Draconian water regulations actually cunning expropriation plan
2 October 2023
The proposed new Regulations Relating to Access and Use of Government Waterworks and Surrounding State-owned Land for Recreational that were recently presented by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for public comment is a cunning plan to achieve the expropriation of water rights, AfriForum said today. In its presentation, the civil rights organisation will strongly object to the proposed regulations as they not only trample on recreational water users’ established rights, but also amount to a gross overreach of government power.
The proposed measures threaten the existing rights of landowners, businesses, sports clubs and tourism operators that currently enjoy lawful access to dams across South Africa that are owned and managed by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), such as the Vaal Dam.
AfriForum’s key concerns with the recreational water use regulations include:
Erosion of public rights: The proposed regulations blatantly undermine the public’s existing right to use water for recreational activities, entrenched in the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) (NWA), which effectively amounts to an expropriation of existing lawful rights.