On hold, not felled

The Forest Sector Transformation Charter, initially scheduled for implementation in December last year, has been put on hold until February or March next year, to ensure that it meets certain empowerment objectives, including facilitating the entry of women into the industry.

The Charter aims to achieve broad-based black economic-empowerment (BEE) in the forestry sector.

It calls for an increase in the number of black people, particularly women, who own, manage and control enterprises and productive assets, facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and productive assets by communities, workers, cooperatives and other collective enterprises.

“Forestry is a complicated industry and Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks wants to be satisfied with certain aspects of the Charter before it is launched and implemented,” says Department of Water Affairs and Forestry spokesperson Themba Khumalo, who adds that Hendricks’s core priority is to facilitate the entry of women into the sector and to make sure that they are well represented in the industry. “And that is why the Charter had to be put on hold.” Meanwhile, forest-products group Yorkcor says it is not daunted by the still-to-be-implemented Charter.

CEO Ivor Tucker tells Engin- eering News that although the Charter is still in the ‘melting pot’ and not formalised yet, it is unlikely to have a negative effect on the company, which completed a BEE transaction recently. Yorkcor has announced that the Tucker family, which has exercised control of the group for almost a century, is to sell its majority ownership to Luxembourg-based Blackstar Investors, with a further 26% earmarked for BEE shareholder Silulu Investment Services.

Blackstar is an investment company listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market. Its focus is largely on BEE opportunities in South Africa. In terms of the transaction, the Tucker family will dispose of its entire 84,75% interest in Yorkcor. Blackstar and Yorkcor will make a joint cash offer to acquire 100% of Yorkcor’s issued share capital at R9,80 a share, with Yorkcor undertaking to acquire 26% of this on behalf of Sisulu Investments, and Blackstar the balance. Blackstar, which will initially own 58,75% of Yorkcor, intends to place 10% to 15% of Yorkcor’s entire issued share capital with other investors and/or institutions over a period of time in order to increase the free float and to take its investment below 50%.

The new BEE shareholders comprise a range of staff and community trusts, which will acquire their shares through two special-purpose vehicles in fulfilment of the group’s BEE objective.

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De Hoop dam project gets green

WATER Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks has welcomed the clearing of the final hurdle delaying construction of the controversial De Hoop dam project in Limpopo.

Last month Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk partially upheld an administrative appeal against the project.

The dam is to be built in the Steelpoort River, a major tributary of the Olifants, which flows past the Kruger National Park to Mozambique.

The South African Water Caucus, conservation body SANParks, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Geosphere of Mozambique objected to the project mainly because of the potential environmental effect.

SA Water Caucus said earlier that the short-term (50-year) economic benefits of the project might not be worth the damage to the Olifants River catchment. The Olifants dried up for the first time in living memory last year.

Potential negative effects included removal of valuable fauna and flora during construction and the disruption of the river flow with an associated effect on aquatic and downstream users. Local communities upstream would have to be relocated.

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Local authorities neglecting water supplies

The country’s water watchdog is aware some local authorities are not allocating sufficient funds for essential water supply infrastructure.

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry director-general Jabulani Sindane said overseeing proper maintenance of equipment relating to water provision was “definitely” an important aspect of the department’s regulatory function.

“Unfortunately local authorities are sometimes loath to spend money on something that cannot be seen.

“I have been told by some municipalities that houses, because they are visible, are a better way of spending than on water pipes,” he told a briefing in Johannesburg.

If not attended to, water infrastructure at local government level could break down. Due to the risk involved the National Water Summit has recommended infrastructure maintenance should be a priority.

Sindane said potable water was still one of the department’s top priorities.

“With 2010 coming ever closer we want people to be able to drink tap water anywhere in SA without fear.”

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She's working for people who are oppressing women

Protesters led by the Coalition Against Water Privatisation handed a memorandum of demands to officials at Johannesburg Water offices and the Johannesburg City Council.

In the four-page memo they state reasons for opposing the introduction of pre-paid water meters in Soweto.

The coalition, with the support of the Freedom of Expression Institution and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, have filed a legal case against Johannesburg Water, the City of Johannesburg and the department of water affairs for "denying" access to water.

The protest began at the Library Gardens and proceeded to Johannesburg Water, where staff had locked themselves in and police blocked the door.

A black official from the company came out after a while, but they refused to speak to her because "she's working for people who are oppressing women," said protest co-ordinator Virginia Magwaza Setshedi.

The protesters demanded to speak to a white person.

A white man and an Indian man came out, and protesters then allowed the black woman to sign for receipt of the memorandum.

The protesters then walked from central Johannesburg to the metro centre in Braamfontein to deliver the memorandum to the city council.

When they arrived they demanded to see mayor Amos Masondo but police refused them entry.

Council officials accepted the memorandum instead.

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Frustrated with fluoridation

Two-thirds of respondents of a recent survey conducted by Rand Water on the Legislated Regulations of Fluoridation feel that stakeholders did not receive sufficient time to participate in the Public Comment Process on fluoridation.

The most common opinion was that there were no such processes, followed by the opinion that the decision was forced upon them, that the public is poorly informed or even misinformed about fluoridation.

Some of the other issues raised were that it was a top down (one-sided) communication process, that they have not reacted to scientific input or the mere fact that it was poorly advertised.

Respondents felt that they were not at all or poorly consulted, that it was implemented against all evidence, that it violate human rights, cost implications and the mere fact that it will be difficult to manage. They feel some alternative options are available.

Respondents have indicated specific alternative methods of getting fluoride to the people/communities that need it.

Toothpaste is still believed to be the best alternative method, followed by fluoride tablets. Apart from these two aspects, the best alternative method is through food and related products (with a range of products such as salt, mealie meal as the best options).

As many people within Africa still do not have access to water, there are more important water issues to deal with. These include:

• Solutions for efficiency in public water provisioning


• Infrastructure development and investment


• Coping with a continuous water shortage

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Water affairs is broken

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the water affairs and forestry department’s new management to get its house in order after a qualified audit report found capital expenditure records involving billions were unreliable.

This is the fourth time in five years auditor-general Shauket Fakie has given the department’s financial records a negative audit report. The report for the last financial year said there was irregular and unauthorised expenditure of millions, in addition to the unreliable capital expenditure records for R2,2bn.

DA MP Janet Semple said yesterday the minister, Lindiwe Hendricks, and director-general Jabulani Sindane were new in their posts. Their performance in dragging the department back to financial respectability would become clear only in the 2006-07 report. She said she trusted that they would come up with a plan to sort out the problems. Semple said she would ask parliamentary questions to find out what the minister intended to do.

Semple said that things had appeared to be improving in the department since adverse audit reports in 2001-02 and 2002-03. In 2004-05 Fakie only emphasised a matter, far less damning than an adverse opinion. But the situation had deteriorated with Fakie qualifying his latest opinion.

Fakie found that in some cases the existence of departmental assets could not be verified; “the lack of a proper management framework for performing independent checks and reconciliation meant that the Basic Accounting System and the salary payment system was never reconciled; and that the R2,2bn in capital expenditure commitments indicated was completely unreliable”.

About R55m was spent outside the purpose for which it was appropriated without national treasury approval, and was classified as irregular expenditure.

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They are too corrupt for us to deal with

At least some are still trying to do their jobs. Political interference is hampering the work of the so-called Blue Scorpions, the department of water affairs’ unit tasked with clamping down on illegal bulk water use in South Africa.

Briefing Parliament’s water affairs and forestry portfolio committee on Wednesday, the compliance, monitoring and enforcement unit’s head, Nigel Adams, said one of the politicians involved -- whom he did not name -- saw himself as “untouchable”.

He told MPs his unit’s national office was currently dealing with 500 major cases of illegal water usage, and there were others being dealt with at provincial level.

The Blue Scorpions are responsible for stopping the illegal abstraction of water from South Africa’s rivers, dams and aquifers by landowners and others. Much of their monitoring is done by means of aerial surveillance, by satellite, aeroplane or helicopter.

“In the Western Cape, we've got about 20 cases that I'm investigating... We use the (police’s) organised crime unit to assist us. People are using their influence. They even approached our minister (Lindiwe Hendricks). They even bring members of Parliament to meetings.”

Adams said many land owners and farmers, when confronted about their illegal water use, turned to high-ranking officials and MPs for help, but vowed this would not deter his unit. “What we say is, if you overstep the law, we'll go the full route.”

According to a document distributed by Adams at the meeting, his unit is investigating 20 cases of illegal borehole and dam construction in the Berg, Olifants and Doring water management area of the province.

He also referred to a “very sensitive” case in Mpumalanga. “We're busy with verification and validation. There’s a very sensitive case... where, also, a highly (placed) politician is involved, and he even tore up our directive (issued by the unit to a land owner, and directing them to cease their illegal water-use). The police are scared of him; he says he’s untouchable. I will show him who can be touched,” Adams said, drawing laughs from committee members.

Later in the briefing, responding to questions from members, he defined political interference as “where politicians influence... the outcome of the case”. He did not elaborate any further, and did not name any of the politicians he said were involved.

Adams also referred to corrupt officials within the department, who were involved in, or condoned, illegal water use, saying this extended “from the highest to the lowest”.
He cited cases from the Free State.

“We've got 32 irrigators (on the province’s Sand and Vet rivers) cultivating (illegally) on state land. I'm still busy with the investigation where... we've even got department of water affairs officials who we inspect are involved. Our workers get low salaries, and are open to bribery.”

Adams said his unit was very small, and focused on “over-extreme cases” only. Among its
difficulties were a lack of legal experts, not enough funds, and a lack of awareness among water users that their abstraction of water had to be licensed.

He briefed members on some of his unit’s recent activities, which included the demolition of illegally-built dams, and the capping of illegally-drilled boreholes.

There had been a significant increase in unlawful water use in South Africa recently, and, Adams warned, his unit would be “very fierce and hard” when it struck at offenders.

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