The National Water Act, 1998 (Act no. 36 of 1998) has provided for fundamental reform of the law relating to the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water resources on the basis of equity and sustainability as central guiding principles. These guiding principles also recognise the need to promote social and economic development through the use of water and the need to establish suitable water management institutions in order to achieve the purpose of the Act.

The Act also provides the broad policy framework for measures to finance the provision of water resource management services and the development of water resources, as well as financial and economic measures to support the implementation of strategies aimed at water resource protection, conservation and the beneficial use of water.

This document provides a strategy for implementing the pricing of the use of raw water within the mentioned policy framework. It is the result of a wide consultation process as prescribed in the Act. Interested parties contributed to the final form of this document through their comments, which were duly considered and the essence of which was incorporated into the document where value was added.

This raw water pricing strategy has been designed by South Africans for South African conditions, recognising that water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource. I am satisfied that the measures adopted will result in equitable treatment of all sectoral interests, while promoting efficiency, and will also redress the imbalances in access to water as a result of past laws.

Ronald Kasrils, MP

Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry