In order to complete the application procedure for water-use licences within 90 days, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is working around the clock.
The government’s plans to improve the delivery of economic reforms through Operation Vulindlela, which is intended to speed up service delivery across many sectors of society, include the new turnaround time, which was previously 300 days.
As part of an initiative by the Presidency and National Treasury, Operation Vulindlela has been providing technical support to the department to successfully implement a plan for the granting of water-use licences within the condensed timeframes, according to the department’s deputy director-general in charge of compliance, monitoring, and evaluation, Xolani Zwane.
“The department was able to finalise 613 out of the 971 water-use licence applications in the 2021/22 financial year, which is between April 2021 and March 2022, which represents a partial achievement of 63 percent.
“The department overachieved in Quarter 1 of the current financial year (April to June 2022) by finalising 150 applications as opposed to the intended 113, and as a result, work has started on the targeted applications for Quarter 2.” (July to September).
Out of a target 252 applications, 37 have already been finalised, according to Zwane.
Clearing the backlog of water use authorizations
The removal of water-use authorisation backlogs is ongoing, according to Zwane, in order to satisfy the 90-day turnaround requirement.
He said that coordinated efforts to reduce backlogs by 30 June 2022 had been successful, but he also acknowledged that the original target of 100% hadn’t been reached.
“Of the 998 authorised water-use authorizations, a total of 812 were completed by June 30, 2022.
We currently have 138 backlogs that need to be resolved, and we intend to do so by the end of this month, according to Zwane.
Zwane said that the department has carried out a diagnostic analysis into the issues causing delays in water-use authorisation and advised steps to increase efficiency in an effort to reduce backlogs more quickly.
“In general, the efficiency-improving interventions centre on the creation of water authorisation units at the department’s provincial offices and staffing them with the necessary number of people who have the necessary capabilities.
Other measures include, among others, updating the templates for water usage licences, which entails minimising changes and enhancing applicants’ compliance with conditions.
The process of minimising system downtime and fixing connection issues related to the online portal have also been undertaken, according to Zwane.
These issues frequently cause delays in the submission and processing of water-use licence applications.
In addition, the DDG acknowledged that the procedure was still in the early stages and urged applicants to exercise patience while the agency made every effort to complete the applications and clear the backlog.
“We have established a procedure wherein applicants will get letters via the Electronic Water Use Licence Application and Authorisation System (e-WULAAS) to inform them of the status of their application.
During the 90-day process, these letters are delivered on days 45 and 80.
The department’s website has all of this information, according to Zwane. –