Stedelike ruimtelike en grondontwikkeling in Suid-Afrika

Abstract

URBAN SPATIAL AND LAND DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA Before 1994, there were approximately ten legal ways of obtaining and controlling of land-use rights, eg rezoning, subdivision, consolidation, township establishment, and others. These procedures were very lengthy and involved a great deal of red tape. The purpose of this study is to establish whether urban spatial and land development procedures will have the desired effect, and the role that land development objectives will play. Owing to the fact that land development is a wide concept, I will concentrate on urban spatial and land development, mainly in the metropolitan centres of South Africa. This treatise consists of two parts. The first part contains a short historic background of the position in respect of physical planning, township establishment and town planning up to 1994. The second part deels with the present position in terms of legislation, for example, the Development Facilitation Act, 1078 the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, '019 the Housing Act, 1080 the Restitution of Land Rights Act108 1 and the Gauteng Development Planning Bill. The purpose of the Development Facilitation Act is to formulate an act that will bring about better results in respect of the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development

Programme (RDP). The Act will do away with the red tape and stimulate speedier land development. An example of this is the establishment of initial ownership that can be registered in the Deeds Office before a general plan is approved by the Surveyor-general. This Act contains a new structure that is unknown to most role players. The overhead purpose of the Act is to revoke most of the previous legislation regarding physical planning, township establishment and town planning. The main purpose of the Act is to introduce extraordinary measures to facilitate and speed up the implementation of reconstruction and development programmes, as well as projects in relation to land, and in so doing to lay down general principles that govern land development throughout the Republic and to provide for the establishment of a Development and Planning Commission for the purpose of advising the government on policy and Jaws concerning land development at national and provincial levels. It must also provide for the establishment of development tribunals in the provinces which will have the power to make decisions and resolve conflicts in respect of land development projects. The Act will also facilitate the formulation and implementation of land development objectives and will provide for uniform procedures nationally for the subdivision and development of land in urban and rural areas in order to promote the speedy provision and development of land for residential purposes, small-scale farming or other needs and uses and to promote security of tenure. Land development objectives are five year development plans that have to be drawn up by every local authority. The Act stipulates that public participation forms an integral part of land development objectives. As soon as land development objectives have been approved by the

provincial government they obtain binding or legal status and will overrule every other development plan. An ingredient of the governments' land reform policy is the restitution of land rights. Land claims can handicap or delay the development of land, and it is therefore necessary to discuss this issue in the treatise. The Restitution of Land Rights Act formulates the principles in terms of which of restitution of land rights must be handled. This Act provides for the restitution of land rights to persons or communities dispossessed of such rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of racially discriminatory laws or practices of the past. In terms of section 22 of the Act a Land Claims Court has been established. This Court has the same jurisdiction as a Supreme Court and all the decisions taken by the Court are binding and must be enforced. The purpose of the Land Claims Court is to settle matters regarding the deprivation of land as a result of racially discriminatory legislation or acts. Housing is one of the most fundamental human needs. It is also one of the human needs which has been denied to many by apartheid practices and policies. There are two ways of addressing the housing crisis, namely by a constitutional right to housing and by specific legislation. The Housing Act was promulgated as a means addressing this matter. The purpose of the Housing Act is to provide for the facilitation of a sustainable housing development process, and lay down general principles applicable to housing development in all spheres of government. Owing to the fact that there was no certainty regarding the possession of land and houses, and also to the fact that inhabitants were exposed to unfair eviction as a result of the discriminatory

legislation and practices of the past, the Extension of Security of Ownership Act was promulgated. The above Act attempts to provide for measures, with State assistance, to facilitate long-term security of land tenure, to regulate the conditions of residence on certain portions of land, to _ regulate the conditions on and circumstances under which the right of persons to reside on land may be terminated, and to regulate the conditions and circumstances under which persons whose right of residence has been terminated, may be evicted from land. The last piece of legislation to be discussed in the study is the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Section 25, which contains the principles regarding ownership, is discussed in detail. After investigation of the above legislation, together with other relating matters, the conclusion has been reached that all new legislation which endeavour to do away with the red tape, will bring about its own red tape. The problem in the past was that there were too many pieces of legislation on land development. That was the main reason for the limitation of and delay in land development. The new legislation is causing exactly the same problems and it seems that problems of the past have not really been addressed.