Role players in the water sector in Mpumalanga say an accelerated transformation agenda and water user associations being given the capacity required for them to function more effectively are some of the steps crucial for water security in the country.
The stakeholders were participating in the National Water Resource Strategy 3 (NWRS-3) consultative workshop held in Mbombela on Tuesday.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is on a drive to engage key water sector stakeholders to make inputs into the NWRS-3, with a workshop having already being held in the Eastern Cape last week.
Making his provincial overview presentation, the Mpumalanga Head of the DWS, Fikile Guma, outlined the water resource challenges in the province, which include stressed catchments, where demand exceeds availability/allocation of water resources due to climate variability.
Guma cited anthropogenic activities, deteriorating water resource quality due to water and waste management at local government, and unauthorised water abstractions as other factors that impact the availability of water.
Guma reminded delegates that the province is surrounded by two countries, including Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini.
“All rivers are part of internationally shared basins, and the Komati-Usuthu basin is shared with the Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini,” Guma said.
With these challenges in mind, the Mpumalanga workshop broke into four commissions, which looked at and deliberated on issues of increasing water supply, managing water and sanitation services, regulating the water and sanitation sector, reducing water demand, redistributing water for transformation, promoting international cooperation, creating effective water sector institutions, and addressing legislative and policy gaps.
The commissions also looked at managing water and sanitation under a changing climate, improving raw water quality, protecting and restoring ecological infrastructure, data collection, analysis and information management for effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting, building capacity for action, ensuring financial sustainability and enhancing research development and innovation.
Other inputs from the stakeholders included the review of licensing fees, increasing public-private partnerships, climate change adaptation strategies, fast tracking of the verification and validation process, and a need for improved intergovernmental relations.
On matters concerning resource challenges, stakeholders raised the non-payment of water resource management charges, resulting in huge water debt, and the need to transform water allocation to address the historical disparity in allocation across all race groups.
Stakeholders urged government to enforce the country’s legislation in the sector, and to regulate all sectors equally.
The department said the outcomes of the Mpumalanga NWRS-3 consultative workshop will go a long way in ensuring sustainable water resource management for the socio-economic development of the country.
About the NWRS-3
The consultative workshops are aimed obtaining commitment and support for the NWRS-3 in order to improve the management of water resources in the country.
The primary focus of the NWRS-3 is to ensure equitable and sustainable access to and use of water by all South Africans, while sustaining water resources. – SAnews.gov.za
