“The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mr. Velenkosini Hlabisa, has gazetted the Discussion Document on the Review of the 1998 White Paper on Local Government (WPLG98), marking a step towards a reimagined and results-driven local government system in South Africa.
This document, gazetted under Notice No. 6118 (Gazette: 52498), sets in motion a national conversation intended to culminate in a revised White Paper on Local Government in March 2026 (WPLG26). The review aims to incite fresh thinking, honest reflection, and decisive action toward building a fit-for-purpose local government system that truly serves the people of South Africa.
“This process is not about tweaking the symptoms. It is about confronting the root causes of dysfunction in local governance. We need to ask the hard questions, and more importantly, we need to answer them with the courage to act,” Minister Hlabisa said.
The Discussion Document reasserts the interconnectedness and indivisibility of the four key components of an effective local government system: governance, institutional arrangements, service delivery and infrastructure, and financial arrangements.
Key aims of the Review:
Assess and revise outdated assumptions of WPLG98.
Strengthen cooperative governance among the three spheres of government.
Align reforms with parallel initiatives such as amendments to the MFMA, Municipal Structures Act, and SPLUMA.
Enhance integration with traditional leadership and improve community participation. Tackle systemic issues such as municipal financial sustainability, over-politicisation, climate risk, and spatial inequality.”
Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, invites the public, civil society, public institutions, interested stakeholders and all three spheres of government to provide comments towards the Review of the White Paper on Local Government;
Any person or institution wishing to submit written comments on the Discussion Document and specifically the questions contained in Annex 3 to this Notice, should do so on or before 30 June 2025. Comments can be sent to the following addresses: WPLG26@cogta.gov.za or RichardP@cogta.gov.za or MaphutiL@cogta.gov.za
The City of Joburg has released the schedule of public participation sessions as part of the IDP process.
Most of the meetings will be held on-site, but there are some virtual meeting dates. Follow the City of Joburg on X for regular updates. https://x.com/CityofJoburgZA
*This schedule has been provided by the City of Joburg and JPOMA has no control over any changes or incorrect info.
Residents and stakeholders are urged to participate in the review of the City of Johannesburg’s Land Use Scheme
The Department of Development Planning in the City of Johannesburg has called for a pre consultation process as part of the review of the City’s Land Use Scheme policy of 2018. The Land Use Scheme (LUS) is a legislative tool used by the City to guide and manage development in accordance with the City’s vision, strategies, and policies.
It promotes sustainable development and quality of life for all its residents. The LUS further outlines the development rights that are assigned to different properties and provides property owners with a variety of possibilities for developing their properties through various applications.
The first City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, as set out in Section 24(1) of the Spatial Planning Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), became formerly operational on 01 February 2019.
In terms of Section 27(1) of SPLUMA, the municipality is required to review its land use scheme at least every five years.
Considering the above, the City has started a five-year review of the policy, which was first approved by Council on 31 October 2018 and became operational on 01 February 2019. The Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Development Planning in the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Eunice Mgcina, said that the City’s Land Use Scheme was an important planning tool used to regulate land use development in the City’s municipal area.
She called on residents and interested parties to participate in the review of the policy. “I wish to call on all residents and all interested stakeholders to participate in this process to make it as robust and inclusive as possible. We welcome all contributions, suggestions, or input from all interested parties. We will ensure that these are considered during the review. “I encourage all residents and our partners in development to make detailed inputs that will assist the City in the reviewing and amending of the Land Use Scheme to make it user friendly and investor friendly.“Ultimately, our goal is to arrive at a policy that will not only be inclusive but one that will also help us bring much-needed services to our residents to better their lives,” added MMC Mgcina.
Inputs and suggestions should be sent to: PlanningLandUseSchemeReview@joburg.org.za no later than 04 April 2024.
Interested parties are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday, 13 March 2024, from 10:00 to 12:00 on MS Teams by contacting Marietjie Reinecke on 082 417 5705 or MarietjieR@joburg.org.za.
Residents and interested stakeholders should please note that this is not a call for final comment. Formal public participation processes will be conducted once the City’s Department of Development Planning has completed the Draft Land Use Scheme amendments.
Stakeholders in the City of Johannesburg are invited to attend the regional public participation sessions on the draft outdoor advertising by-law. Draft Outdoor Advertising By-law
This is the schedule for the public meetings, held in person at 17h00 at the following venues: Region C, 17 October, Roodepoort City Hall Region D1 & D2, 18 October, Dlamini Hall Region E, 19 October, Sandton Fire Station Region F, 20 October, Brixton Multi-purpose centre Region G, 25 October, Lenasia Civic Centre
