Water Services Amendment Bill: Workshop and public hearings preparation

Video The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation held a workshop on the Water Services Amendment Bill and preparations for upcoming public hearings. The workshop aimed to ensure that Members and staff shared a common understanding of the Bill and were prepared to explain its provisions to the public. Members agreed that the Bill should be considered clause by clause, with opportunities for discussion and clarification. The workshop highlighted challenges in the water and sanitation sector, including prolonged outages, ageing infrastructure, poor wastewater management, non-revenue water, weak municipal capacity, inadequate enforcement and accountability, and reliance on water tankers. Members stressed that the Bill was not a complete solution to the broader water crisis. The Bill seeks to introduce compulsory licensing for water services providers, strengthen enforcement powers, establish offences and penalties, clarify responsibilities between Water Services Authorities and Providers, and strengthen water board governance. Members questioned whether licensing alone would improve services, stressing that legislation should ultimately result in reliable water reaching communities. They also raised constitutional and legislative concerns, including the roles of different spheres of government, municipal intervention, the proposed 12-month transitional period and its interaction with Section 78 of the Municipal Systems Act. Members discussed infrastructure sabotage and the so-called “water mafia”, proposing stronger security requirements, improved referrals of suspected criminal conduct and measures to prevent those implicated in sabotage from benefiting from emergency water contracts. Concerns were also raised about tariffs, emergency water tankering, subcontracting and affordability in rural municipalities. The Committee emphasised that public hearings should be inclusive while remaining focused on the Bill. The first hearings would cover Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo during August, followed by hearings in all nine provinces. Oral and written submissions would be accepted, with translation services provided. Following public participation, submissions would be consolidated and referred to the Department and stakeholders for responses. The Committee would then hold an in-person workshop to consider proposed amendments, with legal advice available. The amended Bill and Committee report would subsequently proceed through the National Assembly, NCOP and remaining legislative processes.