Janse Rabie, legal and policy executive at Agri SA told the OFM Business Hour that this was revealed to them in their recent engagements with the department on the matter. Rabie was on the show to discuss their objections to racialised water use license regulations stating that they could bring commercial farming in South Africa to its knees. 

The draft regulations propose that certain enterprises applying for water use licenses to take or store water would in the future have to allocate shares of up to 75% to black South Africans for such water use licenses to be granted.

ALSO READ: Farm with water, not crops, says expert

Clarification on the matter provided by DWS

Rabie said after the publication of the draft regulations, on 15 June 2023, Agri SA had a meeting with DWS officials who clarified that the new transformation requirements “would only apply concerning the 1.5% of water resources in South Africa which have not already been allocated. The regulations are also not intended to apply to applications for the renewal of existing water use licenses, or to the water use license applications which will arise out of compulsory licensing”.

Read more: https://t.co/yagX9CVIPb#submission #regulations #objections #water

— Agri SA (@AgriSA1904) July 31, 2023 ">

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Read more: https://t.co/yagX9CVIPb#submission #regulations #objections #water

— Agri SA (@AgriSA1904) July 31, 2023

Concerns over the regulations persist

Clarification aside, Agri SA remains perturbed by the regulations, telling the OFM Business Hour that they need to be revised as they are not consistent with the relevant provisions of the National Water Act, the Equality Act, and the Constitution. 

Rabie provides a comprehensive overview of their concerns in the interview. 

OFM Business Hour