JOHANNESBURG - The Water and Sanitation Department's draft regulations on the requirements for water use Licence Applications will devastate the agricultural sector.
According to the regulations, certain enterprises applying for licenses will be required to allocate shares of up to 75 percent to black South Africans in order for the licenses to be granted.
Stakeholders in the sector say while there are no issues with transformation, the extreme requirement will disrupt all of the value chains in the sector.
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Annelize Crosby from the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa says the regulations are not aligned with the constitution and may impact production and the export market.
"Our agricultural sector has been a key driver of economic growth over the past few years during Covid and also thereafter and also the export part of it is of course contributing greatly to our GDP," she said.
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