New dam regulations may devastate small businesses, local communities

Facilities at the Anchor Creek Resort are seen as the high levels of water at the Vaal Dam encroach onto the property, 5 January 2022. Five sluice gates are currently open following consistent heavy rains over the past few weeks in catchments supporting the Integrated Vaal River System and Orange River. Picture: Michel Bega Proposed changes to how state-owned dams are managed have sparked fierce pushback from small business owners, property investors, opposition politicians, and waterfront communities, who warn that the regulations could unravel livelihoods built around free public access to water.

Across South Africa’s major dams, entire local economies have taken root around recreational water access, and those who depend on them say the proposed government regulations could pull the rug out from under everything they have built. Among the dams which could be affected are Gariep Dam, Vaal Dam,Hartbeespoort Dam, Theewaterskloof Dam, Loskop Dam, Sterkfontein Dam and Pongolapoort Dam. Chas Everitt International CEO Berry Everitt describes a web of small enterprises whose survival hinges on unimpeded access to state water.

“If you think about everything from the little restaurants to the guys who maybe hire out boats or fishing equipment, or take people out fishing on the big dams, or take people on hikes around the dams – there are lots of tiny enterprises that depend for a living, and communities depend for a living, on having free access to this water,” he says. He warns that the damage would not stop at the waterline. “Any restrictions could not only affect property values but have a negative ripple effect on entire local economies by reducing the demand for the services they provide, including hospitality, boating, angling, camping and retail,” Everitt says.

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Bianca Botes, who loves to fish, slated the proposed regulations. “If you get a fishing licence, then you already have a permit to fish,” she said. Botes said it wasn’t just those who like to fish who would be affected, but also fishing clubs, shops, and people who had bought land, leaving them with uncertainty.

“There are a lot of anglers in Oranjeville in the Free State. It’s a fishing town. People there are already suffering. There are a lot of fishing shops that are going to go under, especially the fishing villages next to the dam,” she said.

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