Common agreement through joint policy process

Decentralisation of the water services function caused a conflict of interests between the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on the one hand and local government on the other. Whilst constitutionally this function had to be transferred to local government, the manner in which it was to be done was a source of disagreement. A joint policy process was adopted as a mechanism to come to a common agreement on all the key issues related to the transfer of the assets, staff and budget, and on the principles to guide the process.

This process was highly consultative and provided local government with a forum to raise their concerns about taking transfer as well as concerns about sustainability issues seriously. The result of the policy process was a framework for transfer where sufficient mechanisms and funds were put in place to support the process so that transfer could achieve sustainable service provision by the local institutions.

Lessons learnt

Key lessons from the process include:

• Transfer is a complicated process with involves detailed negotiations between national and local government over staff, assets, finances and the timeframe within which the process needs to take place.
• A framework is needed to guide the process. A policy which is jointly developed between the key stakeholders can provide an appropriate framework for putting the necessary support, finances and timeframes in place.
• Since transfer involves often contentious decisions, it is critical that the key parties to the transfer process reach overall agreement at the national level on the principles to guide transfer and the overall framework for support rather than each municipality negotiating these policy level issues individually with the national department.
• A collaborative process is needed to reach a joint policy if the policy is to be accepted by all parties and successfully implemented. The policy cannot be seen as the policy of the national department, protecting the interests of that department.
• Details of subsidies and grants that will be available to support the transfer process should be addressed as part of the policy process. The subsidies and grants that individual municipalities would receive can then be negotiated at the municipal level within the parameters of the available subsidies and grants.
• The national department should endeavour wherever possible to support municipalities through the transfer process with the key objective of ensuring a sustainable outcome.