WATER LAW REVIEW SUPPORTED BY ALL

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry

"WATER LAW REVIEW SUPPORTED BY ALL"

"The recent drought has performed one essential service for South Africa," said Professor Kader Asmal at a press conference today. "The need for a review of our water law is now supported by all sectors of society", said the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry.

While there was understandable apprehension about existing rights, even farmers realised that the right to take water from a dry river was worthless he added. Most people also accepted that growing pressure on South Africa's limited water resources meant that a new framework was needed within which different needs could be balanced in the interests of society as a whole.

Professor Asmal was speaking at a press conference to launch a report titled Fundamental principles and objectives for a new water law in South Africa. Its release marks; he said, the beginning of a new era in water management in South Africa in which the twin objectives of equity in access and optimal use would be put in place for the first time.

Drafted by a team of experts and interested parties from a variety of sectors, led by lawyer Geoff Budlender, recently appointed as Director General of Land Affairs, the report marks an important milestone in the process of the review of South Africa's water law which began last year.

In addition to improving the law's technical efficiency and case of administration to suit modern circumstances (the present Water Act has been amended many times since it was first passed forty years ago) the objective of the review is to achieve greater equity in access to water. It is therefore inevitable that a number of controversial issues are raised. If the proposed principles were adopted:

• the riparian system, which links the right to use water to a specific piece of land would be abandoned;
• the uncontrolled use of underground water, made possible by its definition as "private water", would be ended;
• a formal allocation for water to maintain the environment would be made; where necessary, water for this purpose would be reallocated from other users;
• similar priority would be given to water for human consumption and it is further proposed that water supply and sanitation services be regulated to ensure not only that all South Africans have access to basic services but that the private sector should be harnessed to help provide them;
• mandatory provisions would be made to require water suppliers to adopt conservation measures;
• provision would be made to ensure that enough water was left in rivers to meet South Africa's obligations to its neighbours - a high priority Professor Asmal highlighted in view of South Africa's commitment to developing a new, collaborative and mutually supportive relationship with the countries of Southern Africa;
• Mandating provisions for conservation through duties impose on water supply authorities.
• present controls on forestry, which intercepts a great deal of rainfall before it ever reaches public streams, could be extended to other land use activities, such as sugar farming, which has similar impacts;
• the price of water would be set at a level which reflects its value and trading in water rights could be formally encouraged;
• substantial changes would be made in the institutional family responsible for implementing water management.

Professor Asmal emphasised that the current document is not yet the basis for new legislation and described the process that would lead to the drafting of a new water law. Drawing from the present document and other inputs, a set of principles will be produced to serve as the basis for a further round of consultation, culminating in a national conference in July.

The principles agreed at that conference will be presented to Cabinet as a policy statement. If approved, they will then be used to guide the drafting of a new Water Law which could be complete by the end of the year to be tabled in the first session of Parliament of 1997.

Research and assistance from international experts is likely to be provided in terms of a grant from the Finnish Government which has expressed keen interest in the process because of its importance both for environmental management and its potential to meet the needs of poor South Africans.

All interested persons can obtain a copy of the document from the following address: Director-General Private Bag X313 PRETORIA 0001

Attention: Mrs Linda Garlipp Tel: (012) 2992527

A copy will also be available on Internet at the following address: www.polity.org.za/water