Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa on District Development Model

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa reiterates the importance of the District Development Model (DDM) as an integral part of South Africa's development strategy. The DDM acts as the primary operational framework to bridge the gap between planning and service delivery across all 44 districts and 8 metropolitan areas. It is important to note that the DDM's core purpose is intergovernmental alignment, not replacing municipal authority.

Under the framework developed by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

• Municipalities retain their constitutional powers to plan and govern.
• The district "One Plan" integrates existing plans from municipalities, provinces, and national departments.
• The model aims to avoid duplication, competition for resources, and fragmented infrastructure planning.

The DDM therefore does not substitute municipal planning, rather it aligns different spheres of government around shared priorities. Chapter 3 of the Constitution obliges all spheres of government to coordinate and integrate plans and programs.

The DDM operationalizes this constitutional principle by:

• Bringing together national departments, provinces, and municipalities.
• Aligning budgets, infrastructure investment, and spatial planning.
• Creating joint accountability for development outcomes.

This coordination is not a threat to local autonomy but a constitutional requirement for collaboration between spheres of government.

One of the major problems in South African governance has been fragmented planning across departments and spheres of government.

Since its launch in 2019, the DDM has been a game changer breaking the pattern of "operating in silos," and focusing intentionally on integrating planning, budgeting, and implementation. With this kind of coordination and collaboration, the DDM contributes positively to the realisation of a "capable, ethical developmental state"

The DDM supports equity across Districts and Metros spaces by reducing uneven development between municipalities. Financially stronger metros and municipalities often have stronger planning capacity and revenue bases, while many rural municipalities struggle with:

• Limited technical expertise.
• Weak infrastructure planning.
• Poor coordination with national departments.

The DDM allows national and provincial governments to strategically channel resources into District and Metro spaces where capacity is weaker, improving local and national spatial equity.

Municipal autonomy is important, but complete policy independence risks fragmentation, especially in metropolitan regions with national economic significance.

In as much as there are those who argued that the DDM, and by extension the 2024 gazetted 'DDM regulations' to be unconstitutional and unlawful, CoGTA through the considered legal opinions found these not to be the case. In fact throughout the intergovernmental dispute processes, especially by both the Western Cape Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town, the intend and objective of the DDM were appreciated and welcomed as a practical approach towards ensuring improved intergovernmental coordination on long-term planning and implementation.

The concerns raised were more on procedural and technical uncertainties relating to the institutionalisation and implementation of the DDM and how these were outlined in the '2024 DDM regulations', especially on matters relating to the coordination of the DDM across the three spheres of government.

The proposed draft amendments to the '2024 DDM regulations', which are currently subjected to further public comment and inputs, provides an improved framework for the institutionalisation and implementation of the DDM, especially on the roles and responsibilities of intergovernmental stakeholders, the relationship between DDM intergovernmental One Plans and other legislated development plans and strategies, especially in the unique planning context of metropolitan municipalities.

These are framed against the enhancement of the DDM objective as an intergovernmental approach towards improved coordination and cooperation within the legal prescripts of IGR and planning legislation such as SPLUMA and the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2000, and the attainment of the objectives underpinning Cooperative Government as determined by Chapter 3 of the Constitution.

All the 44 Districts and 8 metros Cities are deeply integrated into national priorities such as:

• economic growth
• housing delivery
• transport systems
• climate resilience

These priorities will be best achieved not through working in isolation but require coordinated action across all spheres of government, which is precisely what the DDM seeks to achieve.

The DDM's fundamental objective - is to ensure that all spheres of government work together to deliver integrated development for the people of South Africa.

Moving forward, the IGR dispute process outcomes and the proposed amendments to the '2024 DDM regulations' underscores the importance of the DDM as a practical approach, as envisioned in the NDP, towards improved and sustained intergovernmental coordination and cooperation in the overall government-wide planning environment.

Minister has called for an all of government and society in the implementation and institutionalisation of the DDM across the whole country as this will ensure that every municipality work for the benefit of the people. It is only this game changer that we will be able to turn things around and together.