By In a recent article published on Maroela Media, Afriforum laid claims that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) unfairly declined an application for a temporary transfer of water from a black farmer to a white farmer who have entered into a business agreement. The Department would like to clarify and give a rational on the issue of declining the initial application.
The consultant acting on behalf of a Historically Advantaged Individual submitted two applications to the Department in terms of Section 25 (1) (Temporary Transfer) and Section 25(2) (Permanent Transfer), of the National Water Act (NWA 36 of 1998).
On Section 25(2) permanent transfer application, the applicant was requested to submit additional information but could not submit the requested information. This application was then rejected with the reasons outlined in a rejection letter sent to the applicant on 15 May 2024.
Following receipt of the rejection letter, the applicant stopped pursuing a permanent transfer application as per Section 25(2) and opted to submit a temporary transfer application in terms of Section 25(1) of the National Water Act on 21 May 2024. The application sought to transfer all water allocated to a portion of land in the Boshof registration district, to be used on the property in the Hoopstad registration district. The licensed Historically Disadvantaged Individual (HDI) was authorized in 2023 to abstract water from the Vaal River to irrigate Lucerne on the specified property.
Upon the assessment of the temporary transfer application, two critical issues were identified. Firstly, a water use license which the application sought to temporarily transfer was issued to a Historically Disadvantaged Individual (HDI) and that the licence had a condition that it cannot be transferred permanently or temporarily to any entity or individual that is not 100% HDI. Secondly according to Section 25(1), only the person holding the water use entitlement can apply in terms of this Section. Therefore, due to these two grounds, the application could not be approved.
DWS declined the application on 14 June 2024, and a letter of decline was sent to the consultant responsible for the application in line with the business process.
The reason for decline as specified in the letter is related to the principal license that is proposed for transfer, which contravenes a condition that restricts water to only being used at the property in respect of which the license was issued. Therefore, the license was only to be used by the license holder. It was further established that water allocated by means of the license in question was part of the released water by the Department for the HDI since the area is in water stress. The Department deemed it appropriate to ringfence water for HDIs to accelerate equitable water allocation as providedfor in Section 2 and 27 (1) (b) of the National Water Act. It should also be noted that the application was not done by the license holder but by a third party which brought cause for concern.
The recipients of the decline letter, represented by their consultants, later met with DWS Free State Office on 28 June 2024 to discuss the reasons for the decline.
Following this meeting on the same day, the consultant resubmitted a new application that sought to address the shortcomings in the temporary transfer application. This sought to address specially the stipulation in Section 25 (1) which states: “at the request of a person authorised to use water for irrigation purposes under this Act, can allow that person on a temporary basis and on such conditions as the water management institution may determine to use some or all of that water for a different purpose, or to allow the use of some or all of that water on another property in the same vicinity for the same or a similar purpose.”
This temporary transfer application was then assessed and approved by the Department on 22 July 2024 based on the new information submitted.
The Department of Water and Sanitation always welcomes the applicant for round table discussions to find ways to resolve the disputes when Water Use Authorisations are declined. If the discussions do not yield the expected results, the applicant should approach the Water Tribunal, which is a dispute procedure that is provided for by the National Water Act.
The Department also welcomes dialogue with the water users and organized entities that represent them such as AfriForum, and it approaches such discussions with openness and make corrections where necessary.
The DWS is concerned that whilst the consultant was being advised on the correct processes to follow on Section 25(1) and the application resubmitted for reassessment, the statement by AfriForum did not report that. It is also regrettable that AfriForum commenced legal processes on behalf of the applicants without giving an opportunity for due process to conclude on the reapplication.
DWS further pleads with media houses to do due diligence and get both sides of the story instead of rushing to publish stories based on sensationalism.
