NAME: FARAI TALENT SMOKO

REG NUMBER: R1912942A

MODULE: GES 410

QTN: WATER ACT (1976 AND 1998), USER PAYS PRINCIPLE AND
POLLUTER PAYS PRINCIPLE
Summary
The Water Act of 1976 prevailed before the 1998 Water Act. The 1976 Water Act provided for
the planning of the optimum development development and utilization of the water resources in
Zimbabwe. It called for people, institutions and companies to obtain water rights for the purposes
of commercial use of water. It was mainly aimed at protecting the interests of commercial
farmers in Zimbabwe. Weaknesses of the 1976 Water Act such as the centralization of the
issuance of water rights, little consideration to water quality and issues relating to the
environment and the little consideration to ground water supplies led to the enactment of the
1998 Water Act after a series of amendments. The 1998 Water Act unlike the 1976 Water Act
provided for the control and use of water when it is in short and provided for the establishment of
catchment and sub catchment councils. Parastatals such as ZINWA were formed for the effective
and sustainable management of water resources in the country. The User Pays Principle called
for all water users to pay water levies and taxes to ZINWA. The more you consume, the higher
the tariffs and vice versa. The Polluter Pays Principle calls for anyone who pollutes, degrades or
disturbs the environment to pay for the full cost of remediation. As such polluters of water were
issued with environmental penalties . The plays a pivotal and significant role in the protection and
management of water resources as it subsequently results in decreased number of environmental
polluters.