Minutes of the Masibambane Coordination Committee 2009/10 Fourth Quarter Meeting (Held on 15 July 2010)

MASIBAMBANE COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Minutes of 2009/10 Fourth Quarter and Year Review Meeting held on 15 July 2010 at the Southern Sun Hotel, Pretoria

1.OPENING AND WELCOME SESSION

1.1Introductions, Attendance and Apologies

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr W Moraka (SALGA) and Ms C Damons (Dept of Cooperative Governance). Attendance and apologies were duly registered.

1.2Approval of Agenda

The following changes were made on the agenda during the course of the meeting because of the absence of presenters:

  • Item 3(c) 2010/11 Budget Allocations
  • Item 6(b) Human Settlement – Accelerated Service Delivery Plans & Outputs
  • Item 6(d) Bulk Water Infrastructure Programme

2.MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (25 FEBRUARY 2010)

2.1Corrections and Adoption

One typing error was corrected on the minutes:

  • Item 3.2 – under comments (b): “contemned” should be corrected to “contained”
  • Matters Arising

a)Role of Civil Society Organisations – item included on the meeting agenda

b)Facilitation of knowledge sharing – Part of the agenda under Announcements; the action has been included WIN-SA’s 2010/11 work plan

c)Improving IGR in the water sector (suitable model)–Ms N Duma reported that a proposal will be presented at the next MCC meeting after further consideration by DWA senior management

d)Identifying joint initiatives to improve Water Quality in regions (as part of World Water Quality Day activities) – Mr L Manus reported that no meetings have taken place as per the proposed action; however the team has been working with regional offices, and submissions have been received from all the regions except for KZN. A detailed hand-out will be distributed during the meeting.

e)Building better relations for effective regulatory function – Ms T Sigwaza mentioned that the matter is now being discussed by the WSLG Regulation Task Team and that a report will be provided in due course.

f) Waste water discharge registration system – Mr Masia Mgwambani reported that Gauteng region has been selected as a pilot for the registration and that a meeting has been held to kick-start the process. An implementation plan is being developed with inputs from the Directorate: Resource Protection and Waste.

g)LGTAS:Water sector approach – Ms J Evans indicated that a detailed report of the DWA approach is part of the agenda. DWA has identified O&M, WCDM and professionalization as its priority contribution in the LGTAS. She also highlighted that DWA is arguing for the ring fencing of the operation and maintenance portion of the Equitable Share and the Refurbishment Grant (part of the DWA transfer of assets to WSAs) and this is being supported by the District Water Services Managers Forum. Mr Moraka commented that the ring fencing of water services operation and maintenance budgets should be applicable in all WSAs and not just those affected by scheme transfers.

h) Working with established CMAs – the proposed action plan forms part of the day’s agenda

i) National Treasury Guidelines regarding Green Drop publication – Mr Manus mentioned that copies of municipal budget circular (No31) were distributed. The circular outlines requirements for waste water treatment works in municipal budgets.

j)River Health Programme – an Adopt-a-River Programme has been launched in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape during the Water Week. A concept document has been developed to guide regions in developing regional implementation plans and a workshop was held with affected regions. An implementation plan has been developed and water boards are being used as implementing agents. The programme will be officially launched by the Deputy Minister in Limpopo (4 August 2010) and Kwa-Zulu Natal (13 August 2010) and the Minister in Eastern Cape (21 October 2010).

3.HIGHLIGHTS OF SECTOR PERFORMANCE

3.1Strategic Overview of the Fourth Quarter (2009/10)

Ms Portia Makhanya presented highlights of sector performance covering the 4th Quarter of 2009/10 and the 2009/10 financial year as a whole. The report is summarised as follows:

  • The National Water Week was held in March 2010 with various activities and events led by the Minister of Water Affairs. These included the launching of Ngcebo Bulk Water Project in KZN, additional R86m for drought relief in Eastern Cape and releasing the 2009 Green Drop report. The Deputy Minister launched the Adopt-a-River project in Western Cape and a War-on-Leaks project in Gauteng (MogaleCity).
  • Some WSLG task teams are functional. The most active are the Regulation and Skills Development Task Teams, and a few other working groups.

Performance highlights for the 2009/10 Financial Year

a)Reduction of backlogs

Number of people accessing basic water supply have increased by 1.07 million during 2009/10. This is below the set 2009/10 target of 3 million people

An additional 1261 schools have access to basic water supply facilities as at end of March 2010 against a target of 1330 schools

Access to household sanitation has increased by 217, 912 households against a target of 1 million households

Schools with basic sanitation facilities have increased 1241 against a target of 1258 schools

 1048 bucket toilets were removed in the past financial year

The following were highlighted as main factors affecting performance (eradication of backlogs)

Lack of bulk water and sanitation services infrastructure

Reporting on household sanitation is very poor, meaning that accurate figures are not always captured in the quarterly reports

Other highlights include:

6 regional bulk water supply projects have been completed in 2009/10 and 34 were under construction during the reporting period

An additional 797 staff were transferred to Water Service Authorities during the 2009/10 FY

b)Institutional management and planning

128 municipalities are now reporting through the Regulatory Performance Management System (RPMS)

80% of the WSAs submit annual reports to the Minister on the implementation of their WSDPs

59% of the WSAs have finalised their water service provider arrangements

Other highlights

The Local Government Turn-Around Strategy has been approved by Cabinet and DWA is working with SALGA and the Department of Cooperative Governance to develop a sector response focusing on three priorities: operation and maintenance, professionalization and water conservation and demand management.

The Siyenza Manje project has provided technical support to both DWA and Department of Cooperative Governance through the placement of deployees (6 placed in DWA regional offices and 1 at DoCG. A further 435 deployees have now been placed in municipalities.

c)Water Services Provider Capacity

59% of water service providers have developed business plans

38% of WSAs have developed customer charters

70% have developed asset management systems

d)Establishment of CMAs

Only two CMAs have been established to date

The two CMAs are submitting business plans and annual reports. They are also developing Catchment Management Strategies

e)Integrated Water Resource Management

The Water Allocation Reform plans have been developed in six regions (KZN, WC, LP, MP, NW & NC)

20% of WSAs have developed Water Conservation and Demand Management Plans

The Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement programme is active and all cases have been reported to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee and other authorities. A total of 93 directives were issued but only 10% were resolved. Of the directives, 27 were pursued as criminal cases. The highest transgressor was the agricultural sector with a total of 48 directives.

Two additional irrigation boards have been transformed into Water User Associations during the 2009/10 financial year, leading to 54% transformation of irrigation boards that existed in 1998.

Licensing backlog is being reduced – 961 cases have been finalised, 1892 are still in process and only 429 are still to be considered

5725 resource poor farmers have received government assistance during the 2009/10 financial year; most of these are in Mpumalanga (96%)

A total of 1,962 rain water harvesting tanks have been provided to 1,237 households during the 2009/10 FY

f)Civil Society Participation

Civil society organisations are involved in awareness campaigns and Water for Growth and Development initiatives (e.g. WCDM)

Funded programmes were affected by the delay in releasing of EU funds

g)Sector Collaboration

All sector collaborative structures meet regularly. The main concern is Mpumalanga region, which still does not have a provincial structure and only works through three district forums.

Eight provincial water sector plans have been reviewed

Seven water indabas were convened in the 2009/10 financial year

h)Sector Reporting

Reporting on drinking water quality is still weak with only 48% submission ratio. Results from submitted reports indicate that compliance is high.

The 2010 Blue Drop assessment covered 787 water supply systems (49% more than the 2009 assessment) and out of these, 38 obtained Blue Drop certification (40% more than the 2009 assessment); 13 retained the status from the previous assessment; and 10 failed to retain status from the previous assessment. Most certified systems were in the Western Cape (14 water systems certified) and Limpopo showed an improvement with three systems receiving certification (up from none from 2009).

Highlights from Sector Partners’ Progress Reports

a)WIN-SA

  • Improved Service Delivery

Infrastructure Asset Management was identified as a pilot for the Topic Hub

A case study has been documented and best practices shared for infrastructure asset management

  • Knowledge sharing and capacity

A social network has been established consisting of 190 members; the aim is to create a platform where water sector practitioners share information

The WIN-SA newsletter has been published with two case studies on WC/DM documented for Emfuleni and Ekurhuleni

  • Knowledge sharing across the water sector in SADC and Africa

WIN-SA has established the Southern Africa Knowledge Node on sustainable sanitation in collaboration with WRC

  • Building a Network

A National water information and data management workshop was held and a concept paper was developed for the WSLG on information, data and knowledge management

b)SALGA

A draft concept paper for joint MIS related programme with LG associations in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique is near completion

Eleven Water Boards were consulted on the bulk water tariff increases

Development of nine strategies on Water Conservation and Demand Management for municipalities is near completion

SALGA partnered with the DWA to compile an assessment report on drinking water quality and blue drop certification

c)Department of Health

Health and Hygiene Education training has been conducted for Environmental Health Officers and Port Health Officers

The Health and Hygiene Education strategy has been rolled out in 8 Provinces except Limpopo

A draft booklet on Community Home Based Care and Hygiene has been developed

Water and sanitation indicators are now incorporated into the District Health Information System

Challenges affecting Sector Performance

a)The global recession led to a reduction in funding from international development partners – EU, Irish Aid and DFID.

b)The institutional realignment project has not been concluded. This has negatively affected progress in the establishment of CMAs

c)There is still poor coordination of baseline planning information such as backlog figures. This affects planning initiatives and identification of hot spots

d)There remains some uncertainty regarding future funding of some programmes

Comments

Mr W Moraka (SALGA) made two comments:

  • It is important for the MCC to take time and reflect on how the sector should be responding to the challenges that affect sector performance
  • Noting that the reports were for the 4th Quarter of 2009/10 (year ending March 2010), he commented that a report for 1st Quarter of 2010/11 should have been distributed in preparation of the next meeting which will look at both Quarter 1 and 2 of 2010/11.

Mr Frank Kirwan (Irish Aid) made the following comments:

  • The HIV/AIDS mainstreaming strategy has been aproved by the WSLG core group; however, stakeholders have to be updated about its status within the DWA system. It is important to begin planning for roll-out of the strategy
  • On the issue of challenges related to funding withdrawal, the Irish Aid acknowledges the implications the withdrawal may have on the South African water sector. It was not an easy decision to take. In considering the decision, the Irish Aid looked at which partners are less in need of funding, and it was concluded that Masibambane WSSP has now developed a solid capacity base through which additional funding from government and other sources can be harnessed. The withdrawal should be seen as an opportunity for the sector to explore other avenues including how to sustain the current programmes without receiving donor assistance.

Ms Portia Makhanya responded to some of the comments as follows:

  • The report presented covers the whole of 2009/10. The report for the 1st Quarter of 2010/11 (ending June 2010) was not yet ready for distribution.
  • The HIV/AIDS mainstreaming strategy is still going through the internal approval processes of DWA. The strategy has been discussed by senior Management and it is now in the DDG P&R’s office (report confirmed by Ms Ndala Duma and Ms Jackie Nel)
  • Regarding withdrawal of donor funding, DWA has been working with National Treasury to develop exit strategies. Some of the donor-funded programmes will be internalised as core functions within the DWA and funded through the voted funds. So far, National Treasury has provided R200m to supplement donor funding for this year only (2010/11).

Ms Thoko Sigwaza advised that the sector partners must ensure that the core principles of Masibambane should live beyond donor funding. More effort should be put on sharing best practice and strengthening collaborative partnerships at provincial and national levels.

3.2Overview of Financial Performance

Mr Thabiso Toka presented an overview of budget and expenditures for the 2009/10 financial year and budget allocations for the 2010/11 financial year. The report is summarised as follows:

a)The total budget for the water sector programme in 2009/10 was R19, 5 billion. About R12, 1 billion fell outside DWA coffers and funded recurrent expenditure. Only R4 billion went into capital infrastructure and water resources infrastructure’s share amounted to R6, 4 billion.

b)Only R17, 7 billion was spent. With regards to donor funded projects, there was a generally observed low expenditure during the 2009/10 financial year – sector partners only spent 48% of their allocation; Northern Cape and KZN recorded expenditures of 30% and 32% respectively. The biggest challenge in this regard was the late disbursement of donor funding (from the donors to DWA).

c)The unspent funds have now been rolled over to this financial year (2010/11) and will be combined with the R200m allocation from National Treasury.

d)Low expenditure has also been recorded in the Water Services and Water Resources branches of the DWA. In both cases, expenditure was affected by a moratorium placed on staff appointments.

e)As at the end of March 2010, 64% of MIG allocations to municipalities was recorded as spent. It has to be noted though that the municipal financial year-end is end of June.

f)Equitable Share allocations showed 100% expenditure

Outlining the process for new donor funds allocations, Mr Toka mentioned that R395m is now available and an internal task team (DWA) has been established to consider submissions for allocations and give advice to DWA management accordingly.

Comments/Questions

Do the rolled funds include voted funds?

Mr Toka replied that this is not automatic because rolling voted funds has to follow National Treasury procedures.

Why was there low expenditure in KZN and Northern Cape as compared to other regions?

Some regions received funds late and could not commit these to any programme.

How were the funds on Water Resources spent? Is it possible to indicate for which projects and programmes, and how much was spent per programme and project?

Mr Kopa could not provide the details of water resources projects immediately; it was agreed that he must be contacted directly to provide the required information.

Why is there low expenditure on capacity building projects?

The main reason is usually the difference in financial year-ends of municipalities and national government.

4.FEEDBACK ON ISSUES RAISED IN LAST MCC MEETING

4.1Role of CSOs in Regulation

Ms Kate Tissington gave a brief feedback on how CSOs have been engaging with DWA and other partners on regulation. The engagement has been elevated to the Minister and the Parliament Portfolio Committee. Some of the water-related issues for which CSOs are currently engaging with government are:

Usage of Water Demand Management devices in Cape Townin relation to access to free basic water and free basic sanitation – CSOs have expressed concerns that these devices are unfair to low-income (poor) communities. The Cape Town Metro introduced these devices as a mechanism to curb high water consumption by reducing water flow; however the devices seems to be used to stop access when communities members do not pay for consumption.

Timber plantations – The CSOs are opposed to large scale afforestation and how these affect water availability. Use of indigenous plants is advocated.

Questions/Comments

What are the terms of reference of CSOs participating in the reference group on regulation? The CSOs must assist DWA to improve sector regulation.

In response, Ms Hameda Deedatsaid that the civil society group worked intensively on the water services regulation strategy without paid time.

4.2Involvement of CSOs in the Water Sector Programme

Ms Ndala Duma introduced the concept and intent of the Water Services Civil Society programme. The main purpose of the programme is to enhance and support civil society’s involvement in the water sector. She further highlighted the key activities proposed for civil society involvement in 2010/11.

Ms Mary Galvin presented the concept paper proposed in the last MCC meeting. She indicated that the proposal was still very raw – it has not been consulted broadly and it has just raised issues to elicit inputs.

Questions/Comments