s in future.
The Minister and the Department are putting pressure on IB’s to transform to WUA’s. From a legal perspective, IB’s are still allowed to function in terms of the old water act and there is therefore no reason to disestablish IB’s now (except under specific conditions) because the old act is still in use. The question, however, is how long the current situation will prevail? Six months, two years or longer? It is now clear that the Minister want to disestablish IB’s as soon as possible with the notice in March 2023 to all IB’s that they must transform to WUA’s within 90 days. No real indication is given yet about what will happen if this is not adhered too.
While the minister expects IB’s to transform now, if not adhered to, IB’s could lose control of their own destiny if the Department steps in and gets directly involved in setting up new WUA’s themselves or to manage it from their regional offices and disestablish the current IB’s.
The other alternative is, while there is still time and IB’s are allowed to be in control of the process, that they should take the initiative and design a new water management institution in the form of a WUA which should operate within the legal and Departmental policy requirements, but very importantly, also according to the needs of the local water users.
It must be understood that the role of WUA’s would be critical in the future to all water users at the local level to ensure long term sustainable water management to the benefit of all water users. Surety of quality water supply is of critical importance for local communities with a direct impact on jobs and local GDP. Local water users must use the current opportunity and take the initiative and being directly involved in designing their own future regarding local water management within the legal and Departmental policy requirements.
Design of a New Local Water Management Institution
The process to design and then implements new water management institutions at local level is a challenging process. The new act and government policies give the necessary framework and provide clear guidelines of what is expected. The South African Association for WUA’s (SAAFWUA) is also available with excellent information and advice.
The WUA is the local water management institution to be used. The act and policies also require the consultation and informing of water users and other stakeholders. While the stated requirements make many water users uncomfortable, it is important to note that these requirements would be used to evaluate WUA’s proposals and constitutions and therefore need to be adhered to if water users are serious regarding the establishment of a local WUA.
More importantly, the requirements of water users are probably more important than the governmental requirements due to the impact at local level. It is especially important that all the water user’s requirements and issues are properly understood before the design of the WUA starts.
The process entails workshops of the different water user groups and the identified water users’ requirements, afterwards, a concept is developed. The act and Departmental policies create enough space to consider different models and scenarios in a management area. The water user requirements are then used to develop a concept after the water users choose a model and a scenario. In most cases it is easy to choose the best option, but it could be more challenging, especially where different IB’s want to consolidate in a bigger WUA which is also one of the policy requirements of the Department. In the end, it is critical that a balanced solution is found between the water users’ expectations and Departmental requirements.
All water users in a specific management area must be members of the local WUA. The challenge is to get other sectors involved in such a process where they previously did not really participate in local water management. For historic reasons, the other water user sectors do not trust the IB’s. It is however important that the Departmental regional offices and CMA’s must support IB’s by facilitating the participation of all water users in the design of a WUA.
In our experience, all water users’ basic requirements are actually the same, and it boils down to a professional and efficient service to be provided by WUA’s to ensure fair distribution of quality water at the lowest possible cost. The buy-in of all sectors into the WUA concept, which mostly consists of the detail of the model and principles applicable, is important and normally happens if there is a proper process. Only after the concept has been approved by all the water user sectors and the CMA or regional office, then the proposal and constitution would be finalized.
Establishment of WUA’s
The Department is very focussed on establishing WUA’s, but the most challenging part for sustained success is what happens after the establishment. After the Department approved the WUA proposal and constitution, then the establishment of the WUA will be published in the government gazette. The election of the management committee will then be facilitated by the founding members which are normally the current IB members. After the management committee has been elected and becomes operational, it will then appoint the CEO.
The first business plan and budget should be developed within the first six months after which the WUA will start performing its delegated functions and the takeover process from IB’s would take place. Most of the first year would be used for these activities. This however does not mean that the newly established WUA is fully operational and will be providing a professional and efficient service to its water users yet.
The first WUA’s were established nearly 20 years ago and took 10 years and more before they were efficient with a high level of management. When experienced and successful WUA’s were evaluated and best practices determined, it was clear that the management level of the CEO, the management team, and the management committee determines the level of success of WUA’s.
For a high-level CEO and a strong management team, it will probably take 3 to 5 years for a newly established WUA to provide a high-level service to its water users. The challenge for the management committee would be to appoint the best possible CEO to ensure a successful and efficient water management institution with high service levels.
Currently, there is a window of opportunity while the Department encourages and supports the establishment of WUA’s, to design and establish a local water management institution which delivers an efficient and professional local water management service to the water users within the management area. The establishment of a WUA where all the water users and the Departmental requirements are in balanced and adhered to should contribute to a stable and prospering local economy and communities.
Giraffe Consulting
Due to a challenging process for IB’s, Giraffe Consulting has been appointed to facilitate the transformation from IB’s to the establishment of WUA’s in the Inkomati with 23 IB’s (90 000ha) and with 7 IB’s (20 300ha) in the Lower Olifants, the establishment of WUA’s for IB’s and government schemes in the Marico, Mooi River and Schoonspruit catchments as well as supporting the irrigators in the Letaba catchment.
The facilitation is done in close co-operation with the DWS Regional Offices and Catchment Management Agencies. Other areas of focus for Giraffe Consulting are supporting land reform projects and positioning Agri-businesses for sustainable growth.
Giraffe Consulting is involved in partnerships and working closely with land reform financial institutions to redevelop and or support land reform projects to achieve sustainable land reform. Many agriculture industries and businesses require support for successful projects. We developed a philosophy and process where the 4 main reasons for land reform failures are managed and addressed creating the opportunity for sustainable projects. With more than 15 years of previous experience in the day-to-day management of various land reform projects, Giraffe Consulting is placed in a position where we fully understand all aspects and requirements of land reform projects. With a capable team available, we can contribute and support financial institutions, land reform farmers and communities towards sustainability.
Giraffe Consulting is also supporting Agri-businesses which need to reposition for future growth. Many of these businesses are family businesses which need to position themselves for a new phase, mostly linked to a new family generation that will join the business. This requires a change in the way things are done with normally a change regarding the management processes which needs to be tweaked to ensure the successful implementation of the new phase. In too many cases this is done too late with major impacts on the business and most of the family members personally as well. Through a structured process, the best solution for that business with its unique strengths and requirements is developed along with the support during the implementation of these changes. These sessions could get very intense and emotional, but in the end, with good participation, a shared and common way forward is developed.
Giraffe Consulting is based in Strand, Western Cape and in Malelane in Mpumalanga. With a highly experienced team available, Giraffe Consulting wants to expand its area of operation outside of the current Mpumalanga and Limpopo areas. The focus is to create and implement solutions for its clients.
Recent Comments