National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)Chapter 2 : Water Management StrategiesPart 1 : National water resource strategy5. Establishment of national water resource strategy |
| (1) | Subject to subsection (4), the Minister must, as soon as reasonably practicable, by notice in the Gazette, establish a national water resource strategy. |
| (2) | The notice must state the address where the strategy may be inspected. |
| (3) | The water resources of the Republic must be protected, used, developed, conserved, managed, and controlled in accordance with the national water resource strategy. |
| (4) | A national water resource strategy— |
| (a) | may be established in a phased and progressive manner and in separate components over time; and |
| (b) | must be reviewed at intervals of not more than five years. |
| (5) | Before establishing a national water resource strategy or any component of that strategy in terms of subsection (1), the Minister must-- |
| (a) | publish a notice in the Gazette— |
| (i) | setting out a summary of the proposed strategy or the component in question; |
| (ii) | stating the address where the proposed strategy or the component in question is available for inspection; and |
| (iii) | inviting written comments to be submitted on the proposed strategy or the component in question, specifying an address to which and a date 5 before which comments must be submitted, which date may not be earlier than 90 days after publication of the notice; |
| (b) | consider what further steps, if any, are appropriate to bring the contents of the notice to the attention of interested persons, and take those steps which the Minister considers to be appropriate; and |
| (c) | consider all comments received on or before the date specified in paragraph (a)(iii). |