| (1) | This section applies to— |
| (a) | any irrigation board or subterranean water control board established by or deemed to be an irrigation board in terms of any law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act; |
| (b) | the Kalahari West Water Board, established by Government Notice No. 143 of 13 August 1982; |
| (c) | the Karos-Geelkoppan Water Board, established by Government Notice No.145 of 7 October 1983; and |
| (d) | the Kalahari East Water Board, established by Government Notice No. 2233 of 4 November 1988, |
each of which is a board for the purposes of this section.
| (2) | A board continues to exist until it is declared to be a water user association in terms of subsection (6) or until it is disestablished in terms of the law by or under which it was established, which law must, for the purpose of such disestablishment, be regarded as not having been repealed by this Act. |
| (3) | Subject to subsection (4)— |
| (a) | the name, area of operation, management, property, rights, liabilities, obligations, powers and duties of a board remain the same as immediately before the commencement of this Act; |
| (b) | this section does not affect the continuity, status, operation or effect of any act or omission of a board, or of any by-law made by a board, before the commencement of this Act; |
| (c) | any person holding office with a board when this Act commences continues in office for the term of that person's appointment; and |
| (d) | if a position becomes vacant prior to the declaration of the board as a water user association, the board may fill the vacancy according to the procedures laid down by or under the law which applied to that board immediately before the commencement of this Act. |
| (4) | Within six months of the commencement of this Act, a board must prepare and submit to the Minister a proposal, prepared according to section 91, to transform the board into a water user association. |
| (5) | The Minister may accept the proposal contemplated in subsection (4), with or without amendments, or reject it. |
| (6) | If the Minister accepts the proposal, the Minister must by notice in the Gazette— |
| (a) | declare the board to be a water user association; |
| (c) | determine its area of operation; and |
| (d) | approve its constitution. |
| (7) | Upon the publication of a notice under subsection (6), every property, right and liability of the board becomes a property, right and liability of the relevant water user association. |
