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STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES REVIEW OF THE WATER AUTHORITY OF FIJI ANNUAL REPORT 2016 PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI Parliamentary Paper No.
65 of 2020 February, 2021 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Published and Printed by the Department of Legislature, Parliament House, SUVA Table of Contents CHAIRPERSON’S FOREWORD ............................................................................................................ 3 LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................ 5 RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................................................................. 6 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.0 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ......................................................................................................... 7 3.0 THE WATER AUTHORITY OF FIJI (WAF) .................................................................................. 8 4.0 MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS .......................................................................... 9 5.0 COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 17 6.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS .................................................................................. .18 6.1 GENDER EQUALITY ANALYSIS – SDG 5 ........................................................................... 18 6.2 CLEAN AND WATER SANITATION – SDG 6 ...................................................................... 18 7.0 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 18 8.0 COMMITTEE MEMBERS SIGNATURE ..................................................................................... 19 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 20 2 CHAIRPERSON’S FOREWORD I am pleased to present the Committee review report on the Water Authority of Fiji 2016 Annual Report.
The Water Authority of Fiji is a Commercial Statutory Authority that was formed by the Government of Fiji under the WAF Promulgation 2007, in order to provide environmentally sound, sustainable, efficient and effective water and waste water services.

The committee noted that in 2016, the Water Authority of Fiji revised its vision and mission statements and logo line to include sanitation.
The Committee, in its initial deliberations focused on the overall operations of the Authority including the Authority’s functions and strategic objectives for 2016.

It was noted that in 2016, WAF marked some major highlights and achievements even through challenges such as the impact of tropical cyclone Winston which left a path of destruction.

However, the Authority’s concern was to keep clean, fresh water supplied to as many people as possible.
The Government’s 20 Year National Development Plan, 2017 – 2036 clearly defines the Water Authority’s alignment to the national targets and that is to ensure that “Every Fijian has a right to clean and safe water in adequate quantities.
For the urban areas, 100 percent access to clean and safe water will be realized by 2021 and for the rural and maritime areas by 2030.” It was noted that although the impact of the disastrous event continued to echo throughout the year, the Authority had to return to normal to carry out the planned projects assigned for 2016.

The Committee wishes to commend the Authority on the Geographic Information System, GIS.
The Unit was setup in 2012 and is responsible for capturing all WAF assets as a reference point.

The Unit has developed recently to new height in the capturing of all the WAF assets in the 3 divisions as respective to its water systems.

Likewise, with the increasing demands of water around the country and especially in western division where resorts and hotels are been constructed exponentially, technologies such as SCADA automation must be adapted to properly manage this system.
Customer demand has also shifted whereby expectations to faster turnaround times, instant replacements and quick solutions are needed.

To create a quicker response time, WAF had some technologically advanced system in place to help guide the staff for faster reaction.

The Standing Committee on Natural Resources has conducted the review of the Water Authority of Fiji 2016 Annual Report and recommends that Parliament takes note of the recommendations highlighted in the committee’s report.
3 Last but not the least, I wish to extend my appreciation to all the Honourable Members of the Committee who were part of the successful compilation of this bipartisan report namely Hon.

Jale Sigarara, Hon.

Alex O Connor, Hon.

Mitieli Bulanauca, Hon.

Peceli Vosanibola and Hon.

Jese Saukuru(Opposition Alternate member).

On behalf of the Committee, I also extend my appreciation to the Secretariat Staff for their timely support in the compilation and preparation of this report.
------------------------- Hon.

Sanjay Kirpal Chairperson.
4 LIST OF ACRONYMS ADB AC pipes CAPEX CDM CRFG FRA FOG GCF GHG GIS HASAWA ITEC JICA KECO KOICA LMCC LTW NASRUP NEC NDP NRW OHS OPEX PPM PRV PSIP PWWA SCADA SDG SWOT analysis TC Winston WAF Asian Development Bank Air Conditioning pipes Capital Expenditure Clean Development Mechanism China Railway First Group Fiji Roads Authority Fats, Oil and Grease Green Climate Fund Greenhouse Gas Geographical Information System Health and Safety at Work Act India Technical and Economic Cooperation programme Japan International Cooperation Agency Korean Environment Corporation Korea International Cooperation Agency Labour Management Consultation Committee Liquid Trade Waste Nadi and Suva Road Upgrading Project National Employment Centre National Development Plan Non-Revenue Water Occupational Health and Safety Operational Expenditure Parts Per Million Pressure Reducing Valve Public Sector Investment Programme Pacific Water and Wastewater Association Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Sustainable Development Goals Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats analysis Tropical Cyclone Winston Water Authority of Fiji 5 RECOMMENDATION The Standing Committee on Natural Resources has conducted a review of the Water Authority of Fiji Annual Report 2016 and recommends that Parliament take note of its report.
1.0 INTRODUCTION The Water Authority of Fiji 2016 Annual Report was referred to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources on Friday 29th May, 2020 during the sitting of parliament and referred to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources for scrutiny.
The committee proceeded with its mandatory function legislated under Standing Order 109(2) (c) which allows the Standing Committee on Natural Resources to examine matters related to forestry, agriculture, mining, environment, fisheries, water and marine services.
Standing Orders 110(1)(c) further authorizes the Standing Committee to scrutinize the government departments with responsibility within the committee's subject area, including by investigating, inquiring into, and making recommendations relating to any aspect of such a department's administration, legislative program, budget, rationalization, restructuring, functioning, organization, structure and policy formulation.
legislation or proposed A standing committee must report to parliament any other matter referred to or initiated by the committee, as soon as it has completed its considerations and deliberations as stipulated under SO 121 (1) (b).

The members proceeded with its deliberations on the WAF’s 2016 annual report and collected written evidences from the Authority.
Evidence collected were the written responses from the Senior Officials of Water Authority, in response to the written questions put forth by the committee members.

Pertinent questions on issues relating to the operations of the Authority in 2016 were raised by the committee members which were then collated as committee findings to be presented to parliament for enactment.

6 2.0 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP The substantive and alternate members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources are as follows: Hon.
Sanjay Kirpal Chairperson Hon.

Jale Sigarara Deputy Chairperson Hon.

Mitieli Bulanauca Opposition Member Hon.

Alexander O’Connor Government Member Hon.

Peceli Vosanibola Opposition Member Hon.
Jese Saukuru Alternate Opposition Member 7 3.0 THE WATER AUTHORITY OF FIJI (WAF) The Committee took note of the WAF’s Vision and Mission as highlighted below: Vision “Providing sustainable quality water through service excellence” Mission “As the national provider of water and wastewater services, WAF is committed to improving the quality of life by:  Innovation  Modernization  Operating effectively and efficiently  Being economically viable  Being responsive to stakeholders  Being environmentally focused” The Water Authority of Fiji is a Commercial Statutory Authority that was formed by the Government of Fiji, under the WAF Promulgation 2007, in order to provide environmentally sound, sustainable, efficient and effective water and wastewater services.
The Chairman and the five other members of the WAF Board of Directors are appointed by the Minister responsible for Public Utilities in consultation with the Minister responsible for Public Enterprises and the Minister responsible for Economy.
WAF is responsible for providing access to quality drinking water and wastewater services to over 147,000 residential and non-residential metered customers, reaching over 735,000 people nationwide, with an area of operation that covers 18,274 square kilometers with a water and wastewater network of more than 4,200 kilometers of pipes.

WAF Strategic Objectives for 2014-2016: 1.

Providing consistent water supply 24/7 to all customers 2.

Effective planning and project management 3.


Safe drinking water and wastewater systems 4.

Improve rural services 5.

Sustainable and efficient service delivery 6.

Building personnel capacity 7.

Increase services coverage 8 4.0 MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS  The committee noted some of WAF’s achievements in 2016 as highlighted in its annual report.
Some of the major achievements of the Authority is listed below: One of the achievements highlighted was WAF’s continuous effort in promoting water conservation awareness in communities, homes and schools, the Authority runs the Water Champions Programme during the school holidays with secondary school students.
The objective of the programme was to create awareness to school children of how water is sourced, treated and distributed to customers through site visits and presentations by respective staff members.

This programme also provides an opportunity for students to explore career options prior to undertaking the final year of study at school.

In future this programme will also be extended to the Western and Northern divisions.
 In 2016, Fiji was the first Pacific Island country to receive a grant from the Green Climate Fund, in particular, to finance the climate adaptation measures of the Rewa River Water Supply Scheme.

Due to its immense scope, the two-phased $222m project was financed by the Asian Development Bank ($67.7m), the Green Climate Fund ($31m), the Fiji Government, and other sources.

 The Water Authority of Fiji adopted “Clean Development Mechanism” (CDM) technology at the Kinoya Sewage Treatment Plant.
This involves capturing and destroying methane emissions generated from decomposing organic sludge at the wastewater facility.

Methane is a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and has 25 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide (CO2).

By recovering and destroying methane, the project leads to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation.
Being the first methane capture and combustion project in the Pacific, it sets an example as a clean technology demonstration model for existing and new wastewater treatment plants in the country and to the other Pacific Island countries.

By the reduction of the computed emissions at 22,000 tonnes, WAF was able to claim $350,000.00 through the Asia Development Bank.
WAF is now working towards using the same concept to start generating electricity and earn more credits through reduction and electricity generation.

This will not only lead to reduction of emissions, it will also aid in reducing the current electricity bills to more than 50% of the current billing costs of the Kinoya Sewerage Treatment plant.

 During the year, WAF replaced approximately 25,200 old domestic meters, and Non- Revenue Water was reduced from 39.6% to 31.6%.
 The Water Champions Programme was successfully launched, to educate sectors of the wider community on the need for, and how to contribute to, water conservation.

9  WAF was allocated a total 2016 budget of $308.6m, being comprised of $229m for Capital works and $79.6m for Operational costs.

All plans and projects were temporarily suspended by WAF due to TC Winston.
Within two days of Cyclone Winston, 14 trucks in the Central/Eastern division had supplied 69,000 customers with 634,000 litres of water, at a cost of more than half a million dollars.
 Following TC Winston, WAF allocated $8.5m for the restoration programme, which included: - Clearing and reinstatement of damaged roads to the water intakes, with proper drainage and gravelling works for major raw water intakes in the region; - Gabion installation works along the collapsed section of access roads to dams; and - Cleaning of blocked culvert crossing along the access roads to raw water intakes, and Rehabilitation works on Varaqe raw water trunk mains, the clearing of blocked access roads to water dams, and cut in works for temporary pump stations after Cyclone Winston.
 Despite the setback to planned activities caused by TC Winston and its aftermath, the Water Operations Department remained responsible for monitoring, maintenance and operations of the Authority’s assets and resources of 55 water treatment plants, which produce 120,000 megacities of water annually.
 Central Region, the existing Central Bulk Supply System consists of 17 Water Sources, 8 Water Treatment Plants, 38 Storage Reservoirs, 6 Booster Pump Stations and 3 Raw Water Pumping Stations to cater for the water needs of the urban and peri-urban population of the Central Division.

The total water production for the Central/Eastern Division is approximately 172.4 ML/d with the NRW level at 39% of the total water produced.
 PPM upgrading works were carried out within the Suva/Nausori Bulk Supply system to upgrade reservoir sites, access roads, to secure our water supply and increase the lifespan of the infrastructure.

 New Infrastructure projects within the central bulk supply system, several projects were outsourced to design and build new infrastructure for WAF and were awarded to China Railway First Group (CRFG).

10  The Lautoka system has nine reservoirs of which two, Kashmir and Buabua, are the bulk reservoirs.
Kashmir reservoir feeds the Tavakubu, Tualesia, Phlugger and DMO reservoirs, whereas Buabua feeds the Qalitu and Vakabuli reservoirs.

 Major burst main repair works were conducted on bulk supply trunk mains in the Nadi/ Lautoka Region.

The Bulk Team carried out a total of six repair works, replacing leaking sections of DN 150 DI short-piece connections with new short-piece connections to washouts and replacing existing leaking washout valves with new PN 25 high pressure standard sluice valves.
 The Labasa Bulk Water Supply Scheme conveys raw water from the three dams to the Benau water treatment plants in Labasa Region.

The core function of the Bulk Water Supply Management section is the overall management of dams, raw water transmissions, water treatment plants, clear water bulk transmissions and all the major water supply systems within the region.
 Successful Project Completion: - Out of 32 projects, 16 were for mains extensions and upgrades in several rural areas as well as within the main urban areas, including high profile projects in the Central Division.

- 6 projects were for bridge pipe relocations under the Rural Scheme.

These improved water sources and water supply reliability for many rural customers.

- 2 projects involved sewerage work, 1 in Kinoya for Sequence Batching Reactor (SBR) and 1 in Mariko for sewer reticulation.
- Under the Capex 9 – Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) Counterpart Projects, three Nadi and Suva Road Upgrading Projects (NASRUP) were successfully supported by WAF and completed under FRA’s intention to carry out Road Widening Projects: - Project Suva Stage 2 A1 covered Laqere to Valelevu located along Kings Road for a population of approximately 1,000 people (150 households).
- Project Suva Stage 2 A2 covered Makoi to the Kalokalo Crescent Junction, located along Kings Road, for a population of approximately 800 people (120 households).

- Project Suva Stage 1 2C covered Wainibokasi roundabout to the Nausori Airport.

11 - 2 large projects saw the successful replacement of AC pipes at the Rewa Reservoir and on Fletcher Road.
The new pipelines brought the existing water pipes up to modern standards to accommodate the community and industrial growth in the Fletcher area and reduce maintenance requirements on deteriorating pipe fittings and valves in the Fletcher Road area and at the Rewa Reservoir.

 WAF was also instrumental in its support to the new Vunisea Sports Complex in Kadavu, involving the laying of PVC pipe from the reservoir to the complex and a 25,000L tank to act as a standby during disruption.
Funded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the project’s completion ensured that a total of 1,000 people and above, including spectators and competitors alike, would benefit from the reliable water supply to the facility.

 Non-Revenue Water - both the Northern and the Central Eastern regions attained 100% of PRV installations, while the Western region achieved 50%, with installation works ongoing.
Data Logger installation works took place, with a total of 65 installations completed in the Central Eastern region, 49 in the Western region and 19 in the Northern region.

Major installations were completed, namely Volanau Reservoir Inlet Flow, Nadi 300AV - Pressure and Korovou Town Flow.
 The Strategic Planning Unit developed a CAPEX Procedures Manual whereby any capital projects to be undertaken in WAF would be put through a Six Gateway Process, from getting necessary approvals from the Project Appraisal Committee to implementation and delivery and commissioning of these capital projects.

The manual provides consistent, standardized guidelines and templates to assist project managers in the preparation of their capital expenditure submissions.
 Aquarating is the global rating system with the objective to facilitate continual improvement of drinking water and wastewater services by providing rigorous, systematic and universal assessment.

WAF was the first Water and Wastewater Utility in the Asia- Pacific region chosen by the Asian Development Bank to undertake this project.

Similar to undertaking a SWOT analysis of WAF where gap areas are identified, Aquarating allowed WAF to plan and allocate resources accordingly to address these gap areas.
 Fiji is 1 of 14 member countries and WAF is one of 17 national water utilities in the Southern Hemisphere represented in Pacific Water & Wastewater Association (PWWA).

This gives WAF the opportunity to be independently assessed with other member utilities in the Pacific region.

12  Rural and Maritime - with $7.3m allocated in Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) 2016/ 2017 budget, the Rural Unit planned 51 projects to be undertaken to benefit 2,755 households.
Out of 51 projects undertaken, the Rural Unit completed 46 projects, which benefited 2,476 households and has 5 ongoing projects.

The 51 projects included new water scheme projects and some upgrading works.

 The Government, under the 2016 budget, funded 3 free initiatives, Free Water Allowance for people with incomes under $30,000, Rainwater Harvesting, and Free Water Tanks for intermittent supply areas.
 The Free Water Tank and the Rainwater Harvesting schemes were launched at Tobuniqio Village in Tailevu on 31/01/16.

The Government allocated $1.3m for the Free Water Tank and $4.5m for the Rainwater Harvesting schemes.

WAF worked closely with Government to distribute a total of 199 x 5,000litre water tanks to successful applicants.

13 water tanks with an additional 65,000litres of storage capacity were approved for Tobuniqio Village.
 The Authority worked closely with the Government to process applications for the Rain Water Harvesting Programme to approximately 5,000 successful, pre-qualified applicants.

In order to receive water tanks, applicants were required to have a base for the water tank, as well as proper guttering in place.

Distributed 4,373 x 5,000 litre water tanks in the Central, Western and Northern Divisions.
that would provide 5,000litre water tanks  The Free Water Allowance initiative gave households with incomes under $30,000 per annum free access to water.

A total 25,807 households, or 129,035 people, received free water allowances valued at a total of $363,279.

 With wastewater treatment plants overloaded, WAF ramped up efforts to increase capacity, especially in major urban areas through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).
2 Capital Expenditure allocations included increasing treatment capacity at the overloaded treatment plant and second, the extension of coverage projects.

 Wastewater Odour and Sludge Control Project - early in 2016, WAF contracted a reputable Australian company to carry out a year long, desludging and odour control project at the Kinoya, Nadali, Olosara, Natabua and Votua wastewater treatment plants.
In some of WAF’s 11 wastewater treatment plants, anaerobic ponds and sludge lagoons had accumulated an estimated 80% volume of sludge.

Following the initial sludge and odour survey by the contractor, the sludge was removed, then the water was removed in a centrifuge system.

As a result of this project, people living in homes close to the above five wastewater treatment plants experienced a reduction in unpleasant odours emanating from the plants.
13 While WAF has proactively undertaken short-term solutions through de-sludging and the use of Bio- Plus chemicals to reduce the odour, the Authority also considered long-term solutions.

For the long-term, the design and construction of a septic waste facility to properly pre- treat septic waste before it enters the Kinoya system and a Trade Waste Policy with regulations and enforceable penalties for non-compliance are also needed.
 The Liquid Trade Waste Unit was established in 2013 to monitor and regulate the wastewater discharge from commercial and industrial businesses that are connected to WAF wastewater infrastructure.

In 2016, a total of 275 companies from all the Divisions were sampled.

In 2016, the LTW Unit created awareness of the LTW programme, through consultation with major stakeholders, targeting all towns and city areas where provisions for WAF wastewater services are available.
 LTW Special Projects - the Liquid Trade Waste (LTW) Team was involved in standardising grease trap designs in Fiji, setting up the treatment plant to convert waste to Biodiesel at Kinoya Wastewater Treatment Plant, as well as having aspects of Trade Waste included in the school curriculum.

Implementation of the project at Kinoya Wastewater Treatment Plant took place, at a cost of USD$7.5m, once funding was approved by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
 Award for WAF’s GIS Development - the Authority received an award in Australia for its contribution to the development of software called ‘Network Trace’, in collaboration with Australia’s Open Spatial.

If a reservoir is affected for any reason, the software is able to monitor the number of metered residential and industrial customers that are being affected in any particular area with a click of a mouse.

Other utilities using Open Spatial can also access the information, hence the award.
 Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems refer to superior industrial and utility control systems that use supervisory software, which allows interaction between humans and the equipment.

From inception of WAF in 2010 to date, the first investment that was injected in the field of automation was in 2015 – 2016, which was the Implementation of SCADA Phase 1 Upgrade for the Central Eastern Region.
This saw a total of 95 sites being monitored, and some controlled, from WAF’s National Control Centre at Wailoku.

Phases 2 and 3 of the SCADA system upgrade will involve 108 sites for the Western Region and 61 sites Northern Region.

Inspection of critical Western sites for SCADA upgrade Phase 2 were completed by the Western Team with a total of 65 Sites from Rakiraki to Sigatoka.
 The current WAF infrastructure status includes 258 Submersible Electrical Pumps, 55 Water Treatment Plants, 11 Wastewater Treatment Facilities, 4,200 kilometres of pipes, approximately 147,000 Water Connections, the production of 120,000 megalitres of water and more than 13,000 people living in intermittent supply areas.
14  WAF Human Resources embarked on the establishment of the Labour Management Consultation Committee (LMCC) to deal with and resolve staff issues creating an enabling environment for the achievement of corporate goals and nurturing of future relationships through the concept of good faith and the promotion of productivity.

 In the bi-annual staff satisfaction survey in 2013, the report indicated that most WAF staff felt that salaries were inadequate.
This was also supported by the PWC salary survey in 2013, which indicated WAF salaries were at the low end of the market.

The WAF Board had approved the Job Evaluation Exercise (JEE) on February 6th 2015, conducted by PWC based on the salary scale proposed.

A total of 1,086 employees benefited from the implementation of the Job Evaluation Exercise.
After the implementation of the Job Evaluation Exercise, WAF established a Job Evaluation Committee to deal with any appeal cases received from the employees and provide its recommendations to Executive Management for consideration.

 Training - WAF participated in a number of programmes funded by donor agencies that included ITEC, JICA, KOICA, PWWA, ADB and the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
 Following the study tour undertaken by WAF senior officials in 2015, to Water Care Services Limited and other Water Utilities in NZ funded by Local Government NZ, six priority programmes were identified by WAF: Non-Revenue Water, SCADA, Enterprise Risk Management, Water and Wastewater Network Modelling.
 A research contract agreement was signed, by the Authority and representatives of the Korean Environment Corporation (KECO) for a five-month feasibility study on the conversion of fats, oil and grease (FOG) into biodiesel at the WAF Kinoya Wastewater Treatment Plant and to establish a river protection plan.
 Work Attachment Programme - WAF continuously engages people under the NEC and industrial work attachment programme to help students and members of the unemployed workforce gain necessary work experience.

This has been successful, as some of the people have already been absorbed into project and permanent establishment with WAF.

 OHS - WAF registers all its workplaces with the Ministry of Employment Productivity and Legislation and Regulation as a mandatory requirement under HASAWA 1996.
The validity of the registration is usually for one year, subject to renewal upon submitting the required documents.

15  OHS Inspection of Wastewater Pump Station 2016 - officers carried out safety inspections of pump stations in the Central Eastern region, located in the urban areas of the Suva – Nausori corridor.
The inspection examined the critical component of the plant and equipment and determined the extent of wear, deterioration and malfunction that could lead to accidents if not properly maintained.

 Customer Service - during the year, a total of 27,078 complaints were resolved and 8,560 were closed.

The major types of complaints were: billing complaint, production complaint and project metering complaint.

 In 2016, WAF revised its vision and mission statements and logo line to include sanitation.
16 5.0 COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATION 1 The Committee recommends timely submissions of future Annual Reports.

RECOMMENDATION 2 The Committee recommends that WAF substantially reduces NRW loss to less than 47%.

Evidently, there is an apparent loss of Non – Revenue Water through inefficiencies within WAF.

Water leaks, although being reported at the earliest particularly on weekends, emergency repair teams were slow to attend to.
On occasions emergency teams have attended to leaks and have had to wait longer hours for contracted machines to arrive.

The Committee suggests that WAF purchase their own machines and carry out rehabilitation of water pipes to avoid unnecessary loss of non-revenue water.

As highlighted in the 5 Year NDP that an aggressive leakage reduction program to eliminate water loss will be pursued.
RECOMMENDATION 3 The Committee recommends that the Authority improves and strengthens its work systems and processors by monitoring all its assets, plant hires and machineries to avoid discrepancies and fraud in the future.

RECOMMENDATION 4 The Committee recommends that WAF must meet the criteria for recording revenue and ensure that a proper valuation of all its assets as the basis of the Office of the Auditor General qualifying their accounts.
RECOMMENDATION 5 The Committee recommends as way forward for WAF to increase its budget allocation for purchasing of rural water tanks to meet the demands.

RECOMMENDATION 6 The Committee recommends that:  WAF to consider and report on the implementation of the relevant SDG’s on its various programs and services;  Report on the SDG’s challenges faced during its implementation; and  To consider incorporating all its activities and programs in line with the National Development Program.
17 RECOMMENDATION 7 That future Annual Reports present a breakdown of gender equality and participation in the positions held within WAF RECOMMENDATION 8 The committee emphasizes the importance of including primary school students in the Water Champion Program nationwide.

RECOMMENDATION 9 The Committee recommends that Acronyms page be embedded in the Authority’s future annual reports.
6.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 6.1 GENDER EQUALITY ANALYSIS – SDG 5 The Fiji Parliament Standing Orders to consider gender equality and ensure that the impact on both men and women is exploited in all matters.” SO110 (2): Where a committee conducts an activity, it shall ensure that full consideration will be given to the principal of gender equality so as to ensure all matters are considered with regards to the impact and benefit on both men and women equally.
However, the committee noted that there was no clear breakdown of gender provided by the Water Authority in 2016.

6.2 CLEAN WATER SANITATION – SDG 6 The Committee noted that in 2016 the Authority had implemented NDP targets in line with SDG 6 which states “access to clean and safe water in adequate quantities to urban, rural and maritime populations”.

7.0 CONCLUSION The committee commends the Authority through its achievements and initiatives in the 2016 fiscal year.
18 8.0 COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ SIGNATURE Members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources Hon.

Sanjay Kirpal, Chairperson E-Signature Hon.

Jale Sigarara, Deputy Chairperson Hon.

Alexander O’Connor, Government Member Hon.

Mitieli Bulanauca, Opposition Member Hon.

Peceli Vosanibola, Opposition Member Hon.


Jese Saukuru, Alternate Opposition Member 19 APPENDICES Published written evidence Written evidence and supplementary information was received from the Water Authority of Fiji and can be viewed on the Parliament website at the following link: http://www.parliament.gov.fj/committees/standing-committee-on-natural-resources/ 20