Assessing the roles of traditional leadership in land-use planning and municipal governance in Nquthu Local Municipality.
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Date
2020
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Abstract
26 years of rectifying spatial injustices; South Africa still faces the adverse effects resulting
from apartheid planning. Nel (2016) asserted that “South African settlements are still
spatially fragmented with a high degree of spatial exclusion”. This is mainly reflected to the
nature of law our country applies in terms of LUM where dual land use management systems
apply. To such extent, there has been a massive debate and conflict surrounding the roles
played by traditional leadership in land-use planning processes and in modern-democratic
governance in South Africa. The focus of the research was to find out if traditional leaders
have any roles in land-use planning or municipal governance within the jurisdiction of Nqutu
Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. To guide the study and clarify the study topic,
collaborative planning theory and critical theory were utilized. Using a qualitative
methodology, in the form of face-to-face and telephonic unstructured interviews and
participant observations methods, the study results showed that traditional leaders have been
side-lined or not active in land use-planning matters before independence. However, after
1994, their authority and knowledge over land administration put them in a unique position to
be involved in decision-making processes over land. To answer the questions that directly
touch the roles of traditional leaders in land-use planning and municipal governance, a
purposive and snowballing sampling methods were utilized. The study results showed that
the majority of the land in Nqutu local municipality is traditionally owned and that traditional
leaders still play a central role in land administration but a minimal role in land-use planning
and municipal affairs. Furthermore, the results proved that traditional leaders faces challenges
of illiteracy, lack of skills and knowledge on spatial planning and land-use management and
no legally defined roles by the law governing land-use planning and municipalities (despite
consultations) is likely to be the cause of them being side-lined from decision-making
processes and given responsibilities in land-use planning and municipal governance. The
study concluded that traditional leaders’ involvement in land use planning and municipal
governance is limited to cases or is minimal leaving the municipality in control.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.