Background

Bushbuckridge Water was established in 1997 in terms of the Water Services Act and is listed under Schedule 3B of the Public Finance Management Act as a national government business enterprise.

The DWA is one of the main stakeholders and only shareholder of Bushbuckridge Water Board. Bushbuckridge Water must align its objectives to DWA’s objectives and aspirations as it is obliged to contribute to the achievement of DWA’s strategic objectives. The DWA has identified broad objectives on which to focus in the medium term. These objectives address the internal and external organisational challenges that are crucial to the execution of the DWA mandate by the Department and the sector.

With regards to water services, the department’s broad objectives are:
 to ensure water resources are allocated so that they promote social and economic development
 to maintain the reliable availability of water in sufficient quantities and of an appropriate quality
 to meet the needs of all consumers and meet international water-sharing agreements
 to ensure that water resources are developed and protected to enable sustainable water availability and use.

Its strategic location in the Mpumalanga province means that Bushbuckridge Water can make a contribution by assisting in the achievement of equity, sustainability and efficiency in supply ofwater and sanitation services. This is tempered by the existing challenges within the organisation which impact on the ability to supply reliable and sufficient water.To contribute to the attainment of DWA’s objectives, Bushbuckridge Water needs to address certain challenges in its operations.

All water boards in South Africa are expected by DWA to take action to contribute to the achievement of the department’s stated objectives. Some areas within the water supply area are underserviced, or not serviced at all, while other areas are adequately serviced. It is in these underserviced and un-serviced areas that Bushbuckridge Water needs to dedicate its scarce resources to ensure that the service backlogs are addressed. At the same time, the Water board must ensure that it keeps its current customers satisfied by providing an optimal service to them.

The restricted availability of raw water licenses has the potential to negatively impact future business expansion in the area of supply and therefore hamper efforts to achieve DWA’s objectives of equity, sustainability and efficiency in water supply.