Integrated development planning or strategic paralysis? Municipal development during the local government transition and beyond

The launch of the Local Government White Paper in March 1998 provides a blueprint for the final form of local government in South Africa after its progression from apartheid structures, through the democratisation of councils, t.o the creation of developmental local government. According to the White Paper local government will centre on municipalities which will coordinate all development activities at national, provincial and local level, from private and public sectors. Municipalities will need to gain control over their devel opment resources, including land use. This article scrutinises the municipal planning legislation that has emerged since the end of apartheid in the form of the Development Facilitation Act (DFA) and the Local Government Transition Act, and argues that the Land Development Objectives (LDOs) of the DFA may not be an appropriate way to achieve developmental local government. The article argues that development tribunals could usurp the executive authority of municipalities to determine land use and therefore risk being both unconstitutional and counterproductive. It recommends that existing plan ning legislation is rationalised into an integrated framework that gives local government structures both legislative and executive authority over land-use planning.