Business Case forthe Pongola-Umzimkulu Catchment Management ...

Business Case for the Pongola-Umzimkulu Catchment Management Agency
• Ensure that CMA contributes to the achievement of national development objectives
and the strategic objectives of DWA;
• Provide financial management oversight on the CMA
• Review and monitor the CMA’s performance and service delivery objectives.
• Review the performance of the CEO and senior management.
• Ensure effective stakeholder participation.
• Ensure internal systems and controls that will ensure effective decision making
within the CMA.
10.3 Board membership
The National Water Act sets out certain provisions regarding the membership of the
governing board of a CMA:
S81(1) states that: “The members of a governing board of a catchment management agency
must be appointed by the Minister who, in making such appointment, must do so with the
object of achieving a balance among the interests of water users, potential water users,
local and provincial government and environmental interest groups.”
Two issues need to be addressed in the appointment of the new Board the first of these is
the appropriate size of the Board. The DWA guideline is that the Board should consist of
between 9 and 14 members.
The second issue is appropriate critical skills required for exercising proper fiduciary
responsibility. This is a critical matter to address to ensure the board is able to carry out its
fiduciary responsibilities appropriately.
It is therefore recommended that the advisory committee, in considering the membership
of the Board, should take into account:
• The DWA guideline on the proposed size of the Board and the intention to appoint a
small and efficient Board; and
• The need to have specific legal, financial and human resources skills represented on
the Board, in addition to the “object of achieving a balance among the interests of
water users, potential water users, local and provincial government and
environmental interest groups”.
10.4 Process for appointment of board
The process set out in the National Water Act for the appointment of the Board is that the
Minister must establish an advisory committee to advise her on “which organs of state and
bodies representing different sectors and other interests within the water management
area of the catchment management agency should be represented or reflected on the
governing board; and the number of persons which each of them should be invited to
nominate”.
The Minister may also then appoint additional members selected by herself in order to-
(a) Represent or reflect the interests identified by the advisory committee;
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