Ndiyabulela Sihlalo, ndiyabulela Mphathiswa, hayi awuphazamanga siza kusebenza kakuhle sobabini. Ndithanda le nto yokuba le komiti inikelwe koomama,mayibe sithi abayibalekisayo, hayi iza kubaleka, baza kubaleka ootata apha. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Ms M M SOTYU: Thank you Chairperson, thank you hon Minister, you are not mistaken, we will work very well together. What I like about this committee is that it is run by women, indeed it will be effective and men will be outclassed here.]
When South Africa's first nonracist democratic government took over in April 1994, the country's population was just over 40 million people. Of this, 15,2 million - 12 million of whom lived in rural areas - lacked access to basic water supply and 20,5 million lacked basic sanitation.
The newly elected government strongly located basic services for citizens of the country within a rights-based approach. South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that formally recognises water as a human right. Its national water and sanitation programme, which is one of the largest national programmes in Africa, aims to deliver in a sustainable manner on this right. Both the recognition of water as a human right and the development of the national water and sanitation programme derive from the advent of challenges relating to water supply and sanitation in 1994.
As alluded to by the Minister, the right to have access to sufficient water is provided for in section 27(1)(b) of the South African Constitution. Section 27(2) provides that the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the progressive realisation of the right to access to water within its available resources. The right to have access to water can be seen to place two interrelated but distinct obligations on the state. That is, it must ensure that all people have physical access to water, and it must also ensure that all people have economic access to water.
While many of government's most successful initiatives have heralded water programmes since 1994, there is concern about the methods that have been used: the consultation process, the use of privatisation schemes and, most importantly, the sustainability and maintenance of operations and completed projects. Overall, the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa places a duty on the three spheres of government to work together in order to ensure that the wellbeing of the people of the country is secured.
The role of the department has changed as a result of the transformation of the water sector in South Africa. Water services have been devolved to municipalities that are now water services authorities, and water resources management will be delegated to Catchment Management Agencies, CMAs. Hon Buyelwa Sonjica, there is no doubt that your department is destined for bigger things. We shall continue to look up to you as we discharge our oversight responsibility as the portfolio committee.
It is correct to raise some of the challenges that all of us need to confront. The National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998, which is a piece of postapartheid legislation, among other things, talks about the establishment of the CMAs which are supposed to manage our water resources in a sustainable manner. The CMAs are a strategic vehicle that ought to facilitate the management of water resources at local level. They give local people an opportunity to manage their water resources. They make both the quantity and quality a core responsibility of the government and local communities.
It is observable, however, since the promulgation of the National Water Act in 1998 to date, that there are only two semifunctioning CMAs. These are the Breede-Overberg CMA in the Western Cape and the Inkomati CMA in Mpumalanga. To my mind, Comrade Minister, these CMAs are there to supplement your department in making a better life for all. Yet, there is already concern that these CMAs have not been given their delegations in addition to their initial functions. Secondly, there seem to be recurring challenges in so far as their budget is concerned.
Hon Minister, I request that you give us a timeframe that indicates a programme of action that will ensure, as government, that we create institutions that are fully functional and properly delegated to discharge their responsibilities.
Climate change challenges are as real as the sun in the sky. Hence, it is important to have institutions that are proactive in meeting these challenges. These institutions are not only there to fix taps. Fixing these institutions is as important as fixing the taps. Although the Act does not prescribe the numbers of these agencies, it is very clear why these agencies should be established.
I would also like to raise another point that we as a country cannot afford to create 17 more CMAs in addition to the ones we have already established. I am aware that the department has already initiated an institutional realignment exercise aimed at, among others things, scaling down the number of CMAs that need to be established. I urge you, my Minister, to ensure that such an important exercise does not become an endless initiative.
What is the timeframe for the institutional realignment exercise? Your department must be in a position to respond to all these questions that are directed to you. I am raising these issues based on the demands put before us by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , Act 108 of 1996. It states that, and I quote:
Everyone has the right -
a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing; and b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that -
i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
ii) promote conservation; and
iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.
The key strategic priority for the department and its main focus for the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, as identified in the 2005-06 financial year, to the 2011-12 strategic plan remain as follows: meeting water and sanitation targets; managing South Africa's scarce water resources for long-term sustainability; and supporting the development of water resource infrastructure.
The budget allocation for the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has increased from R7 billion in the 2008-09 financial year to approximately R7,9 billion for the 2009-10 financial year, which is a 12,2% increase in normal terms. There are a number of challenges facing the department with regard to, amongst other things, the filling of vacancies, the recruitment of people with special skills and remuneration packages offered by government. Remuneration packages are outstripped by those offered by sectors competing with the department.
In the state of the nation addresses from 2004 to 2009, the main government priorities that were identified in the water, sanitation and forestry sectors were, among other things: to provide clean and potable water to the millions of South Africans; to provide more than 300 000 households with basic sanitation; to strengthen and promote the capacity of local government; to eradicate the bucket system; and to speed up the process of building infrastructure to achieve economic and social growth.
It must be noted that the Auditor-General has given qualified audits to the department for the past six financial years. The audits expressed for the department were system-related matters, as in an inadequate financial reporting system, an inadequate business process and inadequate nonfinancial reporting system whose root causes were, amongst other things, high vacancy levels and lack of financial skills; unapproved human resource plans and commitments; and material changes to annual financial statements.
Water boards have been established as service providers that report to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. The boards manage water services in their supply areas and provide potable water at cost-effective prices. The impact of their financial performance on the department has been limited. Out of 14 water boards, seven provide retail services to municipalities in their supply areas and have service delivery agreements in place.
Sihlalo siyathemba siyikomiti ukuba amalinge athatyathwe liSebe ukuzama ukulungisa undonakele esimphawulileyo aza kuza nomvuzo oncumisayo, ukusuka kumbhexeshi wezezimali zoluntu kwixesha elizayo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, we hope as a committee that the interventions the department has undertaken to correct the damage that we have noticed will bear good fruits in the future, starting with the Public Accounts.]
Modulasetulo, ebile re a tshepa hape hore selemong sena sa dichelete sa 2009-10 re tla bona tse kgahlisang fela ho tloha lefapheng la rona la tsa metsi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, we also hope that in this 2009-10 financial year we will only see interesting things from our Department of Water Affairs.]
The apartheid-era legislation governing water did not discriminate directly on the grounds of race, but on the racial imbalances in ownership of land that resulted in the disproportionate denial to black people of the right to water. Access to the limited water resources in South Africa had been dominated by those with access to land and economic power. As a result, the majority of South Africans have struggled to secure the right to water. Property and water rights pose a challenge to emerging farmers in South Africa.
Sicela uMphathiswa abone ukuba abalimi bethu abasakhasayo abanikwa umhlaba kodwa babe benganikwa manzi. Siyaluxhasa olu hlahlo-lwabiwo-mali lwaManzi; iindaba azipheli, ixesha lixhatshwe yinja. Siyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[We would like our hon Minister to realise that our small-scale farmers that were given land are deprived of water facilities. We support this budget for Water, there will always be something to say, but the time is limited. Thank you.] [Applause.]