REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES STRATEGY

Title: National Water Act 36 of 1998: Review of the National Water Resources Strategy

Gazette reference: GN 3855 in GG 49225 on 1 September 2023

Commencement date: 1 September 2023

On 1 September 2023, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, in terms of section 5(4)(b) of the National Water Act (NWA), published the revised National Water Resource Strategy, 3rd edition.

The revised National Water Resource Strategy, 3rd edition, consists of the following Chapters:

– Introduction

– Strategic Imperatives

– Context

– Reducing Water Demand

– Increasing Water Supply

– Redistributing Water for Transformation

– Managing Effective Water and Sanitation Services

– Regulating the Water and Sanitation Sector

– Managing Water and Sanitation Under a Changing Climate

– Promoting International Cooperation

– Improving Water Quality

– Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems and Maintaining Restoring Ecological Infrastructure

– Creating Effective Water Sector Institutions

– Collecting Data and Analysing and Managing Information and Effective Monitoring

– Evaluation and Reporting

– Building Capacity for Action

– Ensuring Financial Stability

– Enhancing and Enabling Deployment of Research, Development and Innovation

– Addressing Legislative and Policy Gaps

NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE INFRASTRUCTURE AGENCY BILL, 2023: NOTIFICATION TO INTRODUCE THE BILL, INTO PARLIAMENT AND PUBLICATION OF EXPLANATORY SUMMARY OF THE BILL 

Title: National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency Bill, 2023: Notification to Introduce the Bill into Parliament and Publication of Explanatory Summary of the Bill. 

Gazette reference: GN 3746 in GG 49063, on 1 August 2023. 

Commencement date: TBD. 

On 1 August 2023, the Minister of Water and Sanitation announced his intention to introduce the National Water Resource Infrastructure Bill, 2023 into Parliament. The following Explanatory Summary of the Bill was published: 

The Bill seeks:  

  • To establish a juristic person under the ownership and control of the State in order to administer, fund, finance, develop, operate, maintain, manage and provide advisory services in respect of national water resources infrastructure in an efficient and cost-effective manner to meet the social and economic development needs of current and future water users within the framework of national government policy and in accordance with section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution; 
  • to ensure the sustainable, equitable and reliable supply of water to meet nationally and regionally defined social and economic objectives of government; 
  • to transfer national government waterworks to the Agency;  
  • to alleviate the burden on the State’s resources in water resources development; and 
  • to provide for the disestablishment of the TCTA and the transfer of all its assets, liabilities, rights, obligations, powers, Treaty and non-treaty functions as a going concern into the Agency. 

A copy of the Bill can be accessed at the Department of Water and Sanitation’s website here