Cabinet Approves Draft Of Water Services Amendment Bill

The draft for Water Services Amendment Bill was approved by the cabinet on Thursday and it will be published for public comment.

The Water Services Amendment Bill will ensure that water service providers are accountable for delivering high-quality water and keep transparency, as part of their licensing conditions.

"The amendments will also address weaknesses that have been identified in the water services sector, and these include conflict with water services providers being both providers and regulators," Cabinet said, SA News reported.

It added, "The Bill sets minimum standards for the functioning of Water Services Providers, which must be enforced by Water Services Authorities."

The National Water Amendment Bill amends the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998), which will improve regulations and ensure that the country's water resources are well managed, protected, and conserved.

The cabinet explained that once these amendments are implemented, there will be an "equitable allocation of water" for all South Africans. It will also ensure that there are no imbalances related to water allocation and make provisions for effective and quicker internal dispute resolution mechanisms.

On the same day, the Cabinet also approved the submission of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Bill to the Parliament. This bill was first approved last year, however, the Office of the Chief State Law Advisor asked to make certain provisions to align the bill with the Constitution.

"Once passed into law, the Bill will result in the repeal of the current Broadcasting Act (Act 4 of 1999). The amendments will strengthen the efficiency of the operations of the public broadcaster. The Bill further proposes reforms in the SABC's funding model and the TV licensing system," as per the cabinet.

During the post-cabinet meeting on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni also addressed the recent renaming of William Nicol Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive to celebrate the Former Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology of South Africa, Winnie Mandela.

William Nicol Drive was renamed William Nicol Drive on Tuesday (Sept. 26), which marked Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's 87th birthday. However, this was slammed by the opposition party Democratic Alliance, and AfriForum as the decision cost R250,000 to rename.

"South Africa belongs to all who live in black and white and all who live in it," Ntshavheni said, News24 reported. "The DA and AfriForum want to continue the exclusion of African history and black history in this country to protect the history of Afrikaans minorities that had a negative impact on blacks, and it does not contribute to nation building."

Presidency Minister further said, "We do not want to experience an uprising of people who feel excluded in the country they belong in, more so if they are in the majority because we continue to protect the history of the minority."

She noted that South Africa is the only country to maintain Voortrekker memorials, even after dealing with apartheid. "We have maintained symbols of apartheid oppressors because we said we cannot erase history," Ntshavheni concluded.