THEME SIX

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING (IDP) AS AN APPROACH TO

• Define the concepts ‘sustainable development’, ‘sustainability’, ‘strategic management’, ‘integrated development planning’
• Comprehend the context of integrated development planning
• Outline the characteristics of IDP
• Understand that the philosophy, principles & processes of IDP are consistent with Agenda 2030
• Structure & organize the IDP process in terms of a typical strategic planning & management cycle
• Highlight the benefits of IDP
• Explore the significance of public participation in the IDP process
• Pinpoint & briefly explain the major challenges pertaining to the design & implementation of the IDP
• Assess the nature, scope, & successes of remedial actions taken by the South African local government sector to address these challenges
 INTRODUCTION

• The environment in which local government has to operate is dynamic, complex and often fragile.
• On the other hand, local government is faced with immense challenges due to a rapidly changing world in which new opportunities
arise & threats loom large.
• Some of the challenges facing municipalities are poverty, geographical segregation, rising unemployment, service backlogs,
persistent non-payment for services, lack of funds & pressure from businesses.
• It becomes imperative for municipalities to position itself to face those challenges & take full advantage of the opportunities that
arise.
• Local governance is changing from the role of providing traditional services to addressing past inequalities, promoting sustainable
development, deepening democracy through public participation
• It is legally required from municipalities to adopt a strategic, creative and integrated approach to local governance to address
developmental challenges & to promote sustainable development.
INTRODUCTION

• IDP lies at the centre of this new system of developmental local government, & presents
the driving force for making municipalities more strategic, inclusive, responsive &
performance driven in character
• IDP is the leading instrument of local planning. It provides municipalities with a tool to
align budgeting and project implementation with strategic priorities, & to link across &
coordinate the growing number of sectoral plans, programmes, & projects that impacts on
the activities of municipal government
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT &
SUSTAINABILITY
• World Commission on Environment & Development defines sustainability development as development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• The National Environmental Management Act of 1998 defines sustainable development as the integration of social, economic &
environmental factors into planning, implementation & decision making so as to ensure that development serves present & future generations.
• South African National Framework for Sustainable Development defines sustainability as the continuous & mutually compatible integration of
the economic system, socio-political system & ecosystem over time.
• Sustainable development means making sure that these systems remain mutually compatible as the key development challenges are met
through specific actions and interventions to eradicate poverty and severe inequalities.
• The essence of sustainable development is the need to develop a strategic management & planning approach by which sustainability can be
ensured without destroying the natural resource base on which it depends or negatively affecting the human communities that it is intended to
serve.
 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

• Municipalities are undergoing constant transformation to adjust and adapt to a changing environment. This requires flexibility in
organizational structures, management approaches, and systems, but most significantly, a strategic orientation.
• The highly mobile internal & external environments, as well as increasing pressure to make optimal use of scarce resources, make
thorough planning and & management at strategic level very important.
• Strategic management is the process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop the necessary
procedures and operations to achieve that future.
• Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions & actions that determine the long run performance of an institution.
• These definitions emphasise the importance of an analysis of the internal & external environment of an organization with the aim of
formulating and implementing strategies and thus promoting organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Strategic management & integrated development plan are essentially the same thing: a strategic management tool that enables the
municipalities to take a broad, strategic view of its developmental requirements & to address all of the key issues in a holistic, IDP.
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING (IDP)

• IDP is a participatory planning process aimed at integrating sectoral strategies, in order to support the optimal
allocation of scarce resources between sectors and geographical areas and across the population, in a manner
that promotes sustainable growth, equity & the empowerment of the poor & marginalized.
• IDP is a process through which municipalities prepare a strategic development plan for a five-year period. This
process is meant to arrive at decisions on issues such as municipal budgets, land management, promotion of
local economic development & institutional transformation in a consultative, systematic & strategic manner.
• IDP is the management tool that enables municipalities to take a broad strategic view of their development
requirements and to address all of the key issues in a holistic IDP.
• IDP is all about people, balance & equity, and recognizes that the most important task of any development
effort is to create meaningful opportunities for people to empower themselves
 CONTEXTUALISING IDP

• The spatial realities in South African cities & towns are still indicative of the apartheid urban characteristics. i.e., racially fragmented &
discontinuous land use and settlement patterns, dysfunctional and inefficient spatial ordering, concentration of the poor in relatively high-
density areas on the peripheries and the rich in the low-density areas.
• In 1994, as democratic initiatives gained momentum, serious attempts were made to reconstruct apartheid cities by introducing alternative
development approaches to reverse the effects of apartheid planning. In this regard the Reconstruction & Development Programme of 1994 can
be mentioned, which was the first attempt to introduce a new planning discourse
• The RDP was the guiding policy of the new government that came into power in 1994. This programme had six basic principles: integration &
sustainability; people-driven development; peace & security; national building; meeting basic needs & building infrastructure; democratization
• The government suffered from lack of sufficiently skilled managers, while policy co-ordination and implementation methods used were not
proven successful. This was one of the challenges that the RDP had.
• When faced with numerous constraints, Government introduced a macroeconomic policy framework called the Growth, Employment and Redistribution
(GEAR) strategy in 1996 to stimulate faster economic growth which was required to provide resources to meet social investment needs.
• While the GEAR strategy was sufficient for the achievement of macroeconomic objectives, it clearly fell short with regard to the social challenges of the
country, most notably poverty reduction and employment creation as was envisaged. GEAR was replaced in 2005 by the Accelerated and Shared Growth
Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA)
CONTEXTUALISING IDP

• While there was some reasonable level of success, the level of implementation and future of the
programme was uncertain as no official word came from the government regarding the fate of ASGISA,
• After the fall of president Thabo Mbheki, ASGISA was replaced with New Growth Path (GNP) which
was announced by Jacob Zuma during which he announced in his ‘State of the Nation' address in 2010.
GNP recognised that structural unemployment remains extremely high; Poverty continues to afflict
millions; Oppression of workers continues; and that the inequalities are now deeper than ever before.
• In early 2013 the government has introduced the National Development Plan (NDP)-2030 as South
Africa's long-term socio-economic development roadmap. This policy was adopted as the cornerstone
and blueprint for a future economic and socio-economic development strategy for the country
 PIECES OF LEGISLATION RELATED TO IDP

1. Development Facilitation Act of 1995 – encouraging efficient & integrated land development, by promoting the integration of social,
economic, institutional & physical aspects of development.
2. Local Government Transition Act of 1996 – all municipalities to prepare IDPs as part of the municipal government planning process.
3. Constitution of RSA, 1996 – emphasise the objectives & functions of the municipalities.
4. White Paper on Local Government, 1998 – introduced concept of ‘developmental local governance’, which should ensure the provision of
services, local economic development, community empowerment, creation of liveable, integrated cities & towns and rural areas. This White
Paper also emphasized on ‘public participation’.
5. Municipal Structures Act of 1998 – clarification on the roles of local & district municipalities on the development & implementation of IDPs.
6. Municipal Systems Act of 2000 – outline the integrated approach to address the existing system weaknesses, with a high degree of integration
among municipal budget, the performance management system and core component of the new systems architecture, IDP. Also lists the core
components of an IDP.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IDP

1. Integrated – the following dimensions in the IDP planning process can be distinguished:
 horizontal or sectoral integration – this includes coordination of land use & spatial development with sectors such as housing, education or transport

 environmental integration – this includes coordination of policies and programmes within an environment framework.

 vertical integration – this includes integration of national, provincial, district & local government policies & programmes, and on the municipal level,
integration of attempts by individuals, residents, civil society, private sector & other stakeholders to formulate objectives & to follow a plan of action to achieve
the objectives of the community.

 time integration – this includes consideration of long-term dynamics trends, pressures, objectives & targets, with a strategic horizon of at least 25 years.

 Resources integration – this includes coordination with funding sources, programmes, and projects in order to fulfil planning objectives

 Institutional integration – this includes the establishment of partnerships and agencies with the capacity for implementation.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF IDP

2. Participatory – the IDP approach is based on the principle of inclusive & representative consultation and/or the participation of
all residents, communities & stakeholders within the municipality, as well as representatives from other spheres of government.
3. Strategic – the South Africa situation, with its limited resources and increasingly diverse demands, make it impossible to
address all development issues in the short to medium term. IDP s should empower municipalities to prioritise and strategically
focus their activities & resources. IDP as a strategic planning & management tool stresses the importance of making decisions that
will ensure a municipality’s ability to successfully & effectively respond to changes in the environment.
4. Implementation oriented – IDPs are only good if they assist municipal management to improve and fast-track delivery and
development. An implementation-oriented process has the following requirements: project proposals have to be concrete &
specific; IPDs must comply with the financial resource framework; a link between the planning & budgeting process must be
ensured; consensus among all role players & stakeholders on planned projects must be reached to avoid delays in implementation.
 BENEFITS OF IDP

• Through the IDP, a municipality is informed about the development problems affecting its municipal area, and, guided by information on
available resources, is able to develop & implement appropriate strategies and projects to address the problems. Following are benefits
of IDP:
1. A mechanism to fast-track delivery – IDP is a mechanism to fast-track delivery by ensuring well-informed, speedy & sustainable
decision-making process; getting the buy-in of all role players for implementation; providing a tool that guides where investment
should occur; arriving at realistic project proposals by taking limited resources into consideration
2. An agent of transformation – IDP helps to strengthen democracy & hence institutional transformation, because decisions are made in a
democratic & transparent manner
3. A vehicle to facilitate communication – the IDP provides a basis for interaction among officials, councilors, citizens, private sector &
other role players to promote strong networks, alliances & partnerships to realise the vision of truly developmental local government.
It also facilitates a system of communication among spheres of government, thereby promoting intergovernmental coordination
 BENEFITS OF IDP

4. A tool to alleviate poverty – IDP should address socio-economic imbalances of South African society. Outputs
of IDP should therefore reflect how the living conditions of the poor will be improved
5. A facilitator of focused budgeting – IDP process facilitates budgeting in accordance with planning by linking the
municipal budget to the IDP, as required by legislation. Strict financial control & effective management are not
possible unless there is a focused budget
6. A vehicle to ensure local corporate governance – corporate governance is essentially concerned with
maintaining the balance between economic & social objectives; and individual & communal objectives so to align
as closely as possible the interest of individuals, corporations & society. Thus the actions of local government
require an inclusive approach that seeks to involve all stakeholders & potential stakeholders.
 COMPONENTS OF AN IDP PROCESS

• Given the fact that IDP is a strategic planning & management instrument, its process follows a similar cycle & logic. The IDP
process begins normally with a situation analysis, followed by the formulation of a vision, the formulation of objectives & strategies,
identification & implementation of projects, & finally, evaluation. Phases of IDP process:
1. Phase 1: Analysis – this phase deals with the existing situation within a municipal area. It is the focused analysis of the problems
faced by a municipality & its communities. The situation analysis involves an analysis of both internal and external environments.
2. Phase 2: strategies – once the municipality understand the problems affecting the people & the causes of these problems, it must
then formulate the solutions to address them. This phase includes the formulation of the following features: vision (roadmap of a
municipality’s future); formulation of objectives (statements of what the municipality would like to achieve in the medium term to address the
issues – must be quantifiable & achievable); formulation of strategies (objectives are end results that a municipality want to achieve, while
strategies are the ways & means by which it wants to these objectives); project identification (once strategies are formulated, they result in the
identification of projects).
 COMPONENTS OF AN IDP PROCESS

3. Phase 3: projects – this phase deals with the design and specification of projects for implementation. The
municipality must ensure that the projects identified have a direct linkage to the priority issues & objectives that were
identified in previous phase. It must also be clear on the target group, location of the project, date of commencement
& date of completion, person(s) responsible for managing project, the cost of the project, funding sources.
4. Phase 4: integration – once the projects have been identified, the municipality must ensure that the results of the
project planning will be checked for their compliance with the vision, objectives, strategies & resources, and they will
be harmonized in terms of contents, location, & timing to arrive at consolidated & integrated programmes.
5. Phase 5: approval – before being adopted by the municipal council, all relevant stakeholders & interested parties,
including other spheres, must be granted the opportunity to comment on the draft plan, thus giving the approved plan
a sound basis of legitimacy, support & relevance.
 CHALLENGES OF IDP

• Municipal capacity – lack of sufficient human resource & financial capabilities to develop and successful implement IDPs. Rely on consultants
• Intergovernmental planning – lack of intergovernmental planning (national & provincial departments generally struggle to align their plans,
programmes, & projects with municipal IDPs, resulting in inconsistent planning & project execution. National & provincial departments often
fails to provide adequate support to municipalities in developing & executing their IDPs.
• Public participation – inadequate level of public participation. Often engagements with communities end up with little more than popular ‘wish
lists’
• Policy & legislative requirements – flaw in policy & legislation is the requirement that all municipalities must develop similar comprehensive
IDPs, irrespective of difference in capacity, budgeting & other resources. Practice has demonstrated that this ‘one-size fits all’ approach is not
feasible.
• Integration of sector plans – many municipalities fail to align and integrate their IDPs with broader provincial and national sectoral plans. Lack
of integration could be attributed to inability to identify and demonstrate relationship among various sector plans.