Agri SA and DWS discuss water license regulations
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The leadership of Agri SA recently held a constructive meeting with officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to discuss water use license regulations, specifically the recently published regulations regarding the procedural requirements for water use licence applications and amendments.
Agri SA meets with DWS
The DWS clarified its intention that the provisions regarding black South African shareholding with respect to license applications would be limited to new applications and would not extend to existing water use entitlements – a critical distinction for the ongoing viability of South Africa’s commercial agriculture sector, which in turn is foundational to South Africa’s food security. Agri SA will consider its response in light of the clarification and will finalise its comments on the draft regulations to the Department before 18 July 2023.
Agri SA also expressed its desire for the draft regulations to align with other current sector-specific strategies that are aimed at protecting South Africa’s food security.
Agri SA and the DWS confirmed their commitment to ongoing engagement in finalising the draft regulations and other matters going forward. All representatives agreed on the importance of creating a sustainable and more inclusive agricultural sector without undermining the country’s food production.
The DWS reacts
The DWS’ clarification of these regulations was communicated in a press release stating that the transformation requirements categories as envisaged in the current review of regulations are only applicable to applications for new water use licenses and not to the renewal of existing water use licenses, nor to the water use applications which will arise out of compulsory licensing (compulsory licensing refers to the process of re-licensing water use allocations which were made before the National Water Act came into effect).
According to the department, the transformation requirement categories would only apply to 1.5% of water use license applications as 98.5% of available water resources in South Africa are already allocated. Furthermore, the department indicated that it would be willing to consider suggestions for amendments to the draft regulations to clarify this issue and encouraged Agri SA to make written submissions on the draft Regulations in this regard.
The Department will meet other stakeholders in the irrigation and forestry sectors, such as NAFUSA, AFASA, and Forestry SA as part of the stakeholder engagement process related to the draft regulations. The window for public comments on the draft Regulations remains open, and interested public members are encouraged to continue to make submissions.
To read Agri SA’s press release in Afrikaans, click here, or read the DWS’ release here.
– Article based on press releases by Agri SA and the Department of Water and Sanitation