TRYNESS MBALE, Lusaka
THE Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) says the implementation of the new water law by Government will worsen the already high cost of agricultural production in the country.
Currently, the Water Resources Management Act Number 12 of 2011 is under enforcement. Under the Act, persons intending to get permits for water use are required to pay statutory fees and can only be granted with consultation from the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA), among other issues.
Through the Act, WRMA was established whose functions include the identification, preservation and protection of potential and already existing sources of fresh water and the environment in general.
This came to light when ZNFU held a consultative meeting with a technical team from the German Technical Aid for Zambia (GIZ) recently.
“ZNFU has expressed concern over a number of provisions in the Water Resources Management Act number 12 of 2011 which is currently under enforcement.
“There is a strong need to rethink the provisions on easement rights, statutory fees, permits and licences which have a high potential of worsening the already high cost of agricultural production in Zambia,” it says.
The union says current provisions in the Act have the potential to choke the private sector investment in agriculture, particularly in irrigation.
ZNFU says there is need for an explicit outline of rights, duties and obligations for the water users as the first level of addressing water-use conflicts to help strengthen the mandate of the prospective water users associations.
“We are calling on WRMA to improve its communication and information flow to water users as a matter of urgency and for convenience,” the union says.