Tracing a decade of drafting, reviewing and assessing integrated development plans in KwaZulu-Natal: some key reflections

The next decade of planning in South African municipalities under democracy has dawned. The previous decade was characterised by drafting, reviewing and assessing outcomes of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). Through the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000 and Sections 152/3 of the South African Constitution, 1996, local government is responsible for development processes and municipal planning. It requires from municipalities to formulate and review IDPs. Two “generations” of IDPs were drafted and reviewed from 2001 to 2011 by KwaZulu-Natal municipalities. The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and its predecessors evaluated and measured legal compliance of drafting, approval and submission processes. Identification of factors critical to planning, observations and recommendations for IDPs are captured in this article. Direction, formulation and evaluation of third-generation IDPs for periods 2012/13 to 2016/17 municipal financial years is a focus of this article. The article also examines compliance, by focusing on quality and improvement of IDPs.