The District Development Model Conundrum by Gundo Maswime

In an article published in IMIESA on 25 November 2021, Maswine (2021) asserts that lessons learnt 3 pilot sites of the District Development Model could contribute to the success of the model.

Maswine contends that the DDM is attempting to overcome challenges emanating from two structural features of the South Africa constitution: its objective of citizen participation in local government development planning processes, and the large degree of autonomy accorded to each sphere. In respect of the first challenge, he argues that citizens have taken over the planning function from planners and engineers in some instances, and that politicians – who are incentivised to attract citizen votes – are more responsive to their priorities than the technical advice of engineers and planners. Citizens tend to accord preventative maintenance of existing infrastructure a much lower priority than, for example, new infrastructure construction, unless there are service interruptions. As a result, maintenance tends to be reactive and “when disaster strikes, the overlooked engineer is at the centre of the storm” (Maswine, 2021:25).

The second challenge relates to the fact that bulk infrastructure and roads which span jurisdictional boundaries may be a priority in one municipality but not necessarily for the adjacent municipality, leading to – for example – a tar road becoming gravel at the municipal boundary. Masiwe suggests that the DDM only addresses the second challenge of cross border planning and not the first challenge which results from “the spin off of the power dynamics between engineers and citizens within the municipal boundaries” (2020:25).

To this mix, I would add the role of the courts which have recently taken decisions which impact – and disrupt – municipal planning and further detract from the saliency of technical planning advice.

To read the full article, please click here:

Maswine, G. (2021) The District Development Model Conundrum, IMIESA, 46(2), February 2021, 24-25