Cape Town declares dispute over unconstitutional District Development Model regulations

21 November 2024

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City has declared a formal intergovernmental dispute due to ‘unconstitutional and unlawful’ District Development Model regulations, which came into effect in May this year under the Intergovernmental Relations Framework (IGFR) Act.

In a letter to the Minister of Cooperative Governance this week, Mayor Hill-Lewis says the regulations unlawfully infringe on local government’s constitutional role of municipal planning, amounting to a major red-tape burden without adding value to local government outcomes.

The regulations mandate each municipality to draw up a ‘One Plan’ together with other spheres of government, for ultimate ‘approval’ by the COGTA Minister and ‘adoption’ by National Cabinet. The regulations further introduce an unlawful veto power for the COGTA Minister over the contents of the One Plan, which infringes on local government’s constitutional autonomy and responsibility to regulate municipal planning under section 155 (6)(a) and (7) of the Constitution.

The City further argues that the ‘One Plan’ is a duplication of the Integrated Development Plan process, which is the legally mandated tool for each municipality to guide economic, social, and environmental priorities.

‘The law already requires every municipality to adopt a five-year strategic plan – known as an Integrated Development Plan, or IDP – which includes consultation with all spheres of government, residents, and stakeholders.

‘The ‘One Plan’ is a wasteful duplication of this, and may even conflict with a lawfully adopted municipal IDP. Besides being unconstitutional and unlawful, the regulations add major red tape and bureaucracy that will divert municipal resources from delivering essential services. 

‘We have extensively engaged national government, including when the regulations were still in draft, and so we are now left with no option but to declare this dispute under the IGR Act. We hope for an amicable and speedy resolution  - either withdrawing or amending the regulations – so that further litigation is not necessary,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Under the IGFR Act, a meeting must now be convened between the City and national government to set out the process of dispute resolution and designate a facilitator. More details will be communicated by the City once this process is under way.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office