Urban Land Mark Comments on Land Use Management

Urban Land. Mark Comments on Land Use Management Bill [B 27 -2008] National Assembly: Portfolio Committee for Agriculture & Land Affairs 31 July 2008

Introducing Urban Land. Mark

Funding and institutional home • Funded by UK government’s Department for International Development (Df. ID) • Part of the Finmark Trust stable (www. finmarktrust. org. za) • Emerged from Finmark Trust’s Township Residential Property Markets (‘TPRM’) study

goal: what we want to achieve to improve access to well-located urban land (in South Africa) by making markets work for the poor and improving governance systems thus giving meaning and effect to the right to land

mission: how we intend to achieve our goal By creating a place for engagement and discovery, and establishing: – a dependable empirical information base – a clear advocacy position on M(UL)MW 4 P – as the basis for policy dialogue and change

who are our stakeholders? Universities Transport Government Presidency Treasury HSRC/ CSIR DBSA/ SACN Provincial & Local Govt Land Affairs Banking Association of SA Professional Institutes Isandla Institute Civil society LEAP Federation Landless People’s of the Movement Urban Poor Housing South African Property Owners Association Private Sector Urban Sector Network ULM Cities DFID Alliance/ World Bank Habitat for Humanity UN Habitat SA Cities Ford Network Foundation Donors/ i. NGOs

Urban Land. Mark concerns with the Land Use Mangement Bill

The need for national land use management legislation National legislation is critically important for the redress of apartheid spatial injustices as well as for the development of efficient and sustainable human settlements in which all citizens are able to benefit from good land use planning. The question is: will the current LUMB do this?

More, not less uncertainty • The LUMB adds another layer of legislation to the existing duplicative and discriminatory legislative framework • If there is a grand plan for how the LUMB will work in relation to the provincial Ordinances, the BCDA regulations and the Less Formal Township Establishment Act it has not been shared. • In practise now every land development approval process will be governed by two pieces of legislation, which – Will require constant cross-referencing; – creates potential for unintended consequences; and – Opens loopholes for legal challenge

Norms & standards • These are needed now • They must provide, inter alia: – uniformity on procedures for quicker approval processes (e. g. as are found in the Development Facilitation Act); as well as – guidance on how to unravel the legal complexity of inherited planning legislation Towns & cities in which all South Africans can thrive and prosper requires innovative planning : and the LUMB does not provide that

The DFA: throwing the baby out with the bathwater? • Recent case in the WLD has upheld the power of the DFA tribunals (Co. J v GDT and others, 2007) • The DFA introduced innovation and still provides an invaluable route for approvals in both the commercial and ‘developmental’ sectors • Repealing the DFA will leave serious gaps, especially in some provinces

What’s needed • Clarity as to which sphere makes which decisions • Clarity as to the scrapping of apartheid land development & planning legislation and a transition path • Clarity as to relationship between planning & environmental approvals • Mechanisms for fasttracking projects We are unfortunately not persuaded that the LUMB meets these needs

Moving forward • Urban Land. Mark, with the Second Economy Strategy Project, is commissioning a Regulatory Impact Assessment (‘RIA’) of the LUMB, which will run August to September 2008 • Urban Land. Mark is committed to providing whatever assistance may be requested to reconceptualise and redraft the LUMB: we have budget and capacity to work together (at the least the RIA report will be helpful, we think)

Urban Land. Mark contact details • Director: Dr Mark Napier • mark@urbanlandmark. org. za • Website: www. urbanlandmark. org. za • Phone 012 342 7636