Reflecting on SPLUMA requirements and the implications thereof for municipalities in South Africa

Abstract

Land use management in South Africa can be traced back to the 1800s but achieved its notoriety status during the 1960s to 1980s due to its apartheid objectives. Since 1994, spatial planning instruments such as Spatial Development Frameworks introduced planning concepts and ideas aimed at rectifying South Africa’s spatial disparities. Unfortunately, the legislative framework governing planning in South Africa has not kept pace with neither its new democratic status, nor any innovations in planning. In 1995, the constitutionality of the Development Facilitation Act was challenged in court, a case which heralded the new Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) in 2013. SPLUMA specified a number of requirements for Municipal land use schemes and provided municipalities with a deadline of 2020 to align with these recommendations. While most Municipalities in South Africa manage land use in some or other way through a Town Planning Scheme, these existing instruments may not comply with all the new legislated requirements. This study specifically investigated the extent to which current land use management instruments comply with the requirements of the new Act. The study considered case studies of the existing land use schemes of South African Municipalities and measured these against a compliance template developed based on the stated requirements for Schemes in SPLUMA, in an attempt to identify gaps. Interviews with a purposeful sample of experts, including Sector Departments as well as Traditional Authorities, provided insight to address some of these gaps. The study concluded that, while an effective legislative framework, SPLUMA’s requirements for land use schemes requires novel thinking and skills (specifically relating to informality and giving effect to policies and plans through the land use scheme). The study recommended a framework for training and skills development aimed at Municipal Planners and finally presented an approach which could assist with the introduction of Land Use Management in Traditional Authorities, conforming to the SPLUMA requirements