**WATER CRISIS: ** In a climate of escalating water scarcity, the real question looms: how can meaningful consultation redefine our approach to resource management?
Image: Supplied
As a Communicator in the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), I have attended many meetings, but the recent consultations on the proposed 2027/28 Raw Water Use Charges left me thinking about the real meaning of consultation.
Yes, DWS is required to consult water users in terms of the legislative and policy framework governing water pricing, including the National Water Act, 1998, the Public Finance Management Act and the Raw Water Pricing Strategy. But as I sat through the discussions, I found myself thinking that consultation should never become simply a matter of ticking a box because the law requires it.
For me, consultation is meaningful when people feel that they have been given an opportunity to speak, to question, to disagree and to be heard.
I was privileged to cover the sector-specific consultation in Pretoria and the National Consultation Meeting in Johannesburg in August 2026. Prior to that, colleagues across DWS had been covering consultations taking place in their respective provinces, bringing the process to stakeholders in different parts of the country.
What struck me most was the range of stakeholders who came together around one important resource: water.
Representatives from the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, Sasol, Rand Water, uMngeni-uThukela Water, Forestry South Africa, the Crocodile River Irrigation Board, the South African Association for Water User Associations, among others, participated in the national engagement.
While the sector-specific consultation gave water users an opportunity to interrogate the proposed charges and provide direct input, the national consultation provided an opportunity for the Department to present the outcomes of those engagements and provide feedback on the economic analysis. The Department also presented the final proposed charges for raw water use that will be sent to the Minister of Water and Sanitation.
Of course, consultation does not mean that everyone will agree. In fact, I believe disagreement is part of what makes consultation valuable. If everyone around the table had the same view, there would be little reason to have the conversation in the first place.
What matters is having a platform where different views can be expressed and considered.
This experience made me appreciate something I sometimes take for granted in my work as a communicator: listening is just as important as speaking.
We often focus on communicating information - explaining what government is doing and why. But communication is not a one-way street. It is also about creating opportunities for people to communicate back.
That is where I believe collaboration becomes important.
Sustainable water management requires government and water users to recognise that they are part of the same conversation. Farmers, municipalities, industries, mining companies, water utilities and other stakeholders may have different interests, but they all have a stake in how South Africa manages its scarce water resources.
The consultations reminded me that legislation can require a process, but it is the quality of the engagement that gives that process meaning.
As a DWS employee, I found that encouraging.
The proposed Raw Water Use Charges for 2027/28 financial year will now move to the next stage, with the recommended charges to be submitted to the Minister for consideration and approval. Whatever the outcome, I believe the opportunity to engage, listen and exchange views has been an important part of the journey.
As I reflected on the consultations, one thought stayed with me: being required to consult is about following the law; choosing to listen is about understanding the people affected by the decision.
For me, that is where meaningful consultation begins.
And if there is one thing I took away from these engagements, it is that sustainable water management cannot be achieved through one voice. It requires a conversation — and, most importantly, a willingness to listen to one another.
Nthabiseng Dhlamini is a Communicator at the National Department of Water & Sanitation.
