Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities - Agence ...

3. Urban Development Policies in a Unique Political and Institutional Context
governments: the communes must produce Integrated Development Plans (IDPs),
which are strategic and budgetary documents that allow municipalities to plan and
implement their development programmes. The second is the Urban Renewal
Programme (URP) launched in 2001 that concerns eight townships throughout South
Africa and aims to reintegrate these “under-developed” zones.
The Department of Land Affairs
The Department of Land Affairs (DLA) is primarily responsible for the land reform
that is supposed to re-balance the national territory and return (mainly rural) land to
historically disadvantaged populations. The DLA is also in charge of the land regulation
system. What is more, a new law is currently being drafted to clearly identify the
appropriate authorities and zoning mechanisms.
3.2.2. The Provincial Sphere
South Africa is made up of nine provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng,
Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West Province, and
Western Cape (Map 3).
Each provincial government has both legislative and executive powers, and is
made up of several departments that generally follow the same organization as the
national departments. The local governments are organized in the same way. There is
often a department of housing and a department of planning. The provinces are in charge
of planning strategic development within their borders and helping the municipalities
elaborate their own strategies. The provinces also have jurisdiction over housing:
they authorize the use of certain plots of land to establish public housing, and are in
charge of subsidy distribution.
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3.2.3. The Local Governments
Three Levels
There are 284 municipalities in South Africa, and three types of municipalities:
Metropolitan Municipalities [Category A, of which there are six: Johannesburg (pop.
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