Water and Sanitation Director-General Dr Sean Phillips led a national public consultation in Boksburg, on 4 November 2022, to present the draft National Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) Bill for public comment and input from the sector stakeholders.

The Bill seeks to establish the NWRIA, which will result in the bulk water infrastructure, its asset management and revenue collection functions integrated, owned, and managed under one entity and be able to raise finance for requisite further infrastructure development.

The Director-General said the aim of agency was to get a better method of funding than what the department is currently managing. “An agency would be better positioned to raise funds from sources other than the fiscus, from which the department is currently dependent,” Dr Phillips explained.

Dr Phillips highlighted that in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), listing and authority, credit rating and condition of assets, the Agency could raise commercial and development finance, domestically and internationally, while for some projects, it could also enter public-private partnerships.

“Other rationale for the establishment of the agency include governance and transparency. Establishing the NWRIA will strengthen governance & transparency in the water sector by separating the roles of player and referee.

“Third reasoning is that the NWRIA will address the current fragmentation of asset management and revenue collection functions for national water resource infrastructure,” he added.

The Agency is to be registered as a state-owned company in terms of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008) and listed as a major public entity in terms of schedule 2 of the PFMA.

The mandate of the NWRIA is to:

• implement water resource management infrastructure as identified in water resources planning processes within Department of Water and Sanitation;
• manage national water resources infrastructure of both economic and social nature;
• generate and collect revenue from the sale of water as its primary source of income;
• develop options to increase the sources of revenue, e.g., recreational use of assets and hydropower;
• raise commercial funding on the strength of its balance sheet and operational cash flows (actual and projected) for commercially viable projects; and,
• facilitate public-private partnerships.

Dr Phillips emphasised that the agency was not the solution to the current challenges facing the country, but it would work simultaneously with other projects to alleviate water issues.

“We are planning and implementing a range of major projects to augment national bulk water resource infrastructure, Lesotho Highlands Phase 2 and uMkhomazi projects for example.

“This, coupled with the addressing of non-revenue water at municipal level and improving billing and revenue collection across the water value chain, among many others,” said the DG.

The draft bill is currently published for public commentary before being sent to Cabinet for approval.

Source: Government of South Africa