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Portfolio Committee: Water and Environmental Affairs

WULA PROGRESS REPORT

16 APRIL 2013

Purpose of the Presentation

– Outline the progress made on the eradication of the water use licence applications (WULAs) backlog as at 22 March 2013.

– To advise on the status and provide a detailed breakdown on the status of applications within the current backlog.

– Provide an overview and breakdown on new WULAs received during the 2011 calendar year.

– To advise on current steps taken to ensure that the backlog is eradicated.

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Lay out of the Presentation

1. Applications Processed/Finalised2. Backlog Applications in process

2.1. Outstanding Information of Backlog

3. 2011/12 Applications at Letsema4. 2011/12 Applications at Regional Offices5. High Court and Water Tribunal Cases6. Challenges and Interventions

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1. Applications Processed/Finalised

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Overview of finalised WULAs from April 2010 to 22 March 2013

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Financial Year

2010 - 2011 2011-2012 2012 - 2013 Total

Letsema 2506 785 204 3495

Region 0 513 163 676

Total 2506 1298 367 4171

Sectoral Breakdown of Letsema Finalized WULAs from April 2010 to 22 March 2013

Status of Application

Mining

Local Governmen

t and Developme

nt

Forestry Industry Agriculture TOTAL

Withdrawn by DWA 381 21 10 88 469 969

Withdrawn by Client 75 18 15 2 20 130

Licences Issued 216 261 1217 123 415 2220

Declines33 7 38 5 81 163

Total 705 307 1280 218 985 3495

Percentage% 

18% 7% 40% 6% 29% 100%6

RENEWABLE ENERGY

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Finalized WULAs April 2011- 22 March 2013

Status of Application Mining

and Waste

Local Government

and Development

Forestry Industry Agricult

ure TOTAL

Withdrawn by DWA 22 12 6 12 34 86

Withdrawn by the Applicant 23 17 15 2 16 73Licences Issued 166 170 106 66 203 711Declines 31 7 33 3 45 119Total Finalised 242 206 160 83 298 989

Awaiting Signature 5 8 28 5 11 57

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HDI status

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Status of Application HDI BBBEE HAIW: BBBEE Compliant LG Total

Withdrawn by the DWA 3 4 21 57 1 86Withdrawn by the Client 3 11 8 42 9 73

Licences Issued 109 51 54 402 96 712

Declines 13 4 28 73 0 118

Total 128 70 111 574 106 989

% issued 13% 7% 11% 58% 11% 100%

Other Water Uses Issued April 2011- 22 March 2013

Status of Application Mining

and Waste

Local Government

and Development

Forestry Industry Agricult

ure TOTAL

General Authorisations 2 3 0 3 0 8Dispensing with the Requirements 0 1 0 1 0 2

Total 2 4 0 4 0 10

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HDI status on Other Water Uses Issued

Status of Application HDI BBBEE HAI

W: BBBEE Compliant LG Total

General Authorisations 1 0 2 5 0 8Dispensing with the Requirements 0 0 0 2 0 2

Total 1 0 2 7 0 10

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Graph Representing Finalised WULAs April 2011- 22 March 2013

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22 12 6 12 34

166 170106

66

203

317

33

3

45

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Declines

Licences Issued

Withdrawn by the Applicant

Withdrawn by DWA

Awaiting Signature: Per Location

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Awaiting Signature: Per sector

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Chasing a Moving Target

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WULA STATUS 04-Apr 30-Apr 31-May 30-Jun 31-Jul 31-Aug 30-Sep 28-Oct 25-Nov 15-Dec 24-Feb 16-Mar 23-Mar 30-MarApplications finalised (excl 50) 0 114 198 255 355 443 479 558 604 662 737 742 763 785

Current backlog 731 731 758 831 879 810 778 729 728 679 520 522 492 470

*Files Put on hold and other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 129 131 126 126

Cumulative backlog 731 845 956 1086 1234 1253 1257 1287 1332 1341 1386 1395 1381 1381

Progress IF backlog was static 731 617 533 476 376 288 252 173 127 69 0 0 0 0Actual monthly file increase 114 111 130 148 19 4 25 13 44 9 39 8 0 0

Additional files: cumulative 114 225 355 503 522 526 551 564 608 617 656 664 650 650

Moving Target

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Application put on hold

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SFRA APPLICATIONS PUT ON HOLD DUE TO PENDING EIA, Compulsory Licensing and Pending LAAC Recommendation & Reserve

Province

Pending EIA

Pending LAAC Recommendation & Comprehensive Reserve

Compulsory Licensing

Returned to the RO V&V ELU Grand Total

Eastern Cape 49 0 0 0 0 49Mpumalanga 0 4 0 1 5 10

Limpopo 0 0 0 2 1 3Gauteng 0 0 0 2 0 2

Western Cape 0 01

0 0 1KwaZulu

Natal 10 02

1 0 13North West 0 0 0 0 0 0Free State 0 0 0 0 1 1Northern

Cape 0 00

0 1 1Total 59 4 3 6 8 80

2. Backlog Applications in process

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Current Backlog Per Region

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REGIONS AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY SFRA

LOCAL GOV AND

DEVELOPMENT MINING TOTAL %

EC 1 0 37 6 0 44 16%

FS 1 0 0 5 0 6 2%

GP 2 3 0 27 8 40 15%

KZN 2 2 3 11 2 20 7%

LP 6 0 2 7 0 15 5%

MP 6 7 0 16 20 49 18%

NW 1 3 0 19 15 38 14%

NC 2 0 0 10 26 38 14%

WC 10 3 0 12 0 25 9%

TOTAL 31 18 42 113 71 275 100%

HDI 9 3 19 0 7 38  

% HDI 29% 17% 45% 0% 10% 14%  

Current Backlog Per Sector

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Status of Applications Mining

Local Gov & Dev Forestry Industry Agriculture TOTAL %

Initial Assessment 5 0 0 0 0 5 2%

Information Outstanding 54 97 7 13 20 191 69%

Finalising Assessment 7 8 7 0 0 22 8%

Ready for Del Auth’s Sign 5 8 28 5 11 57 21%

Total 71 113 42 18 31 275 100%% Backlog 26% 41% 15% 7% 11% 100%  HDI 7 0 19 3 9 38% HDI 10% 0% 45% 17% 29% 14%

Pie Chart of Backlog Applications

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Graph Representing Backlog WULAs in Progress

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Status breakdown of the mining sector backlog applications

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Breakdown of backlog applications per main commodity mined type

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Status breakdown of the agriculture backlog applications

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REGION Initial Assessment

Information Outstanding

Finalising Assessment

Ready for Delegated Authority’s Signature

TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE 0 0 0 1 1FREE STATE 0 1 0 0 1GAUTENG 0 2 0 0 2KWAZULU NATAL 0 1 0 1 2LIMPOPO 0 5 0 1 6MPUMALANGA 0 3 0 3 6NORTH WEST 0 0 0 1 1NORTHERN CAPE 0 2 0 0 2WESTERN CAPE 0 6 0 4 10TOTAL 0 20 0 11 31HDI 0 6 0 3 9% of HDI 0% 30% 0% 27% 29%

Types Backlog Application for agricultural operations

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REGIONS IRRIGATION LIVESTOCK MULTIPURPOSE TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE

1 0 0 1FREE STATE 1 0 0 1GAUTENG 2 0 0 2KWAZULU NATAL

1 0 1 2LIMPOPO 6 0 0 6MPUMALANGA

6 0 0 6NORTH WEST 1 0 0 1NORTHERN CAPE

2 0 0 2WESTERN CAPE

10 0 0 10TOTAL 30 0 1 31

Status breakdown of the Backlog Industry applications

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REGION INITIAL ASSESSMENT

OUTSTANDING INFO

FINALISING ASSESSMENT

SUBMITTED FOR DELIGATED AUTHORITY

Total

Eastern Cape

0 0 0 0 0Free State 0 0 0 0 0Gauteng 0 3 0 0 3KwaZulu Natal

0 1 0 1 2Limpopo 0 0 0 0 0Mpumalanga 0 6 0 1 7North West 0 2 0 1 3Northern Cape

0 0 0 0 0Western Cape

0 1 0 2 3TOTAL 0 13 0 5 18HDI 2 0 0 1 3% of HDI 0 0 0 0 0

Status of Backlog SFRA WULAs currently on site

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REGION Initial Assessment

Information Outstanding

Finalising Assessment

Ready for Delegated Authority’s Signature

TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE 0 4 7 26 37FREE STATE 0 0 0 0 0GAUTENG 0 0 0 0 0KWAZULU NATAL

0 1 0 2 3LIMPOPO 0 2 0 0 2MPUMALANGA 0 0 0 0 0NORTH WEST 0 0 0 0 0NORTHERN CAPE

0 0 0 0 0WESTERN CAPE 0 0 0 0 0TOTAL 0 7 7 28 42HDI 0 5 6 8 19%HDI 0% 71% 86% 29% 45%

Status of backlog local government and development WULAs

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REGION Initial Assessment

Information Outstanding

Finalising Assessment

Ready for Delegated Authority’s Signature

TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE 0 6 0 0 6

FREE STATE 0 4 1 0 5

GAUTENG 0 26 1 0 27

KWAZULU NATAL 0 9 2 0 11

LIMPOPO 0 7 0 0 7

MPUMALANGA 0 12 1 3 16

NORTH WEST 0 14 2 3 19

NORTHERN CAPE 0 8 1 1 10

WESTERN CAPE 0 11 0 1 12

TOTAL 0 97 8 8 113

HDI 0 0 0 0 0

Breakdown of activities for local government and development

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REGION RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

WWTW DOMESTIC/ WTW

PIPE LINE CROSSINGS

TOTAL

Eastern Cape 0 0 1 5 0 6Free State

0 0 0 5 0 5Gauteng

10 0 15 2 0 27KwaZulu-Natal

5 0 5 1 0 11Limpopo

2 1 1 3 0 7Mpumalanga

9 0 6 1 0 16North West

10 3 6 0 0 19Northern Cape

2 1 5 2 0 10Western Cape

3 0 7 2 0 12TOTAL

51 9 46 21 0 113

Strategic Important WULAs

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2.1. Outstanding Information of Backlog

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Outstanding Information

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Outstanding Reserve

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All Inclusive Outstanding Reserve Determination(s)

SECTOR RoR Provided RoR Outstanding Total Outstanding Reserve 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 60 0 60

MINING 31 0 31

INDUSTRY 10 0 10

AGRICULTURE 19 0 19

SFRA 18 0 18

TOTALS 138 0 138

4. 2011/12 Applications at Regional Offices

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Status of WULAs Finalised by the Region and Copies Provided to the Project

REGIONS GA ELU Schedule 1 Licences Total

EC 84 15 11 3 113

FS 0 0 0 0 0

GP 11 0 0 1 12

KZN 0 0 0 101 101

LP 0 0 0 16 16

MP 0 0 0 2 2

NW 0 0 0 0 0

NC 18 0 0 6 24

WC 18 0 0 0 18

TOTAL 131 15 11 129 259

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2011 WULAs being processed at regional offices

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2011 Provincial Split of WULAs in Regions

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2012 WULAs being processed at regional offices

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2012 Provincial Split of WULAs in Regions

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REGIONS AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY SFRA LOCAL GOV AND

DEVELOPMENT

MINING SECTOR YET TO BE

CONFRIMED

TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE 9 1 0 14 0 0 24FREE STATE

11 4 0 4 9 0 28GAUTENG 3 2 0 3 0 0 8KWAZULU NATAL 2 1 9 5 0 0 17LIMPOPO 30 4 0 2 6 5 47MPUMALANGA

35 14 0 19 42 0 110NORTH WEST

2 7 0 15 7 13 44NORTHERN CAPE 7 3 0 2 9 0 21WESTERN CAPE 24 3 0 21 1 0 49TOTAL 123 39 9 85 74 18 348

2013 WULAs being processed at regional offices

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2013 Provincial Split of WULAs in Regions

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REGIONS AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY SFRA LOCAL GOV AND

DEVELOPMENT

MINING SECTOR YET TO BE

CONFRIMED

TOTAL

EASTERN CAPE 3 0 0 3 0 0 6FREE STATE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0GAUTENG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0KWAZULU NATAL 0 0 0 0 1 0 1LIMPOPO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0MPUMALANGA 0 1 0 0 1 0 2NORTH WEST 0 0 0 0 1 0 1NORTHERN CAPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0WESTERN CAPE 5 3 0 8 0 0 16TOTAL 8 4 0 11 3 0 26

High Court and Water Tribunal Application

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Breakdown of courts appeal

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PROGRESS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY (PREFERRED BIDDERS)

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Progress on Renewable Energy (Preferred Bidders)

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Graph for Renewable Energy (Preferred Bidders)

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HUMAN RESOURCE STAFF TURNOVER

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Movement of Staff from 1 April 2011 to date

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Staff Summary Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 Feb-12 Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13Assessor 52 52 51 53 53 55 50 52 50 52 53 49 51 47 42 45 41 40 40 37 33 32 32 31Admin 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 9Management 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2Total 68 68 67 69 69 71 66 68 65 67 68 64 66 62 57 60 55 54 53 50 46 43 43 42WULAS finalised 132 85 59 101 97 65 68 55 4 47 25 47 8 38 22 12 44 15 18 14 20 3 0 0

Graph Movement of Staff from 1 April 2011 to date

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5. Challenges and Interventions

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1. WULA BACKLOG ERADICATION PROJECT STATUS AND ISSUES ARISING

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention

Disc. Doc.

a venue resolved

b Reserves not availed in time to finalise WULAs.

Over 52% (153) of remaining WULAs backlog cannot be finalised due to delays in output of reserves

-impediment in the eradication of the backlog

-Closing date of Jul 2012 will not be met if process output of reserves is not increased

-Service delivery will not be achieved due to delays in WULAs

-RDM prioritise reserve determinations

-Additional resources be availed to determine reserves

-Attach personnel to Letsema to determine reserves on site

-Request plan from RDM to address backlog on reserve determinations

-Monitoring of plan at same level as WULAs backlog

Reserves backlog list

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1. WULA BACKLOG ERADICATION PROJECT STATUS AND ISSUES ARISING

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention

Disc. Doc

c Lack of water availability for HDIs and some critical users in water stressed catchments

-Failure to adequately effect redress and equity

-Job losses in critical industries

-Failure to finalise HDI and critical user applications

-Delays in finalising WULAs

-DWA to accept reduction of assurance of supply

-Set aside water allocations for critical users in specific WMAs in the interim

- Facilitate DWA policy or guidelines to guide authorisation

Examples of WULAs dealt with

d Lack of adequate resources for HDIs to undertake studies

- Failure to adequately effect redress and equity

- DWA to offer financial assistance for water availability studies for HDIs

ditto

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1. WULA BACKLOG ERADICATION PROJECT STATUS AND ISSUES ARISING

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention

Disc. Doc

e Delegations need to be updated and streamlined, as in those with CD: Water Use as some are still with project manager Letsema, others with Regional Heads

-Delays in finalising WULAs

-Devolve delegations to Regions

- Fast track delegations process

Delegations document

f Additional WULAs being added to backlog

-Delays in finalising backlog which is increasing

-Unhappy clients-Unhappy principals

All Regions to be given deadline to submit backlog WULAs

- Sign off letter to Regions with cut off date for submission of WULAs

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1. WULA BACKLOG ERADICATION PROJECT STATUS AND ISSUES ARISING

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention

Discussion Document

g Status of SFRA water use licence applications under backlog eradication and challenges, these applications have since been put on HOLD pending submission of the outstanding information.

-delays in eradication of backlog

-May comprise cooperative governance structures like LAACs and previously signed MOUs

-Letter to parties like Forestry Charter Council, DAFF, applicants advising them of the delays-Remove WULAs from backlog-The se applications have been put on hold and the relevant applicants and stakeholders have been informed.

Put WULAs On hold waiting for BA/EIA studies and complete current licensing process

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2. WORK PLAN TO ERADICATE BACKLOG AND HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIRED

• A list of officials currently on Letsema is provided– The current available staff is insufficient to finalise

the backlog – A list of officials who have previously worked on the

project and have moved on for various reasons is provided

• Action Request that these officials be recalled to strengthen the team to finish the project.

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WORK PLAN – IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

• Human Resources– Availability of assessors to project is less than 50%, due to

• leaves, rotational attendance, travel time– Also high staff turnover due to promotions, transfers– Capacity also limited

• Complexity of WULAs• Delays in Technical Inputs from DWA sections• Reserves, e.g. the Comprehensive study for WULAs around St

Lucia has been outstanding for a long time• Some 138 WULAs await reserves to date

• Incomplete information in files

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WORK PLANNo Challenge Implications of

ChallengesProposals A/DG

InterventionDiscussion Document

a Lack of staff to process WULAs

-Delays in finalising project

-Increasing backlog exacerbates situation

-Recall of all personnel with Letsema experience as per attachment

-Approve work plan as summarised

-All staff seconded to project till completionLetter of staff recall

Attendance to backlog eradication compulsory for all regions

List of staff required

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3. HUMAN RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES ON WATER USE AUTHORISATION

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention Discussion Document

a Failure to retain Graduate Trainees and Contract Workers

-Fruitless expenditure for the DWA in that staff would have been trained and then released

-Reduces WULA processing as about 40 % of staff is in this category

-Put mechanism in place to retain the staff

-renew contracts of contract workers

-Facilitate absorption of graduate trainees

b OSD- some employees are classified as Environmental and Biodiversity Officers-Not translated to scientists as per their duties and qualifications

-Affects career growth and staff morale -Remuneration of employees is lower than expected

-Request that Phase 3 of OSD must be stopped to consider the grievances of affected employees

-Be aware of the grievance-Request HR to appoint independent body to review the placement of affected disciplines in OSD

Various submissions to HR

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HUMAN RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES ON WATER USE AUTHORISATION

No Challenge Implications of Challenges

Proposals A/DG Intervention

Discussion Document

a Request for Bonuses for Letsema Project Staff, those still in the project

-motivation and support for bonuses for staff for 2011/2012 period

b Request A/DG to officiate at presentation of prizes for star performers

-presence and officiating at function for motivation of staff

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Functions (2)

• Client liaison/ stakeholder relations– Provides timely response and feed back to

applicants on WULAs

• Data capturing / information system/ technology support

• Annual Reporting

• Verification of ELWU

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JAN 2012

FEB 2012

MAR 2012

APR 2012

MAY 2012

JUN 2012

JUL 2012

AUG 2012

SEPT 2012

OCT 2012

OVERALL

PROJECT

MINING

LOCAL GOV +

DEV

SFRA

IND

AGRIC

WORK PLAN BY SECTOR ON BACKLOG

EXAMPLE TEXT

66 WULAs

218 WULAs

20 WULAs

13 WULAs

105 WULAs

14 WULAS

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PROPOSED STRUCTURES

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THANK YOU

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