Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry 24 May 2006

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Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on
Water Affairs and Forestry 24 May 2006
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Structure of the presentation

• Who are we (SALGA)
• Water Service Services Collaboration
• Challenges to meet provision of basic services
• What is SALGA doing
• Way Forward

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Role Impact of SALGA

• The President Thabo Mbeki called upon SALGA to
  become a powerful tool for the empowerment,
  capacitating and inspiration of local government
• Through Masibambane support SALGA has played a
  critical and decisive role
• Consultative process ? common positions
• Raising LG perspectives and issues on national
  agenda
• Municipalities active in policy strategy
  development therefore relevant
• Municipalities articulating own needs

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SALGA

• South African Local Government Association
  (SALGA), a voluntary body representing all nine
  provincial local government associations (PLGAs)
  was established in 1996 and has been recognised
  by the Minister as the body representing local
  government (Government Notice No R 175, 30
  January 1998, Regulation Gazette no 6087,
  Government Gazette, vol 391, no 18645, 30 January
  1998)
• Salga is not a statutory body, but has official
  status through the executive act of recognition.
  

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VISION, MISSION VALUES
Vision An association of municipalities that is
at the cutting edge of quality and sustainable
services
Mission To be consultative, informed, mandated,
credible Accountable to our membership, and
provide value for money
Dynamic
Responsive
VALUES
Excellence
Innovative
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MANDATE OF SALGA

• Represent, promote and protect the interests of
  local government
• Act as an employer body representing all
  municipal members
• Affiliate and participate in the affairs of
  regional, continental and international
  organisations, that will serve the best interest
  of its members
• Lobby and advocate for member municipalities
• Act as resource for knowledge and information to
  municipalities.

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Overview of the South Water Chain
1st Tier National security of supply
2nd Tier Regional supply to WSAs
3rd Tier Local service delivery and customer
management
DWAF
WATER UTILITIES
CRITICAL POINT
x
MUNICIPALITIES WSAS
x
CONSUMER
Legend Water service delivery Revenue flow

• The Provision function is becoming more a
  challenge in delivery of water services to
  consumers The business interface between a
  municipality and the consumer is a critical
  point for the industry

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?

• South Africa has assets how do we maintain
  them?
• South Africa has backlogs how do we address
  them?
• South Africa needs more economic infrastructure
  how do we deliver?

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Major changes in the Sector

• Free Basic Water policy
• Strategic Framework for Water Services
• Transferring of operations from national to local
  government
• Regulatory arrangements
• Phasing in of capital infrastructure grant to
  municipalities
• Institutional reform process
• Monitoring and Evaluation

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Transfer

• Subsidy Breakout
• Skills Profile of current staff
• Rehabilitation of the schemes
• DWAF Schemes to be transferred comply with water
  quality standards
• Short fall in the rehabilitation funding

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STATE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE
The GOOD
The BAD
The UGLY
The GOOD
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Municipalities and Water Management Institutions

• Water resources management strategies needs to be
  amended to give effect to the status of
  municipalities as a sphere of government
• An intergovernmental forum needs to be
  established to strengthen co-operative
  governance, and to ensure that DWAF CMAs
  exercise water resource management functions in
  support of municipalities

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Building Democracy for Sustainability

• Masibambane Focus
• WS underpin poverty alleviation, social
  development and economic growth
• Working together to build a strong WS sector will
  enhance performance
• Strong accountable and representative government
  especially local government is vital for
  sustainable service delivery , but this has to
  happen within the framework of LG transformation

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Pillars for long term WS Delivery
SUSTAINABLE
APPROPRIATE SUPPORT
FUNCTIONAL
VIABLE
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Role Impact of SALGA

• Establishing municipal WS networks sharing
  experience / best practice
• Facilitating that capacitated municipalities
  support weaker ones
• Providing on-going support (transfers, etc)
  partner in sector driven support activities
• Initiating benchmarking for comparative
  performance support
• Ensuring political buy-in and informed decision
  making (eg sanitation options)
• Highlights importance of LG having own
  representative organisation

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Drinking Water Quality

• Free State government has set up a drinking water
  quality monitoring programme providing data on
  all towns in the province.
• Multi-sector team lead by Dept Housing and Local
  Govt, using CSIR expertise for monitoring and
  running internet-based reporting system.
• Information used to guide planning and budgeting
  for infrastructure expenditure.
• WIN-SA documenting project as part of Lessons
  Series. Available soon at www.win-sa.org.za

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OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

• SIDA is supporting municipalities in the
  development of Operations and Maintenance
  manuals which are developed by municipal
  officials
• Training courses are developed for water officers
  at plant level (SALGA is in the process of
  engaging with the Water Chamber to accredit the
  course)
• Technical Assistance is housedat a District
  level to support local municipalities in service
  delivery
• WIN has documented the best practice and is
  available on the website www.win-sa.org.za

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MORETELE LMPROVISION OF WATER SERVICES

• Eliminated the unauthorised connections through
  the registration process of water users i.e. form
  was developed with 4 main objectives
• Application to be a municipal customer
• Household Income to determine the Indigent
  registration
• Individual skills in the village
• Application for yard connection
• Contractors procured to refurbishment the
  infrastructure and connect residents that applied
  for meters (Chinese Meters)
• Success rate is good as water is available in
  villages that did not have water (both yard and
  stand pipe)

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Planning

• Involvement in WSDP of municipalities.
• Involvement in IDP
• In future agreement from all sectors on IDP,
  integration of provincial growth and development
  plans etc

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Key areas

• Benchmarking initiative
• Ward committee pilots/ cllr decision support
• Civil society leadership role
• Municipal WSP network
• Cooperation with SAAWU

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STRUCTURE OF THE WSP
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ALIGNMENT
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THANK YOU