3 November 2023
By: Joanie Bergh
The Department of Water and Sanitation is investigating complaints of dualism in the agricultural sector, where adequate water resources are allegedly available on farms owned by whites while significantly fewer resources are available on black-owned farms.
Khosa Tsunduka, director of water use licensing, testified about this matter in the Competition Commission’s investigation to determine if there are elements or factors in the fresh produce value chain that hinder, limit or distort competition in the market.
He said it is challenging for new small-scale farmers to obtain water licences in areas where there are already many producers and water availability is limited.
“A new farmer’s application will be rejected when applying for a water licence in an area where there is already insufficient water to allocate. Existing water users also play a significant role in the decision to issue a new water licence,” he said, adding that South Africa is considered a water-scarce country.
Tsunduka said the department is trying to assist new farmers struggling to obtain water licences, and he referred to Vaalharts in the Northern Cape where farmers voluntarily relinquished part of their monthly water allocation to support new farmers. This is a solution that has worked, he said, and the department hopes to see more such cases countrywide.
The commission has also received complaints about farmers who obtained water licences before 1994 and allegedly have not been paying for water since then. This situation could lead to the wastage of water that could have been allocated to a new farmer.
Tsunduka denied this and said every farmer in the department’s system receives a monthly water bill that must be paid.
