Ex-DA leader caught in water dispute
Department probes farmer complaint
FORMER Western Cape Health MEC and DA leader Theuns Botha, and three others are being investigated for alleged water theft of about 40 000 litres a day from a Riversdale resident in the Southern Cape.
Stephen Pain reported Botha and three other landowners to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) more than a year ago and said the department was “dragging its heels”.
Pain alleged the neighbouring landowners were extracting water from a stream, the Huisrivier, that runs through his farm in terms of his National Water Act (NWA) water use licence, which was for exclusive use on his property.
He said the neighbours were Botha, Botha’s brother Willem Botha and a Namibian couple.
Pain also alleged that Theuns Botha sold water rights to the couple despite the three properties having another water source, the Kruisrivier, crossing through their properties.
DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau confirmed they were investigating and said the matter was initially referred to the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA) as it fell within their jurisdiction.
“As you correctly put it the matter was not resolved and the DWS Western Cape office is in touch with Mr Pain with the intention to meet and resolve the matter. My understanding is that the meeting was planned but Mr Pain has agreed with our director responsible for regulation Boniswa Hene that he will share more information so that once the meeting is agreed upon she will also be on the same page.
“The DWS intends to resolve the matter but has to work together with the BGCMA as well as other affected parties from the area,” said Ratau.
When the Cape Times contacted Theuns Botha, he said that he was not aware of any complaints against him.
“All I can say is that the rights that we have are over 100 years old and it is a complex matter that you would have to come down and sit with us so we can explain it to you. There was an arbitration order by the Western Cape High Court and Pain himself was not the owner of the water, which derives from another property,” Theuns Botha said.
He said that his water was received legally, and any complaints must be dealt with through the proper channels.
Over several years, Pain claimed that he had been subjected to Theuns Botha and his workers entering his property without consent to check the water connection and pipelines.
“He and his people would enter my property without as much as a courtesy call, so on research on this water connection, I discovered that it contravenes the NWA and the Water Act (1956) and the Irrigation Act (1912). Since I bought the property there had never been any water licence for this water diversion presented and finding myself now in the midst of an illegal water sourcing system, I turned off the water,” he said.
Pain said Theuns Botha and the other landowners were granted an interim order to reopen the water system, arguing that several households and their livestock were dependent on it.
The BGCMA was unable to comment yesterday.
Hessequa municipal manager Johan Jacobs said that the properties in the region of the Huisrivier were privately owned properties and their water rights were the jurisdiction of the DWS.