The planning and development is entrusted with the following functions:
Planning and Development
Local Economic Development
Performance Management System
DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNCTION
The impact of the Planning Development Act has a tremendous effect on the performance of the municipality, the Act allows the municipality to neglect other legislation in the area of development planning. Under this function the department is expected to device tool for service delivery for the municipality, thus the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) for 2009 / 2010 was prepared.
IDP is a process through which municipalities prepare a strategic development plan. It is the principle strategic planning document which guides all planning, budgeting, management and decision making in a municipality.
LAND USE MANAGEMENT
The department has divided the processes of making land use management system into two phases, that is urban and rural.
(I) URBAN DEVELOPMENT
The national treasury has benefited Nongoma Municipality through neighbourhood grant, which is aimed at Urban regeneration, through this programme Nongoma municipality has managed to develop the Spatial Development for the town and finally the land use management system, although the process is not yet finalised but all fundamental reports produced by different studies are in place, such studies have contributed much in the development of (Spatial Development Framework) SDF and Land Use Management System.
(ii) RURAL DEVELOPMENT
In respect of rural development the Nongoma Municipality is at the initial stage of the spatial development framework (SDF).
LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Nongoma town, also referred to as the Royal City, is an extremely vibrant rural node fulfilling a central role in the economy of the Nongoma Municipality and northern Zululand as a whole. The role of the town is often underestimated and therefore the town has historically not attracted the level of investment it deserves. As a result this vibrant economic node has continued to develop to a point where it is literally bursting at its seams. It is believed that the current ad hoc approach to the development of the town is not sustainable and that if this is not addressed, development of the town will be stifled in the next decade to the detriment of the region as a whole.
The national framework for LED aims to support the development of sustainable local economies through integrated government action. The government action is developmental and stimulates the heart of the economy, which consists of a collection of enterprises including cooperatives that operate in local municipal spaces. LED is one of the five key performance areas (KPA’s) for a local government. As a key performance area, it is strongly interrelated and dependent on the other four KPA’s.