The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) presented the approved Water Resource Management charges for the 2018/2019 financial year as per section 57(1)(a)(i) of the National Water Act to the Olifants Water Management Area (OWMA) forum on 17 July 2018. They also reported on the current income of the area. OWMA is also responsible for the protection and management of the area’s water resources.
Price Increases
| SECTOR |
APPROVED
2016/17 |
APPROVED
2017/2018 |
APPROVED
2018/19 |
FULL COST
2019/2020 |
PROPOSED
2019/2010 |
%
INCREASE |
| Domestic& Industry |
4.41 |
4.41 |
4.41 |
2.78 |
4.41 |
0% |
| Irrigation |
2.29 |
2.45 |
2.56 |
2.78 |
2.67 |
PPI % 4.4 |
| Stream Flow Reduction |
1.63 |
1.90 |
1.90 |
1.90 |
1.90 |
0% |
DWS projected the collection of R59 747 187, and they billed R46 611 144,48. The collection of R48 613 991,58 is more than the charged amounts, but it includes some of the previous years’ outstanding debt. Total under-recovery for the area is R2 002 847,10.
Mabuza Hloniphile of the DWS gave an overview of their debt collection and said that they were under collecting because most clients are not paying their accounts and that the volumes billed might have changed due to new registrations. He is concerned that clients do not update their information with the DWS, making it difficult to collect the funds owed to them.
The OWMA also mentioned that they are experiencing difficulty in managing the water quality of the catchment area because of mining-related activities, pollution from sewage works by specific municipalities and pollution from agricultural activities caused mainly by agricultural return flows.
MCCI is of the opinion that the picture painted by DWS is grim, and stringent accountability should be enforced. Please contact Mmabatho at secretary@middelburginfo.com should you be interested in the full presentations
