Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the ANC, to support Budget Vote No 38.
The achievement of the national water mandate is not only dependent on the effective performance of the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, but also on a number of other organs of state, including the water service authorities; catchment management agencies; the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, TCTA, water user associations; Komati Basin Water Authority; and the Water Research Commission.
Clear roles and responsibilities and the effective management of these institutions are, therefore, critical to the effective management of the sector as a whole. Currently, however, the water sector is grappling with a number of challenges, including the provision of financially sustainable and affordable water supply and sanitation to all South African residents, ensuring equitable access to water for productive and consumptive purposes as well as protecting water as an environmental resource. Climate variability and climate change pose additional challenges that the department must manage.
The department faces significant challenges affecting all the above- mentioned functions, including its responsibility to effectively support water services authorities in the delivery of water supply and sanitation. These challenges derive from pressures caused by internal factors in the sector, such as deteriorating raw water quality, dilapidated water resource infrastructure, poor performance within the water institutions, and the low levels of cost recovery.
The portfolio committee noted an increase in the budget of the department over the next three years, but questioned the current vacancy rate, which stand at 13%. Within the department, high levels of vacancies and high staff turnover, including at senior level, have led to low levels of performance. Poor revenue management has not only been a challenge for water services delivered through the department, but across the sector supply chain within the department itself.
The department continues to struggle to fill posts as there is a lack of technically skilled and experienced people in the country. The high levels of vacancies in the water sector are also due to the following: ageing workforce and retirement, resignations; challenges with the implementation of the occupation-specific dispensation, OSD, as some of the officials in the department do not meet the OSD requirement or the professions are not classified, such as biodiversity officers, which results in officials being underpaid; there is no personnel development and there are no promotion opportunities; and government remuneration packages are not market competitive. For instance, a financial officer in the Public Service earns two to three times less than the financial officer in the private sector.
The high rate of vacancies prevents the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to deliver on its mandate of acting as the custodian of South Africa's water resources. Moreover, the following impacts are experienced throughout the country: inequitable water allocation to historically disadvantaged individuals due to delay in the processing of water use licences; poor socioeconomic and rural development conditions; job losses in other industries, since these industries are not able to function optimally due to the lack of water allocation; social protests and strikes, which have a far-reaching effect on the country's economy; and, last but not least, negatively affected co-operative governance wherein there are existing memorandums of agreement or understanding.
Last month the department reported to the committee meeting regarding the director-general's and the deputy director-general's performance frameworks, and said they would fill the deputy director-general's vacancy after 20 April 2013. I wish this matter could be sorted out. The portfolio committee was concerned about the lengthy period taken by the department to resolve disciplinary cases. The department needs to fast-track these cases and provide the portfolio committee with a progress report.
Chairperson, I also would like to express my concern about the acid mine water issue. The department is in a race against time to get pumps into place in Johannesburg before acid mine water decants into a part of the Witwatersrand that includes the Gold Reef City tourist attraction, flooding it. If the pumps are not in place in time and at the environmentally critical level, which for the central basin is 179 metres below the surface, then Gold Reef City will be sacrificed and acid water will pollute groundwater in the area.
The committee welcomes the number of interventions identified for each of the above challenges, and particularly notes that the Business Process Re- engineering Committee, BPRC, is not only identifying challenges and possible solutions, but also working with the Minister and the department's officials to immediately implement some of the recommendations.
In order to improve the governance of water, the BPRC facilitated the decision to speedily roll out and manage the remaining seven catchment management agencies, CMAs, in an agreed plan over three years. The efficient delivery of water resources management functions was emphasised to enable the recovery of water charges and address the 10% to 40% shortfall. The water boards have huge operating losses, which in turn may involve changes to the structure of the water boards. The Minister's speech has already highlighted that it will be reduced from 12 to 9.
The functional reorganisation facilitated by the BPRC will better enable the execution of the department's strategic plan to deliver improved services after several restructuring attempts. The BPRC's other intervention is to improve human resource management. The level of people skills and competencies must be present to enable sufficient human resource performance to realise the strategy.
The water board has had an outstanding debt from the municipality totalling R5,4 billion, and I would like the department to provide a detailed list of all institutions that owe the department money. This would enable the committee to conduct oversight and to ask why these entities are not paying and what measures are being taken to address this problem. The water boards are also facing the major challenge of staff shortages and skills gaps.
Chairperson, in conclusion, to ensure a sustainable supply of water that meet social needs and support economic growth as well as provide a comprehensive sanitation service, that enhances community wellbeing, reduces health care costs and improves productivity, the department should be well managed, linking the whole water value chain.
I would like to repeat this: The ANC-led government supports Budget Vote No 38. I thank you. [Applause.]