Debating today in the National Assembly - ACDP gives Planning and Land Use Management Bill the thumbs-down

ACDP gives Planning and Land Use Management Bill the thumbs-down

“This is a long awaited and much needed piece of legislation to regularise planning and land use management across the country.  Regrettably stakeholders say the Department has not done enough to facilitate substantive input, particularly from organisations that work on behalf of the poor.

One of the main concerns expressed, is the capacity of the country to implement and roll-out the provisions of the bill nationwide as there are not enough planning professionals to undertake even existing planning and land use management functions.

A number of key shortcomings in the Bill relate to:
•        lack of clarity about the respective powers and functions of the different spheres of the state;
•        the promotion of an integrated approach to urban informality, spatial inequality and environmental sustainability;
•        the capacity constraints within the planning profession and
•        the appropriateness of present land use management tools within the context of communal areas.

If the Bill is passed in its current form, Planners strongly urge the Department to establish a clear monitoring and evaluation system.  Ideally this should include a panel composed of competent role players drawn from a cross sector of society - to sit every five years to consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of planning legislation - and to make recommendations on how it can be modified and improved.

Lastly, the ACDP shares concerns that a clause was not introduced to ensure that the social and environmental value of land is taken into account.  Unfortunately the ACDP cannot support the bill as it is currently.”