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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: |
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Q: |
At what stage should
the proposal for CMA establishment be developed? |
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A: |
The proposal should be developed after
a catchment investigation
(situation assessment and viability study) has been carried out and
a consultation process has been conducted to create representative
stakeholder structures. |
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Q: |
Who really evaluates the proposal
for CMA establishment? |
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A: |
DWAF officials (coordinated
by Directorate: Catchment Management)
will evaluate the proposal. However, stakeholders will have the
opportunity to make input when the proposal is published for comment. |
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Q: |
Can the CMA governing board function
before the Chief Executive Officer and other
staff have been appointed? |
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A: |
Yes, the CMA governing board may function
temporarily without a
Chief Executive Officer and staff, but with DWAF and/or other parties
providing secretarial support. This should not be the long-term solution. |
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Q: |
Can stakeholders suggest who should
be nominated to the advisory committee: governing board and, if so,
what is the process of submitting those suggestions, and to whom should
they be submitted? |
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A: |
Yes, stakeholders may compile a list
of possible advisory committee: governing board members for submission
to the Minister, but the Minister is under no obligation to accept
these. |
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Q: |
Can stakeholders suggest who should
be nominated to the governing board itself and, if so, what is the
process of submitting those suggestions to the advisory committee? |
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A: |
The task of the advisory committee:
governing board is to consult stakeholders on who to nominate the
CMA: governing board, so this is the vehicle. |
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Q: |
Who has the final accountability
for water resource management in a catchment - the CMA or DWAF? |
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A: |
The relationship between a CMA and
DWAF is likely to be a very close one. The Minister is ultimately
accountable for the management of the nation's water resource. He
or she must therefore ensure that CMAs carry out their functions effectively.
DWAF will therefore clearly play a critical role in facilitating the
establishment of CMAs as well as providing ongoing support and capacity
building. The Minister has considerable control over CMA operations.
He or she will decide when to delegate and assign powers and duties
to CMAs and will audit how they are carried out. |
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Q: |
Can CMA functions be delegated as
an interim arrangement to both the advisory committee: Management
and catchment management committees? |
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A: |
Yes, depending upon the structure.
However,
it is important to aim for simplicity in the interim management arrangements,
so one or other approach should probably be adopted. The functions
delegated should be such that they do not undermine the establishment
of CMAs. |
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Q: |
How can I participate in the operation
of a CMA? |
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A: |
Current and potential water users,
provincial and local government and environmental interest groups
will be represented on the Governing Board of the CMA. A broader range
of stakeholders will have the opportunity to participate through membership
of Catchment Management Committees. CMAs may also provide a range
of business opportunities through the contracting out of work. |
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Q: |
What will happen to Catchment Management
Fora once CMAs are established? |
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A: |
Catchment Management Fora may continue
operating as independent non-statutory bodies with a local interest
in catchment management. They will be the eyes and ears of the CMA
and play a vital role in the bottom up approach to water resource
management. |
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Q: |
When will CMAs be given the power
to license water use? |
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CMA's are only likely to be given the
power to license water use once they have an approved Catchment Management
Strategy in place, have established sufficient technical expertise
to adequately assess applications, and have operational administrative
and information systems. |
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Q: |
How will the performance of CMAs
be audited? |
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A: |
DWAF will audit the performance of
a CMA, in relation to its approved Catchment Management Strategy,
through the review of its business plans and annual reports. |
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Q: |
What is the relationship between
CMAs and WUAs? |
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A: |
CMAs are responsible for developing
Catchment Management Strategies for the Water Management Areas and
are in charge of managing water resources for the whole Water Management
Area. In contrast, WUAs will normally have a localised interest. WUAs
will assist in the implementation of the Catchment Management Strategy
at a local level. WUAs may be represented on the CMA's Governing Board
and Catchment Management Committees. The Act provides that WUAs are
established and monitored by the Minister but these powers may be
delegated to the CMA providing it with direct control over WUAs. |
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Q: |
What is the difference between functions,
powers and duties? |
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A: |
Functions are official tasks, activities
and actions that are required to exercise powers or perform duties.
Duties are obligations imposed by statute which must be performed.
Powers are competencies given by statute which may be exercised |
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Q: |
If the CMA delegates or assigns
any of its powers and duties, where does the accountability lie? |
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A: |
Where a CMA delegates a power or duty
it remains accountable for its performance. However, where a CMA assigns
a power or duty, the person or body to which these are assigned is
accountable. |
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Q: |
If a CMA has delegated any of its
powers or duties to another water management institution can the CMA
allocate funding to that body to fulfill that duty? |
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A: |
Yes. |
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Q: |
If a CMA has delegated any of its
powers or duties to another water management institution, can that
organisation be termed a 'responsible authority'. |
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A: |
No, only DWAF or a CMA can be a responsible
authority (s1(xx)). |
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Q: |
When will the Minister approve the
establishment of a WUA? |
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A: |
The Minister will only approve the
establishment of a WUA if it will promote the objectives set out in
Section 2 of the Act. These objectives include a wide range of factors
including equity; efficient, sustainable and beneficial use of water;
social and economic development; and protecting aquatic ecosystems.
A proposal to establish a WUA should also be consistent with any applicable
Catchment Management Strategy. |
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Q: |
How will WUA's be funded? |
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A: |
WUA's will normally be funded through
charges levied on its members. Other potential sources of funding
include the proceeds from operating waterworks, direct financial assistance
from DWAF or a CMA and aid or sponsorship funding.
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Q: |
Who are WUAs accountable to?
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A: |
The Management Committee of a WUA is,
in the first instance, directly accountable to the WUA's members.
The WUA is more broadly accountable to the Minister for carrying out
its activities within the bounds of its constitution and in accordance
with the provisions of the Act. The Minister may delegate overseeing
the operation of a WUA to the relevant CMA or DWAF Regional Office.
In that event, a WUA would be accountable to that CMA or Regional
Office. |
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Q: |
What is the difference between a
CMA and a WUA? |
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A: |
A CMA is responsible for water resources
management over an entire Water Management Area. It has a Governing
Board representative of stakeholders from this wide region. In contrast,
a WUA will represent a much smaller scope of interest, usually a sector
of water users in a confined geographical area. A CMA will prepare
a Catchment Management Strategy to address water resource issues over
the whole Water Management Area. The Catchment Management Strategy
will provide guidance to the Minister as to whether specific WUAs
should be established and what functions they should be authorised
to carry out within the Water Management Area. In turn, WUAs will
provide a local institutional structure through which the Catchment
Management Strategy can be implemented at a local level.
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Q: |
Both CMAs and WUAs may set water
use charges. Thus, will users have to pay twice? |
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A: |
A WUA may only set charges to recover
its costs for services rendered. This could be in respect of the control
and monitoring of water use within its area of operation, the operation
and maintenance costs of waterworks used for supplying water and costs
associated with the repayment of loans obtained for building or acquiring
waterworks for the supply of water to its members. Similarly, a CMA
may only set charges for the cost of its services, such as preparation
of a catchment management strategy. A CMA's activities are different
to a WUA's activities. Nobody will have to pay twice for the same
water service. |
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Q: |
May a CMA assist a WUA financially
if the CMA has delegated some of its functions to the WUA? |
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A: |
It is possible for a CMA to delegate
certain responsibilities, such as monitoring and control, to a WUA
and to assist it financially to render the service. It should be borne
in mind that a WUA may provide catchment management services to, or
on behalf of responsible authorities, only if it does not limit its
capacity to perform its principal functions or financially prejudice
the WUA (item 5, Schedule 7). |
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Q: |
What are the advantages to users
of forming a WUA? |
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A: |
It all depends on the purpose for which
a WUA is established. In the case of irrigation schemes for commercial
or emerging farmers, the joining of forces in establishing a WUA makes
it possible to establish joint works on an economic scale which are
shared by members. The development of individual small scale works
are normally not financially viable. In the case of WUAs established
for control over recreational use, the benefit would be that a single
body assumes responsibility for the use of a particular water resource
for recreational purposes allowing for the necessary co-ordination
and balancing of interests to avoid conflict. In each case people
must satisfy themselves whether the establishment of a WUA for a particular
water use will have sufficient advantages to justify becoming a member.
Membership is voluntary. |
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Q: |
Can there be two WUAs on the same
resource? |
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A: |
It is quite possible to have more than
one WUA for the same water resource, for example a WUA for the abstraction,
control and the use of water for irrigation and other purposes and
a separate WUA controlling the recreational use of the same resource.
Naturally there should not be more than one WUA for the same water
use in respect of the same resource. |
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Q: |
If the forestry industry forms a
WUA on a particular resource, can the banana industry and/or sugar
cane industry form their own WUAs on the same resource? |
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A: |
Forestry's interest in water use is
directly related to a stream flow reduction activity. Owners of banana
and sugar cane plantations could, if irrigation is involved, approach
DWAF for the establishment of a WUA. If not, it would serve no purpose
to form a WUA unless that particular water use is identified as a
stream flow reduction activity under s36(1) of the Act. In such a
case, they should consider joining forces with the forestry industry
in view of their involvement in the same activity (stream flow reduction)
in the same area. |
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Q: |
Can the existing forest industry
liaison committees become WUAs? |
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A: |
It is quite possible for these committees
to be transformed into WUAs provided they can propose an acceptable
manner to finance the proposed Association. |
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Q: |
How much will the public participation
process cost? |
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A: |
Good public participation costs money,
but poor public consultation can cost a lot more. The budget should
allow for expenditures such as hiring consultants, conducting meetings
and workshops, and producing, translating, printing and distributing
written material. The size of the budget will depend on the considerations
outlined in Box 5., a rough guide would be to set aside R350 000 per
annum should the use of consultants be required for public participation
over a two or three year period towards the establishment of a CMA.
This assumes that printed general information will be provided by
DWAF Head Office (this is a substantial expenditure item in public
participation). This amount does not include the costs related to
the institutional aspects of establishing catchment structures, such
as the compilation of constitutions, the statutory process of appointing
members to statutory committees, or the provision of a secretariat
for such committees. Less will be required for the establishment of
WUAs due to their more localised nature. Whether consultants are used
or not, DWAF regional personnel would have to set aside substantial
time, subsistence, travel and administrative expenses for their involvement
in the process.
After their establishment, the CMA or WUA must bear the costs of
public participation. The Act (s84(1)) makes provision for the CMA
to raise funds for carrying out any of its duties, which include
community participation(s80(e)). Section 92(5) provides that the
Minister may recover the cost of complying with the consultation
requirements, from the WUA once it has been established, or require
the person proposing the establishment to pay the costs in advance.
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Q: |
Question: What is the role of government
and politicians in the public participation process? |
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A: |
DWAF, other organs of state and politicians
are all likely to be participants. Although national government embodied
by DWAF, is the public trustee of the nation's water resources, and
has the eventual accountability for sound water resource management,
this does not preclude it from also being a participant. DWAF will,
in fact, often be a driver in the process. DWAF will need to clearly
separate its roles, however, of gamekeeper and poacher. |
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Q: |
Should stakeholders be paid to participate? |
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A: |
The Act does not provide for interested
persons to be remunerated for their time and advice when consulting
them. Nevertheless, there is provision for financial assistance (s61)
to persons for achieving the purpose of the Act, which includes ensuring
that institutions have appropriate community, racial and gender representation
(s2). Financial assistance will need to be based on, amongst other
considerations, the need for equity, transparency and redressing the
results of past racial and gender discrimination (s61). These considerations
are likely to result in support for the following calls for financial
assistance by those who cannot afford their own participation (in
particular, historically disadvantaged people):
· Subsistence and transport costs to attend meetings
· Additional translation services
· Additional information distribution
· Additional community briefings
· The direct expenses of NGOs or other intermediaries that
may assist with the process to involve historically disadvantaged
people.
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