Infrastructure and Planning

The objectives of the Infrastructure and Planning Department comprise:

According to the new Municipal Systems Act (32 of 2000) all the municipalities are required to prepare Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s) which will guide all planning, budgeting and management decisions within various departments. They are further required to prepare sector plans as part of the IDP, a housing development plan being part of them. The Housing Act (Act 107 of 1997) also informs the preparation of Housing Sector Plans.

A housing sector plan is therefore one of the planning tools for local government to identify and cope with its new developmental role (which is the provision of services and housing). Housing Sector Plans are expected to comply with legislation; guiding principles of the National policy, provincial housing policy and National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) which ensures that plans and other Environmental Policies have to pledge environmental sustainability without jeopardizing the future planning strategy.

Umzimvubu Local Municipality is faced with many challenges, which necessitate the review of the 2003 Housing Development Plan.  These will be addressed based on the IDP’s and the Spatial Development Framework (SDF).  Some of the identified problems, which this housing sector plan has to respond to, can be summarized as follows:

 – Severe housing shortage
–  Affordability
–  Lack of capacity
–  Problem with land allocation and land claims
–  Accessibility of housing loans

This housing sector plan process will also seek to identify existing opportunities and strengths, which could be utilized positively towards improvement of housing development:

VISION

A department that provides quality services to the people in order to improve the quality of their lives

MISSION

To be a department that delivers sustainable services through proper planning