Articulating the history and major departure points evident in post-apartheid South African national water policy and law (original) (raw)
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Daedalus, 2021
Debates over the management and allocation of water in the postcolonial era, and in post-apartheid South Africa in particular, reveal that struggles over water resources in Southern Africa occur within three broad frames: the institutional, the hydrological, and the ideological. Each of these realms reflects tensions in the relationship between power and principle that continue to mark the governance of water. Each perspective offers a way to understand the use and the limits of law in the management of a country's water resources. The existence of explicit principles, whether as policy guidelines, constitutional rights, or in the language of regional and international agreements, provides two important resources for those who struggle for access to water. First, a vision of a more just allocation of this fundamental resource and, second, an articulation of common benchmarks to which states and governments might be held to account.
Daedalus, 2021
Debates over the management and allocation of water in the postcolonial era, and in post-apartheid South Africa in particular, reveal that struggles over water resources in Southern Africa occur within three broad frames: the institutional, the hydrological, and the ideological. Each of these realms reflects tensions in the relationship between power and principle that continue to mark the governance of water. Each perspective offers a way to understand the use and the limits of law in the management of a country's water resources. The existence of explicit principles, whether as policy guidelines, constitutional rights, or in the language of regional and international agreements, provides two important resources for those who struggle for access to water. First, a vision of a more just allocation of this fundamental resource and, second, an articulation of common benchmarks to which states and governments might be held to account.
South Africa has a complex water governance landscape, both with considerable successes, and ongoing challenges, in achieving sustainable, adequate and equitable water access and governance. With a specific focus on Cape Town, this policy brief provides background on the history and institutions of importance for water governance, and also identifies key legislation enacted since 1994. The report includes a diagram of different levels of water authorities and mandates, offering an 'institutional map' of the urban water sector of Cape Town (dated 2015). Water supply and distribution schemes in South Africa were historically created to serve predominantly white populations during colonial and apartheid eras. Capital investments in pipes, dams and other water-related infrastructure were differentially affected during apartheid in different areas, with homelands, townships and informal settlements receiving much less funding and generally lower quality of water services (Goldin 2010). This resulted in highly differentiated access to water services in South Africa, by race and income, as well as a highly fragmented water management system (Herrfahrdt-Pähle 2010) as well as undemocratic participatory engagement—challenges that all persist today. One historical legacy exacerbating this institutional fragmentation was the shift from 6 municipalities into one Unicity of Cape Town in 2000, which created further challenges for equitable and unified service delivery (Smith & Hanson 2003). With the adoption of the first democratic constitution of South Africa (1996), vast political reforms were undertaken, affecting all dimensions of governance across the country. The new democratic government and constitution established national institutional mandates for the provision and governance of water resources, as well as water services (Republic of South Africa (RSA) 1996). In terms of water services, the South African constitution (1996) includes the guarantee for water (and sanitation), stating that " everyone has the right to access sufficient food and water " (Section
South Africa's new water policy and law
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2001
South Africa's water policy is going through a period of rapid changes, following the country's radical political changes of the early 1990s. The paper describes the principal aspects of these changes, which are based on the new National Water Law of 1998. The law divides the country into 19 Water Management Areas, and prescribes processes by which strategies and management institutions will evolve for these Water Management Areas, using the principle of stakeholder participation to ensure that each such area can develop its Institutional and management systems to satisfy its own specific situation. The institutional roles of Catchment Management Agencies, Catchment Management Strategies, and Water Users' Associations are explained in this context.
At the centre of the water law reform process initiated by the first democratic government of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) lay the challenge of transforming away from apartheid water injustices. Reform culminated in the promulgation of new legislation, regarded internationally as ambitious and forward-thinking legislation reflective of the broad aims of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). However, implementation of this legislation has been challenging. This paper analyses institutional dysfunction in water management in the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM) (Eastern Cape province, RSA). A transdisciplinary approach is taken in addressing the failure of national law and policy to enable the delivery of effective water services in post-apartheid RSA. A case study is used to explore interventions to promote effective water supply, locating these interventions and policies within the legislative structures and frameworks governing the water sector. We suggest that fine-grained institutional analysis together with learning from persistent iterative, adaptive practice, with principled goals intact, offers a pragmatic and achievable alternative to grand-scale policy change. Additional Information: Question Response The word limit for Water Policy is 9,000 words. Please state the word length of your manuscript, including Abstract, Keywords and References, and space occupied by tables and figures. A full page of the printed journal is c. 660 words. A half-page figure or table is therefore c. 330 words. Please note that manuscripts that exceed the stated word limit may be rejected without review.
Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, 2010
This article questions the meaning of a domestic constitutional water right for the State's provision of water suitable for domestic use and human consumption. Following a brief historical introduction to the constitutional right of access to sufficient water in Section 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), the scope and meaning of this right as it is currently understood by the courts and others are explored. Attention is also paid to the relationship between Section 27 and other substantive constitutional rights such as the environmental right (Section 24), the right to life (Section 11), the right to human dignity (Section 10) and the right to equality (Section 9). With brief reference to some of the most imminent water provision challenges that South Africa currently faces, some views are raised concerning the State's constitutional duty to take affirmative action with respect to different interests that people hold in water. It is concluded that the body of constitutional rights in South Africa compels the State to take positive action to ensure access to enough water of suitable quality in a manner that is fair and just and that is aimed at sustainability.
Contested water rights in post-apartheid South Africa: The struggle for water at catchment level
Water SA, 2011
The National Water Act (1998) of South Africa provides strong tools to redress inequities inherited from the past. However, a decade after the introduction of the Act, access to water is still skewed along racial lines. This paper analyses the various ways in which the Water Act is contested, based on empirical data detailing the interactions between smallholder farmers and commercial farmers in a case-study catchment in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The paper argues that the legacy of the apartheid era still dominates the current political and economical reality and shows how the redistribution of water resources is contested by the elite. The paper identifies several issues that prevent the smallholder farmers from claiming their rights, including the institutional arrangements in former homelands, the 'community approach' of Government and NGOs, the disconnect between land and water reform processes, and historically-entrenched forms of behaviour of the various actors. The paper concludes that the difficulties encountered in the water reform process are illustrative for what is happening in the society at large and raises the question as to what price is being paid to maintain the current status quo in the division of wealth?
Critical assessment of South Africa’s water policy
2015
Abstract: The impact of climatic change on the availability of fresh water for human consumption has become a global phenomenon. Looming water scarcity has been projected for years ahead. Countries that are known to be semi-arid and arid, had to swiftly adapt their consumption patterns to mitigate to possible water scarcity challenges. Informed by the Water Resource Management Guidelines, SA infused the guidelines into its water management regime. This exercise coincided with the changes in the political dispensation of the country. Amongst all the policies of the previous regime, the Water Policy needed urgent attention. The previous Water Policy of 1956 was found to be woven with political motives, where ownership and access to the resource was in the hands of a few. When the African National Congress came into power in 1994, it adopted the international guidelines on water management. This free access was capped at 6kl for all South Africans for uniformity and equality in the man...