Provincial land use management
legislative processes:
Reflections from the KZN PDA
Presentation at DRDLR Workshop 03 May 2013
SACN engagement with legal
process
– Understand practice: Examine SACN and
econ hubs in 9 provinces
• 9 provincial reports: One cross cutting publication
– Identify important legal issues for provincial
laws
• One publication important legal issues provincial
laws
– Respond to the SPLUMB
• Reponses to the SPLUMB from SACN and some
cities
Provincial legislation: why this work?
• Lens to examine implications and lessons
from PDAs
– Learnt from its enactment and implementation
– Small comparison with other provincial
processes
– How can we if at all deal with burning
question of spatial transformation?
Overview
• KZN tackled the legislative issues fairly early
– KwaZulu-Natal Rationalisation of Planning
and Development Laws Act, 2008 (Act No. 2
of 2008)
– Town Planning Ordinance Amendment Act
with the “Rationalisation” Act, to “simplify and
update existing provincial planning and
development laws until the PDA 2008
– Importantly, phasing towards a PDA
How they went on about it…
• Some notable provisions
– Wall to wall schemes
– outlining of criteria for all decisions
– time frames for all steps
– compulsory disclosure of certain documents
or facts
– compulsory professional evaluation of
applications and accountability
– blanket removal of certain out-dated
conditions of title by law
How they went on about it…
• Capacity:
– initiatives included drafting a manual, leaflets
and process wall charts.
– extensive training programmes were rolled
out for councillors and municipal officials
• Forums of learning and support
– PDA Forum running for three years
• Stretched and phased over years
• Inclusive legislative process
Lessons
• Merit for phased methods where:
– Capacity
– Little consensus
• Pragmatism, adaptation,
– “It is important to keep momentum. It is very
easy to lose a year in an effort to please
everyone. We often had to cut our losses
along the way, like reducing the scope of the
Act in order to make progress.
Lessons
• Even with longer time for shift in powers
and functions, still problems at LG
• Constitutional imperative planning and LG
– Municipalities have been given powers that
they often are not able to manage
– We have fallen victim to our own ambitions
not taking into existing capacity (Adv
Budlender)
• Many KZN PDA provisions ambitious
Lessons
• The planning status quo, in many ways is
comforting, non-threatening,
– “It was much easier to get consensus on
extending existing legislation than to get
consensus on new legislation.”
• Necessity of extensive inclusivity
• Like many process some room for
amendments
– Notice to people within 100m
Lessons
• Reliance on other processes for laws
successes
– Create processes for sectoral land
development issues eg agricultural land,
environmental etc
• Potential dangers of over-legislation…
– set realisable goals
• Postscript: numerous changes (2009) and
revised bill 2012 and talk of new law
Inter-provincial comparisons
• KZN PDA each lum process different chapter
other provinces managed as single chapter
• WC focus on IG arrangements, allocation of
powers and functions
• Gauteng and WC great emphasis on SDF
preparation
– Greater support to guide spatial transformation
– SDF avenue for national and provincial interests
• Registered planners (KZN and WC)
Inter-provincial comparisons
• KZN and WC municipality makes decision,
provincial tribunal appeals
– KZN appeal tribunal solely provincial entity
– Gauteng Bill municipal tribunals and single
appeal tribunal, MEC appointed with LG reps
• Schemes: single (WC and Gauteng)
multiple (KZN)
• Enforcement: KZN extensive and onerous
WC and Gauteng allow for by laws
SACN and land
Understanding urban land
Housing and human
settlements; transport
Tools to manage land
Transform
Tools and levers to for
urban land
management
Interaction: built
environment
Who, where, what for, how
much
A transformative agenda through
the law?
• Law reform intended to:
• Powers and functions clarification
• Replacing fragmented and racially based laws
• There is a transformative agenda
• Reason why LG has certain developmental functions
• KZN law: Intent “redresses the historic injustices
perpetuated by the old order fragmented planning and
development system”
• Legislation is a means to an end
There is a larger agenda
• National Development Plan (NDP)
– strong and efficient spatial planning system,
well integrated across the spheres of
government
– informal settlements located on suitable, welllocated land
– more people living closer to their places of
work, more jobs in or close to dense, urban
townships and better public transport
Some legislative possibilities
• Critical role SDF in driving this agenda
– Provisions strengthening these
• Giving planning authorities power to
override “NIMBYsm eg N Cape; SPLUM
• Principles decision making: Gauteng, WC
– How effective given DFA experiences?
• Free State incremental upgrading of
informal settlements in Bill
But we should be careful
• Unintended consequences
– KZN PDA wall to wall schemes call for
regulations to allow more leeway in the
former disadvantaged areas
– Applicability in rural areas
– Scaling of fees
– Urban edges and the cost of land
THANK YOU
Michael Kihato
South African Cities Network
michael@sacities.net