STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) identifies systemic failures in South Africa's water governance and provides a strategic framework for civil society to intervene. It highlights critical gaps in the implementation of the National Water Act (NWA), the failure to roll out catchment management institutions, and severe capacity constraints within the Department of Water Affairs (DWA). The document recommends a combination of legal advocacy, institutional reform, and the introduction of administrative penalties to improve compliance and ensure the progressive realisation of constitutional rights to water.

• The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) suffers from severe institutional instability and capacity deficits, characterized by a lack of technical skills, poor leadership, and depleted institutional memory. This has led to a failure in implementing statutory tools under the National Water Act (NWA) of 1998, as many strategies are deemed too complex and resource-intensive for the state's current capacity.
• There is a significant backlog and quality deficit in water use authorisations (Integrated Water Use Licence Authorisations or IWULAs). The DWA lacks the qualified officials to process the high volume of applications, leading to compromised decision-making and economic stagnation in sectors like mining. Furthermore, many applications are procedurally and substantively defective.
• The devolution of water resource management to regional and local levels has largely failed. While the NWA envisioned 19 Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs), only two—the Inkomati CMA and the Breede-Overberg CMA—have been established. This delay is attributed to a reluctance within the Ministry and DWA to delegate power and decision-making authority.
• Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) is critically under-resourced and lacks political priority. The 'Blue Scorpions' unit is severely understaffed, with reports indicating as few as 14 to 21 officials for the entire country. This results in a lack of criminal prosecutions for NWA transgressions and a failure to disincentivise non-compliance.
• The Water Tribunal faces significant challenges that may infringe upon the constitutional right of access to courts. Issues include the appointment of non-lawyers to determine legal questions, a lack of clear procedural timeframes, and a tendency to exclude third-party standing if the DWA did not explicitly invite public participation during the licensing process.
• Water service delivery at the municipal level has reached 'crisis proportions' in many areas. While the Blue Drop Certification Programme has provided some incentive-based improvement, many municipalities remain unable to provide sustainable water and sanitation services due to poor leadership, ethics, and capacity.
• The report advocates for a shift from a purely criminal justice approach to the implementation of an administrative penalty system for water law violations. Such a system, modeled after the Competition Act, would allow for quicker, more consistent monetary penalties adjudicated by a tribunal, reducing the burden on criminal courts.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Stop-Treading-Water.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Stop-Treading-Water.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Stop-Treading-Water.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndstop, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Stop-Treading-Water.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }