The City has welcomed the amended District Development Model Regulations, which the Metro argued amounted to a constitutional overreach into the powers of local governments.

The regulations, which came into effect in May 2024, mandated each municipality to draw up a ‘One Plan’ for ultimate ‘approval’ by the COGTA Minister and ‘adoption’ by the National Cabinet.

The City immediately declared a formal intergovernmental dispute, deeming the original regulations unlawful.

A process of engagement between COGTA and the City followed, with the matter now resolved, following the publication of amended DDM regulations for public comment.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the changes substantially overhaul the original regulations, and the problematic clauses have now been removed entirely.

‘Local governments are independently elected, imbued with extensive original powers by the Constitution, and they may pursue their own policies and objectives. They are not mere sub-branches of the national government. The successful resolution of this dispute has underscored this important principle in our constitutional framework.’

The City’s dispute pointed out that these powers would infringe on local government’s constitutional autonomy and responsibility to regulate municipal planning under section 155 (6)(a) and (7) of the Constitution.

The City’s dispute further stated that the ‘One Plan’ is a wasteful duplication of the existing five-year strategic planning processes in municipalities, and could not lawfully replace or conflict with municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), which are already consulted with all spheres of government, residents, and stakeholders.

Hill-Lewis argued the regulations would have further added a major red tape and bureaucracy that would’ve diverted municipal resources.

Instead, the amended regulations propose collaborative support to municipalities for long-term strategic planning in line with the constitution.

The Mayor lauded the engagement process between the parties to get it resolved:

‘While Cape Town had formally declared an intergovernmental dispute, there was no need to appoint a mediator thanks to the constructive engagement process with both the COGTA Minister and his Department, which has now resulted in these amended regulations. This is cooperative governance in action, and we look forward to the proclamation of the new regs in the near future.’