Government fails to show up to meetings at new centralised planning model for local development

The District Development Model (DDM), an ANC-sponsored plan to place all local development under the control and oversight of the central government, is facing challenges to implementation after national departments fail to show up to coordinate the local development plans.

In 2019, the Cabinet approved the Soviet- and Chinese-inspired central planning approach and implemented it as a pilot in three areas. However, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is facing difficulties in achieving basic levels of coordination.

The Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation reported to the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation about the lack of involvement. This affected the main pilot regions in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Department Director, Henk Serfontein, noted the challenges of basic departmental management not being adequately addressed by the DDM approach. He emphasized that there was poor participation of key national departments and public entities in the “One Plan” process, and called for more participation from state-owned enterprises and national departments, and better monitoring of progress.

By March 31, 2023, over R103 million had been spent on various DDM institutionalization and implementation programs and projects in the pilot sites, financed in part by the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

MPs discussed the main challenges faced by municipalities, including revenue generation and wise spending, and highlighted the importance of local government’s ability to spend allocated budgets.

With municipalities collapsing in their hundreds around South Africa, the model aimed to circumvent the difficult legal process of placing the entities under administration, while also improving central control over the tender process, and coordination of regional and cross-municipal projects.

Opposition parties have levelled criticism at the model, with EFF MPs expressing a desire for more comprehensive reporting and a clear mandate. DA comments have been more critical, opposing what is considered an overreach, and a breach of the separation of powers between the three spheres of government, threatening the proper political representation of local communities who vote in opposition councils.