Residents, mine operators and municipal officials across five provinces are being asked how much they should pay for access to South Africa’s rivers and dams. The Department of Water and Sanitation, working with the Vaal-Orange Catchment Management Agency (VOCMA), held a public consultation in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, to discuss proposed raw water tariff increases for the 2027/28 financial year. The session brought together mine operators, local government officials, municipal representatives and other stakeholders dependent on the country’s water supply, giving them a chance to understand and respond to the pricing changes before they take effect.
Lerato Morake, Chief Executive Officer of VOCMA, framed the tariff process as a shared responsibility. “We appreciate the water users who continue to pay for the use of our water resources. Your contribution enables us to carry out our responsibility of protecting, managing and sustaining these vital resources, which are the foundation of our country’s social and economic development,” Morake said during the consultation. He stressed that protecting South Africa’s water resources depends on strong partnerships between government, communities and water users. Every payment made through raw water tariffs, he explained, helps safeguard the country’s rivers, dams and catchments while enabling VOCMA to fulfil its mandate of managing and protecting water resources for current and future generations.
The Vanderbijlpark session was part of a nationwide public participation process designed to engage water users and key stakeholders on tariff adjustments before they are finalised. VOCMA operates across five provinces, including the Northern Cape, Free State, Eastern Cape, North West and Gauteng, serving a broad range of water users from agricultural operations to industrial facilities and mining companies. Representatives from Harmony Gold Mine, Merafong City Local Municipality, the South African Local Government Association and other organisations attended, alongside officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation, VOCMA, the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
What changed for ordinary water users is the opportunity to push back before decisions are locked in. The Department of Water and Sanitation emphasised that these consultations give stakeholders a platform to understand the raw water pricing process, the factors influencing tariff adjustments, and how tariffs support sustainable management of the country’s water resources. The sessions, the department said, demonstrate its commitment to transparency, accountability and meaningful stakeholder participation. “By engaging directly with water users, the department seeks to ensure that stakeholders understand the methodology used to determine tariffs and have an opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns and make informed submissions before the tariffs are approved.”
Raw water tariffs are reviewed annually to ensure sufficient funding exists for protecting, managing and sustainably developing the country’s water resources. Revenue collected through these tariffs funds water resource management activities, including monitoring water quality and quantity, protecting catchments, operating and maintaining water infrastructure, and ensuring long-term water availability for domestic, agricultural, industrial and economic development. The tariff-setting process directly affects the costs borne by water users who depend on consistent access to reliable supplies.
The department reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with all water users and stakeholders to ensure that South Africa’s water resources are managed sustainably, equitably and efficiently. More information on the consultation process is available at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/dws-engages-water-users-proposed-raw-water-tariffs. Whether the submissions gathered across all five provinces will meaningfully shape the final tariff structure remains the question communities and operators are now waiting to have answered.