intsika yethu local municipality - Provincial Spatial Development plan

Chapter 1: Introduction and Planning Process(Part A) IntroductionThe IDP is the key planning instrument available to local government in the pursuit of decentralised,strategic, participatory, implementation-orientated, coordinated and integrated development. Preparingan IDP is not only a legal requirement in terms of the legislation but it is an imperative towards realisingthe municipality’s major developmental responsibility to improve the quality of life of its citizens. The IDPprocess creates platforms to enhance service delivery by securing the buy-in of all relevant role-players andprovides government departments and other social partners with a clear framework for realising themunicipality’s developmental goals and objectives.Section 25 of the Municipal Systems Act, No 32, 2000 prescribes the following:“Each municipal council must, within a prescribed period after the start of its elected term, adopt a single,inclusive and strategic plan for the development of the municipality which:(a) Links, integrates and co-ordinates plans and takes into account proposals for the development of themunicipality;(b) Aligns the resources and capacity of the municipality with the implementation of the plan;(c) Forms the policy framework and general basis on which annual budgets must be based;(d) Complies with the provisions of this Chapter; and(e) Is compatible with national and provincial development plans and planning requirements binding onthe municipality in terms of’ legislation.”In accordance with the aforementioned prescript, Intsika Yethu Local Municipality (IYLM) has compiledan Integrated Development Plan (IDP) in document form. This document is the sum of all the variousplans, strategies and goals that IYLM shall pursue over the next five years. The document takes intoconsideration pertinent issues within the municipality and plots a way forward in terms of responding tothese issues which are of paramount importance to the well-being of the IYLM community.IYLM therefore seeks to present in this document an integrated plan that will:Link all of the municipal plans across the sectors in a coherent and effective manner;Present the way forward through outlining the municipality’s goals, strategies, and objectives overthe next five years;Be a source of information regarding the current situation in the municipality especially withregard to the social circumstances of the municipality’s inhabitants and the institutional situationwithin the municipal structures; andLink the municipality’s plans and strategies to provincial and national mandates.Ultimately the IDP of IYLM should act as the pillar upon which the municipality’s developmental approachrests. The plan should inform and guide all projects that are focused on improving the lives of thecommunity; this is in keeping with national government’s “Batho Pele” approach of putting people first.5