An independent report into water challenges facing communities in Limpopo that rely on the Middle Letaba Dam (N’waManungu Dam) has found that more than 75% of the water in the area is gobbled up by commercial farmers — a situation it said amounts to a human rights violation for large parts of society struggling to get water.
The report was made public on Wednesday, a year after the panel, chaired by retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, concluded its work. One of the panel’s main findings is that there is a proliferation of dams, some registered and others not, which disrupt natural water flows.
The communities affected in the study area are predominantly from the three Limpopo district municipalities, Mopani, Vhembe, and Capricorn, with further emphasis on the local municipalities: Greater Letaba, Greater Giyani, Greater Tzaneen, Collins Chabane, Makhado, and some portions of Molemole and Polokwane.
Nearly 3-million people live in the area, with the panel calling on the department to use lawful means to promote the transformation of access to water resources. The recommendation could require a process by the government to reallocate the water resources.
The panel says it could be done by restricting or limiting the use of water or requiring compulsory licensing accompanied by necessary curtailment to meet the objectives of the water legislation.
“The status quo also directly violates the rights of historically disadvantaged communities, who could benefit from the water resources in the study area,” the report reads. “The panel site investigations have indicated that over 75% of the water in this area is being used for commercial plantations and commercial agriculture by a minority of the population in the area.
“This situation, which currently violates the constitution, requires the department to undertake to implement steps to remedy the situation.”
The department is constitutionally obliged to ensure that the rights of all persons in the area of study are protected, promoted, and fulfilled, says the report.
“A situation where water users upstream of the dam can carry out flourishing commercial activities, while mostly historically disadvantaged individuals downstream are unable to meet basic human water needs, is unconstitutional.”
There are about 25 schools in the study area and 201 healthcare facilities, from hospitals, health centres and clinics to community home-based care for the elderly.
One of the immediate measures the panel has recommended is an approach to farmers upstream to consider releasing some of their allocation for downstream supply.
The report flagged ZZ2, which has shown some willingness to discuss this aspect with the department.
The ZZ2 group of companies is owned by the Van Zyl family, who started their farming operations more than a hundred years ago. ZZ2 farms mainly in the Limpopo, where its sought-after tomatoes and avocados are cultivated.
ZZ2 did not respond to a request for comment.
The panel also called out the huge vacancies in the department of water, saying it is limiting its ability to enforce the country’s water regulations.
The panel further noted that water allocation in the area resembles that of the apartheid dispensation:
“The relationship between water and land access and the economic muscle that was created through the apartheid system … prioritised the white population and placed them in areas with the highest agricultural potential and yield favoured by the climate, water and land fertility.”
The investigation followed scores of complaints from members of the community regarding inadequate and inequitable water access in the subcatchment.
One of the issues that the panel had to grapple with was the reason for the dam struggling to fill up ― a state it last achieved in March after 26 years. The panel finds one of the reasons is that the dam was overdesigned, among other issues.
The panel also recommends that all water use licence applications in water-stressed areas and areas experiencing water shortages should receive heightened scrutiny and assessment and, in the long term, that compulsory licensing to be implemented as the “most appropriate long-term pathway to a solution in terms of enabling equitable access to water”.
The department said it will release a statement soon in response to the panel’s findings and recommendations.
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