Stakeholders

Due to the history, scale and nature of the project effective stakeholder management is critical to its success. The stakeholders that have an interest or are affected by this project, and therefore should be involved in the study, identified as listed below. The stakeholders are grouped as internal and external stakeholders.

• DWS Head Office (the Client)
• DWS Free State Regional Office (who also act as the proto-CMA representatives)
• Vaal Central Water Board (previously Bloem Water)
• Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality

• Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA)
• Free State Provincial Departments of:

  - Premier’s Office

  - Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs

  - Department of Police, Roads and Transport

  - Public Works and Infrastructure

• Local and District municipalities through which the pipeline may run:

  - Dihlabeng Local Municipality

  - Kopanong Local Municipality

  - Mantsopa Local Municipality

  - Masilonyana Local Municipality

  - Matjhabeng Local Municipality

  - Mohokare Local Municipality

  - Nala Local Municipality

  - Setsoto Local Municipality

  - Tswelopele Local Municipality

  - Xhariep District Municipality

• South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd
• Eskom
• South African Local Government Association (SALGA)
• Water User Associations
• South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA)
• University of Free State
• Central University of Technology
• Other communities

Engagement with these stakeholders included participation in the Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings (four meetings are scheduled over the study duration). The participation of these stakeholders is not limited to the PSC meetings, and where necessary the stakeholders were engaged outside of the PSC meetings. The PSC is a separate engagement platform to the public participation that is required by the environmental authorisation process.

Project Governance

The Study Management Committee (SMC) is responsible for the management of the study, issuing of instructions, approvals and provision of information on behalf of DWS. This committee is made up of the DWS Project Manager, the PSP Study Leader and other nominated members. The SMC occasionally is extended to included other PSP specialists and other stakeholders where appropriate. Meetings are held monthly, with critical milestone meetings held in-person.

The Project Steering Committee (PSC) was established to provide strategic direction and guidance, provide technical input and support, represent stakeholder bodies, and provide feedback. The committee is made up of both the Internal and External stakeholders. Four meetings were held over the duration of the study.

Figure 4 shows the project governance structure and how the PSC and the SMC relate to each other and the government structures for the study.