Water Resources Bill: Introduction to Bill continued

Meeting report

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY

10 FEBRUARY 1998

WATER RESOURCES BILL: INTRODUCTION TO BILL CONTINUED

The meeting was a continuation of the meeting from the 9 February. It started with Ms. Stein from the Water Affairs Department briefing the committee on the links between the constitution and the bill. The bill did not aim to repeat the constitution with broad statements, rather it tried to flesh out the constitution. The broad principles in the constitution were echoed throughout the bill. There were also specific rights from the constitution that were incorporated in the Bill. The right to administrative justice (giving all the opportunity to be heard and access to decision-makers), the right to access to water and to property rights were all mentioned.

At this point the Minister needed to leave the meeting, and stated that he would leave his officials to answer questions. He added that the Bill was a unit, not so much a collection of parts. He re-iterated that Water management was a complex issue, and requested that the members take some time to study the Bill closely.

The rest of the meeting was taken up by the committee going through the Bill chapter by chapter and asking clarifying questions of the department officials in order to aid further study. The chair invited the press and members of the public to raise their hands if they had questions, and she would take them if there was time.

Once the clarifying question had been taken, the chair outlined the process in which the Bill would proceed. For the next month the committee would not meet on this issue, and members and parties would take this time to study the bill individually and in their respective study groups. Written submissions were being asked for from the public, to be received by the 13 March. Requests to supplement these submissions with an oral hearing must be made through the committee section by the same day. The hearings and further deliberations on the Bill would take place on 16^th and 17^th March.