FROM MAFIKENG TO MAHIKENG SPATIAL ...From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page 2 In the first section of this report, the methodology and the spatial structure are described. The second section

FROM MAFIKENG TO MAHIKENG: SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION IN A

SOUTH AFRICAN PROVINCIAL CAPITAL

Report prepared by

Verna Nel James Drummond

July 2017

From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... III

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................IV

LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................ V

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1

2. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 2

2.1 Spatial profile ........................................................................................................................... 2

2.1.1 Historical background ............................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Early development .................................................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Bechuanaland capital ............................................................................................... 7 2.1.4 Apartheid planning ................................................................................................... 8 2.1.5 Re-incorporation into South Africa ........................................................................... 9

2.2 Recent developments ............................................................................................................ 10

3. SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES ................................................................................................ 11

4. AN OVERVIEW OF MAHIKENG ............................................................................................ 12

4.1 Demographic profile ............................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Socio-economic profile .......................................................................................................... 16 4.3 Infrastructure .......................................................................................................................... 18 4.4 Governance ........................................................................................................................... 19

5. SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION ISSUES ................................................................................... 21

5.1 Existing spatial patterns ......................................................................................................... 21 5.2 Alignment with other plans..................................................................................................... 22

5.2.1 The North-West Provincial Development Plan ....................................................... 22 5.2.2 Provincial spatial development framework 2016 .................................................... 25

6. DRAFT MAHIKENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK, 2013 .......................................... 26

6.1 Key spatial planning and development challenges ............................................................... 26 6.2 Status of the spatial development framework ....................................................................... 27 6.3 Summary of the concepts and proposals of the spatial development framework ................. 27

7. ASSESSMENT OF THE SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK ............................................... 31

7.1 Compiling the spatial development framework ...................................................................... 31 7.2 The quality of the spatial development framework ................................................................ 32

7.2.1 Meeting legislative requirements ............................................................................ 32 7.2.2 The soundness of the planning proposals ............................................................. 34

7.3 Degree of implementation...................................................................................................... 35

8. IMPLEMENTING SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION ....................................................................... 35

8.1 Planning and implementing spatial transformation ................................................................ 36 8.2 Spatial transformation and Mahikeng .................................................................................... 37

9. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................. 39

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 40

ANNEXURE 1 ........................................................................................................................ 46

From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page iii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Location of Mahikeng ......................................................................................................... 1

Figure 2: Schematic layout of Mahikeng ............................................................................................ 3

Figure 3: Density profile ..................................................................................................................... 4

Figure 4: Growth between 1990 and 2014 ........................................................................................ 5

Figure 5: Population 1996–2015 ...................................................................................................... 12

Figure 6: Age structure 2011–2016 ................................................................................................. 13

Figure 7: Language profile ............................................................................................................... 14

Figure 8: Skills level of employed people: 2001 and 2011 .............................................................. 15

Figure 9: Prolime feed lime works, Buhrmansdrift ........................................................................... 17

Figure 10: Kalgold open cast gold mine, Kraaipan, Mahikeng .......................................................... 17

Figure 11: Employment and gross value added per sector 2011 ...................................................... 17

Figure 12: North-West provincial development plan: Proposed corridors ......................................... 24

Figure 13: North West Province spatial development framework: Proposed corridors ..................... 25

Figure 14: Greater Mahikeng spatial development framework .......................................................... 29

Figure 15: Initial Mahikeng urban development concept ................................................................... 30

Figure 16: Mahikeng urban social development framework .............................................................. 31

From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mahikeng population ........................................................................................................ 13

Table 2: Educational level of population 20 years and older .......................................................... 15

Table 3: Percentage contribution to the economy per sector: Employment and gross value added

.......................................................................................................................................... 16

Table 4: Mahikeng Infrastructure .................................................................................................... 18

Table 5: Water resources: Mahikeng households .......................................................................... 19

Table 6: Municipal finances ............................................................................................................ 20

Table 7: Mahikeng in relation to spatial transformation .................................................................. 37

From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page v

LIST OF ACRONYMS

ANC African National Congress

CoGTA Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

DPLG Department of Provincial and Local Government

DRDLR Department of Rural Development and Land Reform

GVA Gross Value Added

IDP Integrated development plan

IDZ Industrial Development Zone

IUDF Integrated Urban Development Framework

MLM Mahikeng Local Municipality

NDP National Development Plan

NWP North West Province

NWPC North West Planning Commission

PDP Provincial Development Plan

PSDF Provincial Spatial Development Framework

RSA Republic of South Africa

SDF Spatial Development Framework

SPLUMA Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act

Stats SA Statistics South Africa

From Mafikeng to Mahikeng | Page 1

1. INTRODUCTION

The history of the city of Mahikeng with its numerous name changes arising from the

various powers that ruled it, is embedded in its spatial form (Cowley, 1986; Drummond

and Parnell, 1991; Mosadi,1995; Parnell, 1986). In many ways, this history reflects

much of South Africa’s history over the past 150 years, and the current realities of the

nation today. Many of the past expressions of power – such as the statue of Cecil John

Rhodes – have been dismantled or left to decay, some have been appropriated by the

new government, while new monuments have appeared.

The Mahikeng Local Municipality (MLM) is the capital of the North West Province. It

abuts Botswana along its north-eastern boundary within the Ngaka Modiri Molema

District Municipality (Figure 1).

Source: MapAble (2017)

Figure 1: Location of Mahikeng

In addition to the provincial government and municipality, it is also home to the large

campus of the North-West University. Within the Mahikeng urban area is Mmabatho,

once the capital of the former Bophuthatswana. Surrounding the urban area are large

tracts of area under traditional authority.

This report considers the spatial structure of Mahikeng, the most recent and available

spatial plan, and the potential for spatial transformation in line with the policy goals of

the South African government. These goals were first outlined in the White Paper on

Reconstruction and Development (RSA, 1994), and expanded in the Development

Facilitation Act, Act 67 of 1995 (RSA, 1995).


In the first section of this report, the methodology and the spatial structure are

described. The second section is a summary of key issues, while the third section

contains an overview of the demographic and socio-economic profile, infrastructure

and governance aspects of the municipality. The following three sections focus on

spatial transformation, the draft spatial development framework, as well as assessment

of the spatial development framework. Thereafter, implementing of spatial

transformation is discussed. The last section contains conclusions pertaining to

implementing spatial planning and transformation in Mahikeng.

2. METHODOLOGY

It was intended to conduct semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the MLM

area, particularly, councillors, municipal officials and traditional leaders, as well as key

role-players in the local economy.

However, municipal officials were required to obtain permission from the municipal

manager to talk to the researchers, and interviews with the traditional leaders also had

to be arranged through the municipality. Despite numerous emails and phone calls, it

was not possible to secure an interview with municipal officials or councillors. Attempts

to secure interviews with the North West Business Forum and Agri NW were equally

unsuccessful. Discussions were held with officials from the Department of Rural

Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and the Registrar of Deeds for the North

West Province. The senior partner from Maxim Planning Solutions provided a copy of

the draft spatial development framework (SDF) prepared for Mahikeng, as well as

information regarding the process of preparing the document. This Draft SDF was

therefore used as the basis for the SDF evaluation in this report (hereinafter called the

Draft SDF). A written response to some of the interview questions was, however,

received from the Planning Directorate of the MLM more than a month after the request

was submitted (MLM, 2017). The comments in this document have been incorporated

into the report. Secondary information from academic journals and books, newspaper

articles and websites was used, as well as data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA)

and Quantec Research (Pty) Ltd. Maps were sourced through MapAble (Pty) Ltd.

2.1 Spatial profile

The spatial structure of Mahikeng reflects its history and development. Underlying this

spatial structure is the tribal form of development and governance, leading to low

density, dispersed settlements and homesteads.

The original settlement, the stat, is located to the south-west of colonial Mafeking. The

latter lies between Nelson Mandela Drive and Modiri Molema Street, with the oldest

parts to the south and the industrial area to the north. Surrounding the central spine

are formal residential areas. To the north of this central spine, and offset to the west is

Mmabatho, the former capital of Bophuthatswana, which now houses the North West

Provincial Government offices as well as the municipality. To the east of Mmabatho is

a large tract of land that is mostly undeveloped. The oldest parts are laid out in a grid,


while newer areas tend to use crescents and neighbourhood unit designs (Ben-

Joseph, 2005) (Figure 2). According to Stats SA (n.d.), urban areas comprise 22% of

the municipality, while 75% is under traditional authority, and the remaining three

percent is agriculture. However, the draft Mahikeng Integrated Development Plan

(MLM 2016a:13) indicates that the urban area is less than two percent of the municipal

area.

Informally developed areas under traditional authority surround most of the urban area,

with the exception of Mahikeng Nature Reserve to the south-east. The tribal areas

nearest to the formal area have similar densities, but a less formal, more open (leaf-

like) structure (Salat and Bourdic, 2012).

Source: Adapted from Google Earth (2017)

Figure 2: Schematic layout of Mahikeng

The densities within the municipal area are generally low, less than 80 persons per

km2 (0.8 persons per hectare) for the built-up area (Stats SA, n.d.). In contrast, London

has a density of about 80 persons per hectare (Charting Transport, 2016; Cox, 2012),

while Johannesburg’s density is roughly 29 people per hectare (World Population

Review, 2017: Johannesburg) and that of Cape Town 15 people per hectare (World

Population Review, 2017: Cape Town). There is no great difference between the

densities of the formal urban area and the tribal areas immediately surrounding it

(Selemela and Du Plessis, 2016). Figure 3 depicts the density gradient of Mahikeng.


In this figure, several pockets of higher density in the south are visible within the areas

under traditional leadership. These are the basis for the rural clusters in the Draft SDF.

The densities in the north-eastern area are lower as some commercial farming occurs

here.

Source: MapAble (2017)

Figure 3: Density profile

These low densities can make the provision of basic services such as water and

electricity expensive and unsustainable for the municipality. Consequently, most rural

households use borehole water. Furthermore, development on areas under traditional

authority creates additional problems for the municipality. Tribal authorities seldom

adhere to municipal spatial frameworks or layout plans, but tend to allocate land

according to traditional norms, creating a separate and parallel land development

system to that prescribed by law. With little consideration for infrastructure planning, or

the reservation of sites for social facilities, municipalities find it difficult to implement

their integrated development or spatial plans. Homesteads may be erected on land

intended for water pipelines or clinics (Dubezane and Nel, 2016; Williams et al., 2016).

Furthermore, areas under traditional authority do not pay municipal property tax and

may also not be liable for payment for municipal services, such as water. Thus, the


municipality is required to provide basic services, but receives neither property rates

or payment for services which increases its dependence on government transfers

(Financial and Fiscal Commission, 2013). Formal Mahikeng finds itself in an enclaved

situation, where it is surrounded by tribal authority land, and has little available

undeveloped land where it can implement formal planning frameworks and policies

(Personal communication, Mahikeng planner, 31/5/2015).

Figure 4 illustrates the areas where the most development has occurred between 1990

and 2014. Other than one area in the middle of the formal area, most development has

been on traditional areas and particularly the land to the east of the city known as

Lonely Park and Signal Hill. The area of new expansion is about 1 030 ha with most of

it between five and ten kilometres from the urban centre.

Source: MapAble (1990, 2014)

Figure 4: Growth between 1990 and 2014

The expansion and development of the peri-urban fringe has recently been noted in

other South African towns, notably Stellenbosch (Arendse, 2014; Cash, 2014), but

Mahikeng is typical of many former homeland towns in that this is taking place on tribal

land. Such development has also occurred as a result of land invasion on the former

commonage opposite the game reserve. Approximately 1 500 to 2 000 substantial

houses (200+ square metres), such as those depicted in Figure 5, have been built on

tribal land in the last five years.


Source: J Drummond (Author) (2017)

Figure 5: Large houses on tribal land

2.1.1 Historical background

Mafikeng has long been much more than just an ordinary South African town. Firstly,

it is an indigenous African settlement with Western developments grafted onto it.

Furthermore, it was a colonial and then a Bantustan capital city before becoming the

capital of the North West Province.

2.1.2 Early development

In a semi-arid environment, the Batswana people constructed nucleated settlements

wherever permanent water courses could provide for people, their cattle and crops.

When diamonds and gold were discovered in the South African interior in the latter

decades of the nineteenth century, the attention of the British capital fell on the dusty

plains of the western Highveld. Kimberley became the centre of the diamond industry

and Cecil John Rhodes developed his imperial vision of the whole Africa being part of

the British Empire. The road to the north had to be secured from the competing

influence of the Boer Republics, Germany and Portugal. A British military expedition

led by Charles Warren secured the area and established the colonial town of Mafeking

to administer Bechuanaland. Warren chose to establish the settlement to the north of

the Molopo River and adjacent to the existing African settlement of Mahikeng (the place

of stones) which was also known as Molema’s stat (Parnell, 1986). The naming of

indigenous African settlements as stat may have come from German Lutheran

missionaries or Boers. The term is still in common use today by Africans to describe

the original African settlement.

Missionaries had a major influence in Bechuanaland. Both the London Missionary

Society and the Hermannsburg Mission Society promoted the development of a

permanent and settled agricultural economy. Mission stations became a beacon of

agricultural innovation and increased production by those Africans who embraced the

new crop production and irrigation techniques taught by missionaries. The rise of these

African peasantries supplying the new urban markets was significant, especially in


satisfying the insatiable demand from a growing Kimberley population. They were

‘progressive farmers’ and they were mission men. The indigenous system of living in

nucleated settlements with mixed cattle and crop farming, but also with outlying cattle

posts which needed to be visited frequently, were no excuse to regularly attend the

mission church on Sundays. The missionaries played a deliberate role as extension

officers in order to develop a thriving and settled community.

The local chiefly family, the Molema’s, after whom the original settlement was named,

were very successful farmers. They also extended their entrepreneurial endeavours to

trading and establishing a local newspaper. They became wealthy, as did their

counterparts in many other places in South Africa. It was this group who led the African

peasantry, whose rise and fall was documented by Bundy (1988). The Molema’s of

Mafikeng financed Modiri Molema (after whom the district is now named) to study

medicine at the University of Glasgow. This was long before the days of grants and

awards. Their counterparts in Thaba Nchu (Free State) sent their son, James Moroka,

to study medicine at Edinburgh. Both families were to become very prominent in their

communities and in early political activism against the restrictions of settler colonial

rule.

Mafeking was thrust onto the world stage in the Anglo-Boer War through the famous

siege of the town by Boer forces. This is well documented in the account of Sol Plaatje,

a court interpreter, journalist and leader of the early African National Congress

(Starfield, 2001).

2.1.3 Bechuanaland capital

Mafeking was a fairly unique town in South Africa in the twentieth century. It had an

African urban form with a British colonial town grafted onto it. It was very different from

its neighbouring platteland towns such as Lichtenburg and Zeerust. This was

heightened by the fact that Mafeking served as the centre of British colonial rule in

Bechuanaland. Until Botswana’s political independence in 1966 and the construction

of Gaborone, Mafeking served as the extra-territorial capital of Bechuanaland

(Drummond and Manson, 1991). There was a British colonial administration, staffed

by expatriates, and in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it prepared Botswana for

independence (Dale, 1969). Mafeking therefore retained a more cosmopolitan outlook

than its neighbours. Rather than being a part of the urban mesh of the Western

Transvaal and Northern Cape, it was a border town with a frontier and colonial outlook.

At the time when the apartheid state was at its strongest in the 1950s and 1960s, and

segregation was rigidly enforced, Mafeking managed to remain somewhat apart from

this oppression. Petty apartheid could not be enforced as stringently as elsewhere, due

to the British colonial presence. Charles Hooper (1960), the Anglican priest in Zeerust

at the time, complained that the presence of coloured worshippers in his church was

not tolerated, whereas in Mafeking it was accepted as a normal occurrence.


2.1.4 Apartheid planning

The transfer of administration from Mafeking to Gaborone with Botswana’s

independence in 1966 was not celebrated in Mafeking. The loss of colonial

administration and associated commerce brought about a sustained economic decline

for Mafeking. From 1966 to 1977, the town experienced the imposition of apartheid

spatial planning. Group areas segregation and petty apartheid legislation was

enforced. The town changed character from having a British colonial influence to be

reclaimed as another platteland town. Street and suburb names were given Afrikaans

rather than British names, for example, a new suburb was named Libertas, and there

was a proposal (although unsuccessful) to rename the Imperial Reserve to

Kareelaagte.

Mafeking’s economy had grown gradually throughout the twentieth century, and by the

early 1960s was based on colonial (Botswana) and native (Tswana territorial authority)

administration, agricultural services and processing (maize milling, creamery, tanning),

railway yards, and commerce and trading (much of it supplying Botswana). The town

was also a named border industry growth centre. This was a state industrial

development strategy. It grew out of the Tomlinson Commission Report of 1955 into

socio-economic conditions in the native reserves. Tomlinson found that there were too

many people in the reserves to be accommodated by subsistence livelihoods based

on agriculture, when South Africa’s population was a third of what it is today. His

proposed solution was to develop industries within the reserves, which would employ

the surplus population. Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd refused to accept this, and

rather proposed that industries be relocated from metropolitan areas to white towns

bordering native reserves. As Mafeking was embraced by the Molopo Native Reserve

to the north, south and west, it was identified as a suitable border industry town. Some

success was achieved in luring manufacturing to Mafeking, but it was not successful

and sustainable in the long term.

The Bophuthatswana Bantustan attained ‘independence’ in 1977 and a new capital,

Mmabatho, was built six kilometres north of Mafeking. In an event which seemed

surprising to many observers, the white inhabitants of Mafeking agitated to join

Bophuthatswana. This was led by the business community, anxious to restore the

prosperity of the former colonial era. Mafeking’s white residents voted to join

Bophuthatswana and the town was incorporated in 1980. The town was renamed

Mafikeng at this time.

The Bophuthatswana era brought about an economic boom for Mafikeng/Mmabatho

(Jones, 2000). The South African state poured heavy economic subsidies into

Bophuthatswana to achieve its strategic objective of securing grand apartheid, under

which there would be no black South Africans. Rather, they would all be citizens of

ethnically defined ‘homelands’. The town of Mafikeng recovered its status as a political

capital and the associated administrative functions and growth in employment. The

construction industry was a significant employer, as a parliament, ministerial buildings,


a university, airport, schools, clinics and residential suburbs mushroomed onto the veld

(Cowley and Gouws, 1996). From 1980 to 1992, there were few checks on the

environmental impacts of the building boom and borrow pits, with sand extraction

quarries and illegal dumping of construction rubble all taking place. Bophuthatswana

did not develop and enforce legislation concerning environmental impacts, which were

being nurtured in the rest of South Africa.

2.1.5 Re-incorporation into South Africa

As the National Party government realised the inevitability of democratic rule in South

Africa, brought about by external and internal struggle and pressure on the apartheid

state, constitutional negotiations began to determine the shape of a liberated South

Africa. It was assumed that the Bantustans would be seamlessly re-incorporated. This

was not the case. Opposition from the Bophuthatswana authorities, as well as

Buthelezi’s Inkatha Party in KwaZulu-Natal, was intense. This could not be sustained

and the ‘battle of Bop’ was the event which triggered the reincorporation of

Bophuthatswana (Lawrence and Manson, 1994). This battle refers to the conflict

between an alliance of right wing Afrikaner elements and Bophuthatswana forces

against the African National Congress (ANC) aligned opposition. Sixty people were

killed, including three whites who were summarily executed by a police ‘mutineer'.

Opposition to reincorporation collapsed and ultimately Bophuthatswana was

reincorporated into South Africa.

There was considerable nervousness among investors about the future of the town in

a ‘new’ South Africa. It was crucial for confidence that Mafikeng retained its status as

the provincial capital of the new North West Province. This was confirmed in 1994, but

uncertainty remained (Jones, 1999). The towns of Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp and

Rustenburg all began campaigns of varying intensity to capture provincial capital status

from Mafikeng. This generated continued negative sentiment and resulted in an

effective investment strike. Property markets declined in Mafikeng at a time when they

began to gain traction in the major metropolitan centres. The sentiment in the town

effectively turned from boomtown to ghost town. As a result of national macro-

economic policies, there was a considerable reduction in government employment.

Many workers were also redeployed to other towns in the province (Mosiane, 2000).

The political party which emerged from the remnants of the former Bophuthatswana

regime began to tap discontent and had a dramatically improved vote in the town in

the 2004 national elections. Many investors were worried that a strong showing for the

opposition from the apartheid era would result in a victorious ANC pursuing a vindictive

agenda of moving the provincial capital status to one of the other contending towns.

This did not happen. Rather, there was a renewed commitment from the ANC to

support growth in Mafikeng. Investment confidence suddenly ignited as though a dam

wall had broken. Pent-up demand resulted in surging property markets and new

development of shopping centres, residential suburbs, office blocks and hotels. This

process has continued to the present, even though property markets in the major

metropolitan areas have started slowing down due to high interest rates, infrastructural


constraints and slowing national growth. The Mafikeng property markets were almost

counter-cyclical to the major metropolitan areas.

2.2 Recent developments

For the second time, Mafikeng experienced a boom phase in investment and

construction, this time from 2004 to 2008. The former municipal airport, which had

always acted as a spatial buffer between Mafikeng and Mmabatho, was developed as

a shopping centre. More recently, new office blocks have been constructed, and

environmental impact assessment procedures approved the development of further

shopping centres, car lots, offices, residential suburbs and a hotel. Associated with this

has been the development of the Nelson Mandela highway (the main road to Botswana

and Lichtenburg) as the main commercial spine of the town. Former spatial divides

have therefore been overcome and the urban form now has a more integrated

structure.

The town has also promoted itself as an investment destination. The airport has

attempted to position itself as the hub of the Mahikeng Industrial Development Zone

(IDZ) (Global Buzz, 2014). The rationale for this was to import components and to

export value-added finished products. This needed political support and coordination

with the national Department of Trade and Industry, which have far been lacking.

Nevertheless, considerable infrastructural developments have been delivered at the

Mahikeng IDZ, although no factories have been built. Mafikeng was now spatially more

integrated within the urban network of the North West and neighbouring Gauteng,

Northern Cape and Botswana. This has overcome a colonial legacy and was a

significant development. Mafikeng attempted to position itself as an investment

location in the heart of Southern Africa, not as a frontier town at the edge of South

Africa. The idea that political borders can be conduits rather than barriers for

development, certainly seemed apposite.

The latest attempt to rebrand Mahikeng, in terms of place marketing, focused around

the Mahika-Mahikeng cultural festival, which takes place annually in early December.

Ambitious plans to promote the creative economy and build Mahikeng as the cultural

capital of South Africa have been advocated by the provincial government. The 2016

version of the festival did not live up to these lofty expectations, although it is too early

to pass judgement on what will be a long-term project to develop the creative and

cultural economy (Drummond et al., 2017).

As in the past, the economic growth caused environmental impacts. A new cement

factory is being discussed, although it would have negative environmental outcomes.

The extraction of gravel, river sand, clay for brick making, and rubble dumping have

received renewed impetus. These developments should now be subject to a rigorous

process of environmental monitoring. Capacity constraints and the view that the

environmental lobby is anti-growth, threaten this environmental assessment.


Similar constraints in the municipal management and maintenance functions also pose

significant environmental challenges. These are particularly acute with regard to water

and sewerage services, and solid waste disposal. Cutting across these issues is the

complicating factor of land tenure. As a result of its historical hybrid status as an African

and colonial town, the municipal area contains freehold, leasehold and communal

tenure areas.

3. SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES

The spatial structure of Mahikeng is a direct result of the governance history of the city,

where the different governments – Barolong tribal, British, apartheid, homeland, and

ANC government – have all left a mark on the spatial development of the city. However,

the present municipality appears to have limited influence on the structure of the city,

nor the development that occurs within it.

This can be partially attributed to the weakness of the municipality, evidenced in its

financial management, integrated development planning and neglect of spatial

planning, as well as the poor physical management of the area. Moreover, the

municipality appears to struggle to collect the revenue due to it. Over R700 million was

written off in bad debts at the end of the 2015 financial year (National Treasury 2015a).

However, there are other factors that could influence municipal capacity, namely the

influence of traditional authorities over much of the municipal space, and the finances

available to the municipality given the extent of tribal areas.

While legislation requires the municipality to plan and manage the development of the

area, the de facto control of most of the development appears to be the traditional

leaders, who control half of the municipal area where over 80% of the residents reside.

The values of traditional authority are not the same as those espoused in Western

democracy; thus, some form of conflict is to be expected. Furthermore, the spatial

norms in the area are contrary to the objectives of the Integrated Urban Development

Framework (IUDF) (Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

[RSA CoGTA], 2016). Most Mahikeng residents seek a detached dwelling with ‘its feet

on the ground’. Densities that can support effective transport (in excess of 80 dwellings

per hectare) are unlikely to occur while traditional density norms prevail.

From the information available (see Table 6), the municipality is only able to generate

about half of its expenditure from municipal rates (property taxes) or sale of electricity

and water (services charges), and this revenue is probably inadequate to for its

developmental responsibilities. The municipality must, therefore, rely heavily on

transfers from national government or the sale of assets (for example, municipal land

such as public open space). Potential municipal income from rates and services

charges is reduced due to the high number of residents living on tribal land where no

rates are payable. Additionally, only residents who have piped water connected to a

registered property (such as on the property or in the dwelling) can be billed, while

those with communal standpipes or boreholes pay no services charges. The same


applies to charges for the sale of electricity; the municipality can only charge for

services where it provides the service. Where Eskom provides the service directly to

clients, the municipality receives no benefit. Thus, the municipality can only rely on

rates and services income from those residents – effectively about one fifth of the

population to pay for the services rendered to the rest of the municipality and

businesses not within traditional areas.

Spatial transformation in Mahikeng is, therefore, more dependent on non-spatial

governance issues than on spatial planning and implementation. Spatial planning does

not drive development; however, the demand for land in areas under traditional

authority seems to be the major driver of growth.

Implementing the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), or the

IUDF, will require changes in policy or legislation that increase the revenue available

to municipalities as well as the ability to collect revenue from tribal areas. It will also

demand changes in the capacity of the municipality to manage its areas, undertake

planning and to effectively implement plans throughout the municipal area.

4. AN OVERVIEW OF MAHIKENG

This section contains a brief demographic profile, a summary of the economy, the

status of infrastructure provision and a description of the issues around governance.

4.1 Demographic profile

The population of Mahikeng has grown steadily around 1.7% over the past two

decades, increasing from 242 146 in 1996 to around 314 394 in 2016 (Local

Government Handbook, 2016). This growth is indicated in Figure 5. Of this population,

51.4% were female. The economically active section of the population was increasing,

while the number of people under fifteen and over 65 years of age has declined (Figure

6).

Source: Stats SA (1996, 2001, 2012, 2015)

Figure 5: Population 1996–2015

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

1996 2001 2011 2015


Source: Local Government Handbook (2016)

Figure 6: Age structure 2011–2016

Table 1 contains a summary of the population based on data from Statistics South

Africa.

TABLE 1: MAHIKENG POPULATION

Indicator 1996 2001 2011 2016

Total number of people 242 146 259 478 291 527 314 394

Total number of people: urban N/A N/A 64 623 54 257

Percentage urban N/A N/A 22.2 17.2

Total number of people: rural N/A N/A 226 904 260 137

Percentage people: rural N/A N/A 77.8 82.7

People: rural (traditional) N/A N/A 218 474 256 133

Percentage people: rural (traditional) N/A N/A 74.9 81.5

People: rural (commercial farms) N/A N/A 8 430 4 004

Percentage people: rural (commercial farms) 2.9 1.3

Total number of households 51 484 64 673 84 239 103 333

Average annual growth rate of population: since

previous period (%) N/A 1.4 1.2 1.5

Average annual growth rate of households: since

previous period (%) N/A 4.7 2.7 4.2

Source: Stats SA (1996, 2001, 2012, 2016)

From the data in Table 1, three interesting observations can be made: Firstly, it is clear

that the rural population was growing faster relative to the urban population. This could

be partially attributed to a lack of developable erven within the urban area (MLM,

2016a). However, it was more likely due to the lower costs of obtaining land within the

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Population under 15

Population 15 to 64

Population over 65

Age structure 2011 & 2016

2016 2011


rural area where the land market dynamics1 are very different, there were fewer

controls over development and lower municipal costs. Secondly, while the population

in the tribal area was growing, the number of households on commercial farms has

halved. This could be attributed to changes in agricultural practices (Goldblatt, n.d.) or

the purchase of farms for land reform purposes (Draft SDF, 2014). Thirdly, the number

of households was growing much faster than the population growth. This may be in

line with trends towards smaller households (Van Niekerk et al., 2014). The average

household size has decreased from 3.3 to 3 persons (Local Government Handbook,

2016), but is more likely to be an indicator of migration into the municipality.

By far, the majority of the population were black Africans (95.5%), with Coloureds,

Asians and Whites comprising 2.3%, 0.8% and 1,3%, respectively. Setswana was the

dominant language (77%), followed by English (4.5%). IsiXhosa, Sesotho and

Afrikaans speakers each comprising only three to four percent of the population as

indicated in Figure 8 (Stats SA, 2012).

Source: Stats S (2012)

Figure 7: Language profile

The town was remarkably integrated. The only areas that retained a vestige of group

areas planning were the small Coloured and Indian areas, but even these were

multiracial. Only the formal areas had some form of class segregation; however, this

appears to be largely absent from the informally developed areas where homes of over

350 m2 were juxtaposed against dwellings of less than 60 m2.

The educational level of the population is summarised in Table 2.

1There is a land market, but it is informal.

77%

5%

4%3%3%

8%

LANGUAGE

Setswana English IsiXhosa Sesotho Afrikaans Other


TABLE 2: EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF POPULATION 20 YEARS AND OLDER

Educational level 2011 2016

No schooling 10.3% 7.1%

Some education 51.3% 50.7%

Completed secondary (Matric) 26.0% 29.8%

Higher education 12.4% 10.9%

Total 100% 100%

Source: Local Government Handbook (2016)

Of the adult population, just on 11% had higher education, nearly 30% had completed

their secondary education, 7.1% had no education, and about half of the population

had some schooling. These low education levels have no doubt affected the

employability of the community: In 2011 only 20.5% of the population was employed,

a figure that has grown only marginally since 1996 (Stats SA 2012). The dependency

ratio has decreased from 58.1 (1996) and 55.3 (2001) to under 45 in 20152.

Although the official unemployment rate was 35.7% (47.1% for youth) (Local

Government Handbook, 2016), the real unemployment rate was probably far higher.

According to the Draft SDF, between 13% and 15% of the economically active

population was employed in the informal economy. There has also been a decrease in

the percentage of people in semi-skilled and unskilled labour, with a concomitant rise

in the percentage in skilled employment between 2001 and 2011 (Draft SDF, 2014:28)

(Figure 8).

Source: Draft SDF (2014:28)

Figure 8: Skills level of employed people: 2001 and 2011

2The Local Government Handbook (2016) gave a dependency ratio of 40.2.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Highly skilled Skilled Semi and unskilled Informal

per

cen

tage

Skill level 2001 2011


4.2 Socio-economic profile

Mahikeng grew relatively quickly in the late 1990s, but the Gross Value Added (GVA)

growth steadily decreased from 3,7% (1996–2001) to 2,3% (2001–2011), and was

around 0,7% during the period 2011 to 2015. This is in line with the national growth

rate. Nonetheless, the GVA for the municipal area has grown (Table 3) and its financial

contribution to the national GVA was similar to other intermediate cities (with the

exception of Rustenburg which far outperforms the other cities) (Turok and Borel-

Saladin, 2013:17).

TABLE 3: PERCENTAGE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY PER SECTOR: EMPLOYMENT AND GROSS

VALUE ADDED

Sector Employment Gross value added

1996 2001 2011 1996 2001 2011 2015

Agriculture 5.1 6.6 3.2 2.1 1.4 1.3 1.2

Mining 0.7 0.9 2.7 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.2

Manufacturing 5.8 5.3 6.5 4.0 4.1 3.7 3.4

Utilities 0.3 0.4 0.4 5.5 4.0 4.1 3.5

Construction 4.2 4.2 3.9 2.8 2.7 3.2 3.4

Trade 11.2 13.8 17.5 14.1 14.0 12.2 11.9

Transport 3.8 3.8 1.9 6.5 7.8 8.3 7.7

Business services 8.3 11.9 16 19.5 20.9 27.5 29.8

Government 44.5 37.5 35.4 33.8 31.5 28.1 28.4

Community 16.2 15.8 12.3 11.3 12.8 11.1 10.4

Source: Draft SDF (2014:24); Quantec data (2017)

The most important employer was government services, which stands to reason, as

Mahikeng is the seat of the North West Provincial Government. Although the

percentage of employment in this sector has dropped from 44% to 35.4%, it still

contributed over a third of formal employment in the municipality. Employment in the

trade and business services sectors has grown to 17.5% and 16%, respectively, and

appears to be eclipsing community services (12.3%) which was the second most

important sector in 1996 (Table 3).

Employment in manufacturing appears to have grown a little, as has mining, while the

remaining economic sectors have shown a decline. Agriculture contributed to little or

neither employment or GVA. Mining has shown some growth in employment. There

are large limestone quarries and a cement factory to the east of the urban area near

Buhrmansdrift and Slurry Village (Figure 9), as well as Kalgold, an open cast gold mine

in the south (Harmony, 2016) (Figure 10).


Source: Prolime (2010) Source: Mining Technology (2017)

Figure 9: Prolime feed lime works, Buhrmansdrift Figure 10: Kalgold open cast gold mine, Kraaipan, Mahikeng

The business services sector (including finance, insurance, and real estate) has grown

from 20% of the economy in 1996 to 30% in 2015, with the most dramatic growth

between 2011 and 2015 (Figure 11). This sector exceeded the contribution of

government in 2015 (which was 28%). This can possibly be attributed to new shopping

centres developed along Nelson Mandela Avenue between Mmabatho and the old

Mafikeng CBD, or business services to the provincial government.

Source: Adapted from Draft SDF (2014:24); Quantec data (2017)

Figure 11: Employment and gross value added per sector 2011

A great deal of construction was observed around the outskirts of the urban area, as

most of this was on tribal land or land occupied informally. It is surmised that much of

this construction is through the informal economy and is therefore not captured in

formal accounts.

0 10 20 30 40

Agriculture

Mining

Manufacturing

Utilities

Construction

Trade

Transport

Business services

Government

Community

Percentage

Sect

or

GVA Employment


4.3 Infrastructure

The urban core of Mahikeng enjoys full services with piped water, flush toilets and

electricity. However, the informal areas – both those under traditional authority and the

commonage area that has been ‘invaded’ – were dependent on septic tanks, French

drains or pit latrines and other sources of water (Table 4 and Table 5). More than 90%

of households had access to electricity. Nonetheless, the municipality indicated that

future growth of the city was dependent on addressing the backlog of bulk engineering

services to make it more competitive (MLM, 2017).

TABLE 4: MAHIKENG INFRASTRUCTURE

Indicators 1996 2001 2011 2016

Total number of households 51 484 64 673 84 239 103 333

Number of households with indoor water access

16 592 15 220 25 990 23 907

Percentage of households with indoor water access

32.2 23.5 30.9 23.1

Number of households with flush toilet access

13 048 19 634 27 642 32 913

Percentage of households with flush toilet access

25.3 30.4 32.8 31.9

Number of households with electricity access

20 953 46 550 71 216 95 561

Percentage of households with electricity access

40.7 72.0 84.5 92.5

Number of households living in informal structures

3 416 5 667 8 760 9 969

Percentage of households living in informal structures

6.6 8.8 10.4 9.6

Hectares of land occupied by informal settlements

n/a 8743 n/a 7221

Value of all building plans submitted (ZAR)

10 051 100 19 804 000 187 315 000 130 436 000

Source: Adapted from SANBI (2014), Stats SA (1996, 2001, 2011, 2015)

Although the data indicates weekly refuse removal in the urban area, the degree of

dumping and litter strewn on streets and open spaces bear witness to a very poor

quality of service. According to the 2016/2017 Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the

garbage collection trucks frequently broke down due to “overuse and poor

maintenance” (MLM, 2016a:26)

There were about 275 km of roads within the municipality. Those within the urban area

are in poor condition requiring frequent maintenance or total reconstruction, as well as

improved storm water drainage (MLM, 2016a).


TABLE 5: WATER RESOURCES: MAHIKENG HOUSEHOLDS

Access to water Percentage

Piped water

In dwelling 24.7

In yard 17.6

Within 200 m of dwelling 17.4

Within 500 m of dwelling 4.2

Over 500 m of dwelling 2.4

Borehole 25.0

River, spring or dam 0.6

Water vendor 0.8

Water tanker 4.4

Other 2.9

Total 100

Source: MLM (2016a:22-23)

Within the municipality there were 28 municipal clinics, all of which were staffed, and

three hospitals, one private and one psychiatric hospital which was under construction.

According to the IDP (MLM, 2016a:36), “not enough has been done regarding the

gathering of information on the status of the HIV/Aids pandemic in the Mahikeng Local

Municipality area”, thus the extent of the problem is not known.

4.4 Governance

According to the Local Government Handbook (2016), the ANC was the majority party,

holding 43 seats. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), with 12 seats, were the

official opposition. Other parties represented were the Democratic Alliance (DA) (7

seats), the Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) (3 seats); United Christian Democratic

Party (UCDP) (2 seats); African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) (1 seat) and

Congress of the People (COPE) (1 seat).

In 2014, the mayor, Councillor Lena Miga, was removed from office and the municipal

manager suspended on allegations that they were “unable to run municipal affairs and

for issuing tenders to bidders outside the province” (Mothibedi, 2014). This action was

taken by the ANC Provincial Executive.

There are various indicators that point to a municipality in distress, including general

economic trends, finances (revenue, expenditure, debts), deferred maintenance,

management issues, failure to achieve unqualified audits or address audit findings,

and no long-range plans (Ncube and Vacu, 2014). Mahikeng reflected several of these.

Mahikeng has failed to obtain an unqualified audit over the past four financial years. It

received a disclaimer of opinion during the 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 financial years

and a qualified audit in the 2013/2014 financial year (RSA National Treasury, 2015b).

No information was available for the 2015/2016 financial year. Furthermore, the

municipality has had to write off substantial bad debts each year. At the end of the


2014/2015 financial year this amount exceeded R700 million and it was over R650

million the previous year (RSA National Treasury, 2015b). Table 6 summarises some

data pertaining to Mahikeng’s finances.

TABLE 6: MUNICIPAL FINANCES

Indicators 2006/2007 2014/2015 2015/2016

Number of municipal employees N/A 859 847

Total municipal expenditure 228 615 082 743 127 271 742 534 721

Total capital expenditure 65 410 505 75 923 000 N/A

Capital budget as percentage of total budget 28.6 10.2 N/A

Municipal expenditure on maintenance 13 227 947 67 456 793 26 374 789

Maintenance as a percentage of total expenditure 5.8 9.1 3.6

Municipal expenditure on salaries 95 322 607 203 026 000 203 026 350

Expenditure on salaries as a percentage of total expenditure

41.7 27.0 27.3

Total municipal income 236 260 837 521 385 437 521 385 437

Total income from property rates 103 976 187 188 176 785 142 189 789

Municipal income from property tax as a percentage of total municipal income

44.0 36.1 27.3

Total income from service fees 90 494 276 133 277 015 N/A

Service fees as a percentage of total income 38.3 26.0 N/A

Total income from grants 41 790 374 182 537 298 197 115 000

Grants as a percentage of total income 17.7 35.0 37.8

Total municipal area (km2) 3 698 3 698 3 698

Total municipal built-up area (km2) 218 218 218

Number of municipal employees per m2 N/A 0.04 0.04

Number of municipal employees per km2 of built up area

N/A 3.9 3.9

Municipal expenditure per employee N/A 865 107.42 876 664.37

Average salary of officials N/A 236 352 239 701

Source: SA Treasury (Municipal Finance) and Local Government Handbook (2016)

Mahikeng municipality had also been running at a loss, with a deficit of R221 million in

the 2014/2015 financial year, and a loss of R65 million the following year (Local

Government Handbook, 2016). Mbua (2016:107) stated that the root causes of the

weak financial position were, firstly, inadequate training of financial staff and managers

in the finance department, as well as the internal audit section. Secondly, there was a

lack of control by both the internal audit and the audit committee. Thirdly, the

“employees in the financial department of the municipality are unethical and

unaccountable for their actions”.

The municipal IDP documents were weak. They had some demographic and economic

information, a summary of the governance structure, a list of community issues (wants)

and a list of projects, both funded and unfunded. There were no strategies, whether


relating to spatial development, local economic development or disaster management.

Hence, these IDPs were not strong long-range plans that could enable development.

Fifteen percent of all posts were vacant, while four of the seven senior management

posts3 were vacant by the end of the 2014/2015 financial year (Local Government

Handbook, 2016). According to the draft 2016/2021 IDP (Mahikeng 2016b:10), all

these senior posts were vacant but most have been filled by acting managers. This

situation appears to be an improvement of the situation in 2007/2007 where only 30%

of the 500 approved posts were filled (Bogopane, 2012:297).

As with many other departments, the planning department was headed by an acting

director. No organograms were available on the municipal website (including the IDPs),

making it difficult to ascertain how many posts there were in the planning department,

and how many of these have been filled.

Although spatial planning was not listed as a function of the planning and development

directorate, the municipality confirmed that some spatial planning was done in addition

to land use management (MLM, 2017). While land use management appeared to be

the core responsibility of the planning department, Mahikeng was one of few

municipalities in the North West Province that did not have its municipal by-laws in

place to implement the SPLUMA. Also, there was no municipal planning tribunal in

place, but there was an authorised official in terms of SPLUMA (Presentation by Ms

Kgosiemang, DRDLR official, 30/5/2015).

The relationship between the municipality and the Provincial Government could be

improved. The history of the town and its colonial and homeland background have led

to “the systematic sabotage of a once thriving town by the very political organisation

that never lets us forget how much the freedom we now enjoy, thanks [to] the humble

efforts of its members” (Matheolane, 2013). However, development in Mahikeng was

being promoted by the North-West Development Corporation by instruction of the

Premier of the province (Mabanga, 2017).

5. SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION ISSUES

5.1 Existing spatial patterns

The spatial patterns described in section 2.1 revealed several issues.

Firstly, there were two dominant spatial patterns in the area: the regular layouts of the

formal system and the more irregular patterns of the informal or tribal areas. The latter

comprised 75% of the municipal area with 82,7% of the population. The formal urban

area was home to a declining urban population, about 17.2% of the total population.

However, these formal areas generated most of the GVA of the municipality.

3Managers are appointed in terms of Section 57 of the Municipal Systems Act (RSA, 2000).


Secondly, there was a disjuncture between the colonial Mafeking centre and the

Bophuthatswana capital of Mmabatho in the development of the city – the latter is offset

from the business centre (Figure 2). Recent developments, particularly the new retail

centres, have created stronger links between the two and the remaining land between

these two centres offers an opportunity for the municipality to consolidate and densify

the urban area, in line with the IUDF principles. There were several partially

constructed blocks of flats on one portion, and a security gatehouse and one show

house on another. This opportunity could be lost if the land claims over the area are

successful (Personal Communication: Registrar of Deeds, Vryburg, 30/5/2015).

Thirdly, there was little, if any control – and hence limited opportunity to implement an

SDF – within the tribal areas (MLM, 2017). Although the densities in the tribal areas

are approaching those of the urban area, they are still low. In addition, the dispersed

structure of the areas makes the efficient provision of services, including public

transport, difficult. Nevertheless, for many residents, the low cost of acquiring a plot on

tribal authority land is to some extent undercutting the demand on formal municipal

land. Additionally, the distances between the denser ring of development over

traditional areas and the inner urban core is not excessive; most of this development

is within seven kilometres of the central business area.

5.2 Alignment with other plans

The Draft SDF discussed various national and provincial plans and policies in some

detail. These include the National Development Plan (NDP) (2012), the National

Spatial Development Perspective (2006), the New Growth Path (2009) and the

Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (2009). The only provincial plan

considered in detail is the Provincial Development Plan (PDP) as the Provincial Spatial

Development Framework (PSDF) had not been completed. The SDFs of adjoining

local authorities were discussed, as well as the Botswana NDP.

This section contains a brief overview of the North-West PDP 2013, as well as the

PSDF.

5.2.1 The North-West Provincial Development Plan

This plan emulates the NDP and was accepted in 2013. The eight priorities for the PDP

are similar to those of the NDP, namely:

• Economy and employment.

• Economic infrastructure.

• An integrated and inclusive rural economy.

• Human settlement and spatial transformation.

• Improving education, training and innovation.

• Building a capable and developmental state.

• Fighting corruption.

• Transforming society and uniting the province.


The strategies to grow the economy and employment included diversification of the

economy, particularly the mining and agriculture potential of the region. Currently,

mining contributed over 35% of the GVA in the province, making it dependent on

external demand. Government and community services, business services and finance

and trade together contributed about 60% of GVA. Community and government

services (23%) and mining (21%) were the largest employers in the province, followed

by trade (19%). The concentration of economic activity is reflected in the Tress Index

of 56. The financial contribution of agriculture, according to the PDP, was minimal, but

employed some eight percent of workers. However, this sector has been shedding jobs

for various reasons, including mechanisation and uncertainty about future government

policies.

In order to stimulate the economy and create employment, the following strategies

were proposed:

• Promote labour absorbing industries, such as mining, agriculture and construction,

including beneficiation and agro-processing.

• Small and medium enterprise development.

• Developing the rural economy.

• Promoting competitiveness through skills development and innovation.

• Strengthen the capacity in the public sector to enable development.

Tourism was also regarded as an opportunity, as were the major movement corridors

in the province.

Closely related to growing employment and economic growth was the requirement for

reliable economic infrastructure. The recent drought has stressed the scarcity and

importance of water for human, animal and economic needs. The limited water

resources in the province and the demand for water were recognised in the Draft SDF,

as were the challenges of providing water to remote rural areas. The demand for

electricity, particularly in rural areas, as well as the potential for renewable energy, was

discussed. The existing transport infrastructure was acknowledged, as well as the poor

state of many provincial roads. The rail network was also underutilised. There are two

airports (Pilansberg and Mahikeng) that were only used for passenger transport. The

reach and quality of information and communication technology infrastructure also

required improvement.

The rural economy has experienced challenges relating to water, decreases in

employment, and slow land reform. The goals for rural development were land reform

and expanding the number of successful commercial farmers, skills development,

social security and the development of businesses, for example agro-processing and

tourism.

Spatial transformation to address inequality and inefficiency and promote

sustainability was required within settlements, but the low number and limited

accessibility of large urban areas with their range of social and economic facilities,


were recognised. To address this problem, provincial development corridors were

proposed where the “linkages formed between the functional nodes and development

corridors will enable the movement of people, goods, energy and information

throughout the North-West province which in turn will promote sustainable growth”

(RSA, North-West Planning Commission [NWPC], 2013:146). Three main

development corridors were proposed. The southern route links Johannesburg via

Potchefstroom to Bloemhof along the N12, while an eastern corridor links Brits and

Rustenburg to Gaborone along the N4. A third corridor was intended to stretch from

Zeerust via Mahikeng and Vryburg to Taung and the Northern Cape (Figure 12). The

second strategy for sustainable settlements reflected the NDP proposals for spatial

restructuring along with improved coordination in human settlement development;

greater capacity for spatial planning and inclusive community participation (RSA,

National Planning Commission, 2012, Chapter 8).

Source: RSA NWPC (2013:147)

Figure 12: North-West provincial development plan: Proposed corridors

Closely related to building sustainable communities, was environmental sustainability.

The PDP focused on gearing for climate change, moving toward low carbon emissions,

protecting biodiversity, as well as resourcing critical areas and water resources.


The remaining goals and strategies of the PDP echoed the NDP with respect to

education, training, social protection, healthier and safer communities and a capable

state, reducing corruption and building and inclusive society.

5.2.2 Provincial spatial development framework 2016

The PSDF contained a detailed environmental, physical and social analysis of the

province. Each district municipality was also discussed in detail (RSA, North West

Province (NWP), 2017).

The proposals centred around a nodal structure, largely comprising existing

settlements. Mahikeng is a key node in the central part of the province. In addition to

the corridors indicated in Figure 12, the N14 route from Gauteng to Kuruman and an

‘Eastern Development Belt’ were proposed in this plan (Figure 13).

Source: RSA NWP (2017:81)

Figure 13: North West Province spatial development framework: Proposed corridors

Two scenarios were developed. The first considered a limited intervention option that

would perpetuate existing development patterns, and the second a high-growth, high-

intervention scenario where spending was determined by an economic rationale rather

than an egalitarian approach where spending was spread evenly through all places.


For each scenario, land use management, settlement planning, infrastructure,

economic development and governance implications were discussed.

With the second scenario as the preferred option, the PSDF expounded on five

development strategies, namely: (1) focus development on regional spatial

development initiatives, development corridors, development zones and nodes;

(2) protect biodiversity, water and agricultural resources; (3) infrastructure investment;

(4) economic development and job creation to change the spatial pattern; and

(5) balance urbanisation and the development of rural areas (RSA NWP, 2017:170).

In addition to detailing the implementation of these strategies, municipal

implementation frameworks for both district and local municipalities are included in the

PSDF, namely land budgets, development guidelines and implementation

programmes.

6. DRAFT MAHIKENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK, 2013

Despite numerous attempts through phone calls, emails and personal communication

with a junior staff member, it was not possible to discuss this analysis with the

municipal planning and infrastructure directorates. However, the written responses to

some questions (MLM, 2017) regarding spatial planning and management of the

traditional areas, were included in the section.

6.1 Key spatial planning and development challenges

The key challenges pertaining to Mahikeng with respect to spatial planning can be

grouped into those relating to planning and implementation by the municipality and

those pertaining to the nature of the spatial development in the area. The latter

primarily concerns the low density, dispersed development of the municipality,

particularly within the areas under traditional authority. The structure of such

development is contrary to that envisioned as a sustainable urban settlement, namely

low densities instead of a compact structure supporting public transport; inefficient and

expensive service provision rather than cost-effective service delivery; homogeneity

rather than a range of land use, land tenure and housing types, and urban amenities

and services; and an unsustainable use of ecosystem services, such as critical water

resources instead of a low ecological footprint.

However, effectively managing the space and moving towards more sustainable urban

development will require the effective implementation of sound planning developed

through collaborative planning processes (Innes and Booher, 2010). Such a process

depends on a well-resourced planning function with strong political support. Mahikeng

appears to have the opposite of this ideal. Based on the IDPs, municipal planning is

weak and spatial planning has a low priority. The capacity of the municipality to

implement plans is hampered by its financial status as well as the extent of the land

under traditional authority. Without the commitment of the traditional leaders to work

with the municipality in moving towards sustainable urban development, it will be

difficult to attain the IUDF vision. Changing the situation will require greater capacity


and authority for the municipality, and perhaps a change of policy and legislation

regarding the authority of traditional leaders.

6.2 Status of the spatial development framework

No SDF was available on the municipal website. However, according to the

Municipality, while the Draft SDF is dated 2014, it was approved in 2015 (MLM, 2017).

A copy of this SDF was obtained from Maxim Planning Solutions. Section 4.7.1 of this

SDF refers to a previous SDF (2005/2006) that included part of the current municipal

area that stressed urban densification through urban containment (an urban edge) and

infill.

According to a senior partner of Maxim Planning Solutions, the Draft SDF was

compiled just as SPLUMA was enacted, and it sought to comply with the provisions of

the Act. Nevertheless, the municipal planning department indicated that the current

SDF “requires a review since it has been regarded inconsistent with SPLUMA. The

municipality has appointed consultants who are currently busy with the review of the

municipal SDF” (MLM, 2017).

The Draft SDF also took into account the NDP (2012), the National Spatial

Development Perspective (2006), the National Government’s 12 priority outcomes, the

New Growth Path Framework (2009), the National Housing Code, the Neighbourhood

Development Programme and the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme

(2009). As the draft IUDF only became available after the compilation of the SDF, it did

not play a role in the formulation of the NDP.

Neither the draft IDP nor the previous IDPs that were available on the municipal

website, make any mention of an SDF or any form of spatial planning. The planner

from Maxim Planning Solutions commented that the implementation of the Draft SDF

might have be hindered due to the lack of finances in the municipality as well as the

limited capacity of the municipal planning department. According to a municipal

planner (MLM, 2017:1) the SDF does not really guide development:

[T]he SDF [is] not being efficiently used to guide the spatial development of

the town as it has been intended to … approvals for land use applications

(specifically rezoning) have been issued out without consulting and referring

to the contents and proposals of the SDF.

6.3 Summary of the concepts and proposals of the spatial development

framework

The Draft SDF contained detailed analyses of the status quo (following the DRDLR

guidelines for preparing municipal SDFs). This analysis included a review of relevant

national and provincial plans and policies, the socio-economic profile, a strategic

environmental analysis, the state of engineering services and a spatial profile that also

included neighbouring jurisdiction’s development plans. A SWOT analysis (strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities and threats) concluded the status quo section.


The spatial vision for the municipality was to:

Address key national, provincial and local priorities by focussing [on] the

provision of socio-economic infrastructure in areas with the highest growth

potential (with prospects of the highest return on capital and social

upliftment) but still attending to the basic needs of people elsewhere (Draft

SDF, 2014:184).

Among the key challenges identified are the low levels of economic growth, with high

levels of unemployment and poverty coupled to low levels of skills, and backlogs

pertaining to housing, basic services and social amenities. The SDF thus tried to

balance the need for economic development with providing basic needs and

simultaneously linking the urban and rural areas (Draft SDF, 2014).

To address these challenges, a combination of spatial concentration (or targeting)

along with an equity or dispersion model, was proposed, but with clustering key

activities and facilities in rural areas. The Draft SDF (2014) proposed strategic

intervention zones, with specific proposals for each zone. The urban area is one zone,

where the focus was on economic development, while in selected clusters, latent

economic opportunities need to be realised. In the remaining rural areas, the Draft SDF

(2014) adopted the National Spatial Development Perspective principle of investing in

people rather than the place (while still providing basic services) and promoting

sustainable development. These concepts were translated spatially into a series of

nodes within corridors for the greater Mahikeng area, inclusive of the corridors

proposed in the provincial growth plan (Figure 14). Besides the nodes and corridors,

the Draft SDF (2014) also identified areas that needed to be protected, such as critical

biodiversity zones, areas of high agricultural potential or crucial aquifers.

The identification of the rural nodes (or clusters) was based on an analysis of all the

rural settlements, followed by the clustering of those near to each other, as well as an

evaluation of the clusters in terms of the size of the population, the level of employment,

accessibility to the CBD and environmental sustainability. This evaluation formed the

basis for prioritisation of the settlements for development, which included formal

township establishment. These nodes were also the focus for the provision of public

facilities grouped around public spaces and markets.


Source: Draft SDF (2014)

Figure 14: Greater Mahikeng spatial development framework

In addition to the municipal SDF, there was also an urban SDF with details for specific

areas within Mahikeng/Mmabatho. As can be seen in Figure 16, all the formal urban

areas, as well as the highest density informal/tribal areas, were included within this

plan. An urban edge was drawn relatively tightly around the existing development in

the east and west, but provides room for expansion in the south and the north.

The plan was structured around nodes and corridors/spines, with the Mafikeng CBD

as the primary node, whereas the Mmabatho government precinct and the North-West

University campus were included as neighbourhood nodes. The Draft SDF (2014)

placed emphasis on a municipal open space system, particularly along water courses

such as the Molopo River and around the dam south of the airport.

Although the airport featured prominently as an industrial development zone, where

there was an unsuccessful application for Special Economic Zone status (MLM, 2017),

in a conceptual map (Figure 15), it featured less prominently in the final urban SDF

(Figure 16Figure 15). However, according to the State of the Province address by the

Premier of the North West a logistic hub at the Mahikeng airport became a provincial

priority (RSA Government, 2017).



Figure 15: Initial Mahikeng urban development concept

The Mahikeng IDZ was conceived as an intermodal transport facility that would support

an export processing zone at Lobatse, Botswana. Increased traffic between Lobatse,

Mahikeng and Rustenburg (the Platinum IDZ), would increase the viability of upgrading

the rail and road infrastructure, that would possibly also support the Walvis Bay Export

Processing Zone (Kleynhans et al., 2003).



Figure 16: Mahikeng urban social development framework

7. ASSESSMENT OF THE SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Where the previous section described the Draft SDF, this section analyses the

process, and the quality of the plan from a planning and legislative compliance

perspective. This assessment is based on the analysis of various documents, including

the Draft SDF, the written responses from the municipality and comments from a senior

partner of the Maxim Planning Solutions responsible for preparing the Draft SDF. The

compilation of the SDF was outsourced due to the lack of capacity within the planning

and development directorate of the Municipality.

7.1 Compiling the spatial development framework

According to both the Municipal Systems Act (RSA, 2000) and SPLUMA (RSA, 2013),

an SDF is a component of the IDP. However, no mention was made of an SDF in the

2015/2016 IDP or any subsequent documents available on the municipal website.

However, the IDP did inform the SDF in respect of the vision, the community needs

(mostly basic services) and in prioritising development proposals. Other documents

that were consulted were the previous SDF (2006), a local economic development

strategy and related business plans, a housing sector plan and the current town

planning scheme.


According to Maxim Planning Solutions, they experienced cooperation from municipal

and other government departments, especially regional representatives of the DRDLR,

the Department of Agriculture and Eskom who attended steering committee meetings.

However, there was little if any participation by the tribal authorities in the preparation

of the Draft SDF. Given that most of the area within the municipality falls under

traditional authorities, this is disconcerting, and possibly an indication of a lack of

understanding when it comes to municipal planning; or of greater concern, a lack of

cooperation. In the light of the development occurring on the periphery of the urban

area, based on site visits, it does appear that the municipality has little control over

what occurs on tribal land; it is merely called on to provide the basic services. This

process will without doubt lead to some degree of conflict between the municipal and

traditional authorities.

7.2 The quality of the spatial development framework

The quality of an SDF can be evaluated in more than one way. One important aspect

is the adherence to legislation. Both the regulations of the Municipal Systems Act, 2000

(DPLG, 2001) and SPLUMA specify the contents of the SDF. The latter are very

comprehensive (as indicated in Annexure 1 to this report). Furthermore, the DRDLR

has compiled detailed guidelines for preparing municipal spatial frameworks, and

planners are required to abide by these guidelines when the DRDLR would be funding

the SDF. Furthermore, an SDF can be evaluated in terms of the relevance of the

proposals to the issues of the area under the consideration. Both these aspects are

considered below.

7.2.1 Meeting legislative requirements

The Draft SDF of Mahikeng has followed the DRDLR guidelines closely and contained

a thorough status quo of the socio-economic profile, infrastructure and environmental

situations and issues. The SDF is strongly influenced by the IDP, and the spatial vision

is aligned to the vision of the IDP. It does provide guidelines for development,

infrastructure investment and land use management.

The draft SDF meets the technical requirements contained in the Municipal Planning

and Performance Regulations (DPLG, 2001) except that it alludes to the SPLUMA

principles rather than those in the Development Facilitation Act (RSA, 1995). The

SPLUMA principles, although described in the SDF, are not explicitly addressed in the

document, as it was completed before the legislation was enacted. However, the

document does partially meet the principles, particularly the spatial justice, spatial

resilience and spatial sustainability principles (Annexure 1).

SPLUMA requires five-year estimates of population growth and the concomitant

demand for housing and services, as well as projected employment growth. Although

some growth figures were included, the Draft SDF did not fully meet these criteria.

Furthermore, there was no detailed capital investment framework as envisaged by the


legislation; instead, there were a list of identified projects in each intervention zone, as

well as standards and criteria for decision-making.

The Draft SDF was compiled before the IUDF was formulated. Consequently, it did not

explicitly mention the objectives or drivers. Nonetheless, the proposals were aligned to

the following policy levers:

• Lever 1: Integrated urban planning and management.

• Lever 3: Integrated and sustainable settlements – based on the 2004 Breaking New

Ground strategy compiled by the Department of Housing.

• Lever 4: Integrated urban infrastructure through densification, infill and

concentration of development in the rural nodes.

• Lever 5: Effective land governance with sections on land use management for each

of the intervention zones.

• Lever 6: Inclusive economic development is one of the goals of the SDF and

underlies many of the proposals (Personal communication, Planning consultant,

22/5/2017).

The focus of the Draft SDF was to incrementally move the Mahikeng urban form from

its unsustainable, low density and dispersed structure to one that was more integrated

and effective spatially. However, doing so would require strong control over the rural

areas – which was unlikely without national government support – and a municipality

with greater capacity and stronger finances.

Lever 3, sustainable settlements, was the focus of the proposals for the rural areas.

Sustainability in respect of the environment, infrastructure provision, and economic

opportunities were all sought through the proposals for formalisation, densification

along the corridors and the development of nodes for social services and economic

activities. These proposals also addressed Lever 4.

Discussions on integrated public transport (Lever 2) were largely confined to

improving the access of residents in the rural areas, and predominantly through taxis.

Public transport, and transport-oriented development as a spatial structuring

mechanism was not emphasised in the document as the focus was rather on the

corridors. This was probably due to the low densities which would make public

transport a costly exercise, coupled with the limited capacity of the municipality to

implement and administer a public transport system. However, taxi-oriented

development in the rural clusters/nodes (Intervention Zone 2) might encourage

densification and economic development (Personal communication, Planning

consultant, 22/5/2017). Although a subsidised rail shuttle service was incorporated into

the list of IDP projects to service local stations and operate from Zeerust through

Mahikeng to possibly Vryburg, along with the upgrading of stations in the municipality

(Draft SDF, 2014:292), these proposals were not discussed in detail in the document.


Lever 6 (empowered, active communities) did not receive much attention in the Draft

SDF, other than the summaries of government policy that required community

participation and the importance of public participation in compiling land use schemes.

There was also no mention of community participation during the compilation of the

SDF, other than the list of IDP issues that was obtained from the steering committee.

Interestingly, public participation was identified as an issue in the IDP: “community

participation and continued communication with the citizenry remain a challenge. It has

been identified that resources for community participation and communication are

generally inadequate” (Draft SDF, 2014:138). The lack of participation in the

formulation of the draft SDF – especially of the traditional authorities – was also

considered the greatest weakness of the plan (Personal communication, Planning

consultant, 22/5/2017).

Effective urban governance was mentioned in the Draft SDF in relation to

implementing the SDF and land use management. The limited involvement of the

traditional leaders in formulating the plan was its biggest weakness, while the lack of

capacity in the municipality would certainly stymie both the implementation of the SDF

and urban governance in general (Personal communication, Planning consultant,

22/5/2017; MLM, 2017).

According to the planning consultant, the Draft SDF considered Policy Lever 9,

sustainable finances, noting that “within the reality of scarce financial resources it will

help to take rational decisions regarding development spending [and] … prioritise

between projects to get the highest social and economic returns on capital spend”.

Furthermore, the proposals to increase densities (through an urban edge and rural

clusters) and to concentrate development in the rural areas along the development

corridors would improve efficiency in basic service provision. Should the rural

settlements be formalised as proposed in the SDF, this might also contribute to

municipal revenue.

7.2.2 The soundness of the planning proposals

The Draft SDF for Mahikeng tried to create a rational development framework in a

difficult context. The proposals were sensible, and many planners would probably have

suggested similar strategies for the area.

Besides identifying and seeking to protect sensitive biodiversity areas and aquifers,

the municipal SDF responded to the low density rural area by concentrating on the

densest clusters of villages and proposing intensifying development within them.

These clusters formed the basis of the rural nodes and the focus for social facilities

and economic investment. This approach not only directed investment to areas where

it could have the greatest impact, but by developing nine nodes, it created greater

access to opportunities for the rural community than developing only a few nodes.

The plans for the urban area also sought compaction and densification through the

application of nodes, corridors, densification and infill areas (the latter with individual


proposals) and an open space system. Mixed land uses were encouraged in the nodes

and along local corridors or activity spines.

The economic investment zones contained in the plan were linked to the long-standing

development or proposals. The existing industrial area was retained with additional

mixed uses to the north, as the industrial development zone around the airport. The

location of the airport in respect of major transport routes makes its development as a

logistic hub or an industrial area doubtful (Woolfrey, 2013). Were it to serve a similar

function as the Pilansberg airport in terms of tourism transfers to local national parks

or game reserves in South Africa or Botswana, then the investment in the area would

be justified. Although the airport has a long runway and can accommodate large

aircraft, it could also serve as a hub for small aircraft servicing the tourism industry.

This is an opportunity that could be considered.

7.3 Degree of implementation

According to the planning consultant, it is likely that implementation would be

hampered by the lack of finances of the municipality, the limited involvement of the

traditional authority in preparing the plan and the lack of capacity within the

municipality. In its response document, the municipality indicated that, in addition to

the SDF not informing development, there were three critical issues in implementing

the SDF, namely:

• Addressing the bulk infrastructure backlog.

• Formalising the traditional areas to improve service delivery.

• A land use scheme to enable control over development in the entire municipal area

(MLM, 2017).

8. IMPLEMENTING SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION

It is one thing to prescribe policy and processes towards sustainable settlements, but

another to achieve them. Mandatory municipal planning processes have been in place

since the Development Facilitation Act of 1995 which required the formulation of land

development objectives to direct municipal activities and spending (RSA, 1995). The

development principles in the Act sought spatial transformation which are not that

dissimilar to those espoused in the IUDF. Some of the relevant principles of the Act

are quoted below:

3.(c) Policy, administrative practice and laws should promote efficient and

integrated land development in that they

(i) promote the integration of the social, economic, institutional and physical

aspects of development;

(ii) promote integrated land development in rural and urban areas …;

(iii) promote the availability of residential and employment opportunities in

support of each other;

(iv) optimise the use of existing resources …;

(v) promote a diverse combination of land uses …;


(vi) discourage the phenomenon of ‘urban sprawl’ … and contribute to the

development of more compact towns and cities;

(vii) correct the historically distorted spatial patterns of settlement …;

(viii) encourage environmentally sustainable land development practices and

processes (RSA Development Facilitation Act, 1995: §3 (c)).

Later, IDPs were introduced with the same purpose of directing municipal activities and

budgets. SDFs are an integral part of the IDPs. These plans are all intended to focus

municipal spending on transforming spaces with the provision of basic services,

encouraging economic growth and job creation and creating more efficient and

effective spaces (Du Plessis and Boonzaaier, 2015). However, the evaluation of

municipalities in 2009 (RSA CoGTA, 2009) and the Twenty year review: Background

Paper on Local Government (RSA, The Presidency, 2014) indicated that these

processes have not led to the desired social, economic or spatial transformations.

While the problems – and their causes – are numerous, two issues stand out in relation

to Mahikeng: the inability to undertake integrated planning for development, and the

failure to implement the plans.

8.1 Planning and implementing spatial transformation

Integrated planning (alignment of goals, strategies and budgets) is essential for

integrated implementation (alignment of activities and spending). Integrated planning

implies integration across spheres of government, functions, and sector departments.

As space is a common denominator, spatial planning is a key platform for such

integration.

Although the will to cooperate in planning between the spheres of government often

exists, the bureaucratic nature of the institutions, with their different mandates, goals,

procedures and time frames, often limits attempts at integrated planning (Personal

Communication: Municipal planner, Drakenstein Municipality, 17/3/2017).

Furthermore, even within the municipality, where the goals and strategies are

supported by all sector departments, operational decisions by officials in sector

departments may unwittingly stymie the implementation of the plan (Personal

Communication: Municipal planner, City of Tshwane, 16/3/2017).

A further problem experienced in planning for transformation is the limited capacity for

spatial planning in municipalities. Many, if not most, local municipalities outsource their

municipal SDFs to consultants, as in Mahikeng. Without the commitment to the plan

that comes from an intimate involvement in preparing it, it can be difficult to persuade

the rest of the municipality to enthusiastically adopt and implement it (Oranje, 2014).

This also carries through to land use management; where the SDF is intended to guide

decisions on development, political and other pressures may result in disregarding the

plan (MLM, 2017).


8.2 Spatial transformation and Mahikeng

If the definition of spatial transformation is a compact city with densities that can

support viable public transport, where the poor are near public facilities and

employment in a vibrant and growing economy, then Mahikeng has a long way to go.

It will require a strong, capable and well-resourced municipal government with authority

over development in the traditional areas to achieve spatial transformation.

Among the most serious constraints to spatial transformation in Mahikeng are:

• The extent of the land under traditional authority, with the constraints that this

implies. One issue is the disputed authority over land development in traditional

areas (Wilaims et al., 2016). Another is the limitations that the lack of title over land

has on development, and hence the ability to use it for collateral or make land

development applications.

• The limited capacity and resources available to the municipality that affects the

ability to plan and manage development.

Table 7 summarises the key goals of spatial transformation drawn from the IUDF and

the current situation of the municipality in respect of those goals.

TABLE 7: MAHIKENG IN RELATION TO SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION

Goals Mahikeng reality

Compact urban growth

• Accessibility to services

• Lower transport costs

• Housing near opportunities

(for the poor)

Attaining more compact growth other than in the formal urban area will be

difficult unless (1) the tribal areas within the urban edge are formalised

and under municipal control and (2) the remaining traditional areas are

developed in line with the IUDF and SDF principles. The formalisation of

the area within the urban edge is more likely than the adherence of the

traditional authorities to the SDF, IUDF or even SPLUMA.

Moreover, the desire of the local residents for a detached dwelling on an

individual plot of land will limit higher densities, even within the urban

area.

Efficient infrastructure

• Provision of basic services

• Maintenance, quality/

reliability of services

• Affordability to clients and

municipality

• Ability to bill and collect

revenue

The municipality has limited capacity to provide basic services. Extending

its services into the tribal areas will stretch its limited resources to

provide, maintain and bill for the services.

The provision of efficient infrastructure will demand a more capable

municipal government, higher densities and greater authority over

traditional areas.

The high levels of poverty imply that many residents may be unable to

afford basic services.

Good governance

• Good intergovernmental

relations

• Support from traditional

leaders

• Strong municipal capacity

Besides ensuring good relationships with the other spheres of

government, sound municipal governance of Mahikeng will require

greater human resource capacity within the municipality and support

(buy-in) from the traditional leaders. Additional financial resources or

revenue sources will also be necessary.


Goals Mahikeng reality

Integrated planning Integrated planning and implementation are also constraints to spatial

transformation. The quality of the IDPs and the neglect of spatial planning

indicate limited attention to planning as a tool towards spatial

transformation.

Vibrant economy

• Labour absorbing job creation

• Skills aligned with economy’s

needs

• Diversity

• Range of services available

locally

The economy has been diversifying (the Tress Index dropped from 58 in

2001 to 53 in 2011) (Draft SDF, 2014:19), but still remains concentrated

in three sectors with strong reliance on the government sector.

The education levels within the area are relatively low, which could hinder

economic growth. However, there has been investment and development

in the area in the form of new retail centres and housing.

Ecologically sustainable The lack of control over development within the municipal area will affect

the sustainability of the region.

The municipality has a large spatial footprint with inefficient use of land

for low density residential development.

Current development patterns, including the extraction of water from

aquifers, will pose problems in the future, particularly if there are more

frequent and severe droughts.

The wide-scale use of pit latrines and septic tanks may pollute this critical

aquifer or other groundwater sources.

Adequate control over activities in the tribal villages within the southern

biodiversity node is required to protect it, while mining on the edge of the

northern node and aquifer could pose a risk to this area.

Resilient: able to resist or adapt to

detrimental changes

Under present circumstances, limited municipal capacity, high levels of

poverty and unemployment, the current spatial structure and the lack of

control over development patterns reduces the resilience of the region.

Source: Authors’ own (2017)

Mahikeng appears not to have invested in spatial planning as an integrating tool to

align the plans and programmes of the various national, provincial and district

government departments with their own plans, as evidenced in the IDPs available on

the website. The Draft SDF prepared by the consultants, addressed the alignment of

spatial plans and the IDP proposals in detail and was consistent with the 2016

Provincial SDF that was compiled two years later. Yet, this plan does not appear to

have been taken seriously (MLM, 2017). While the 2016/2017 IDP contains the Ngaka

Modiri Molema District water and sanitation projects, Eskom projects, and projects

funded by the Provincial Government, there are no spatial depictions of these projects.

In terms of the implementation of SPLUMA, it has been slow. The approved SDF

(approved in 2015, after SPLUMA was enacted) requires reviewing as it is not

considered to be ‘SPLUMA-compliant’. Both an approved and gazetted SDF and a new

land use scheme that are compliant with SPLUMA, need be in place by July 2018.

Furthermore, no by-laws have yet been implemented to deal with applications. It may

be that this is due to the cost of gazetting the by-law (Presentation by Ms Kgosiemang,

DRDLR official, 30/5/2015), or it reflects conflict with the traditional authorities

regarding implementation of SPLUMA in their areas. Another question arises as to


what extent the provincial government is contributing to development within the

municipality that reflects its goals and is a model for the province within its seat of

government.

9. CONCLUSIONS

Much of the municipality is under traditional authority with a formal ‘city’ area as an

enclave in the midst of tribal land. The municipality has little control over the

development in these areas that appear to be the fastest growing areas in terms of

population growth. Consequently, the traditional leaders are critical stakeholders in the

spatial planning and development of the municipality. Without their commitment to a

conjointly prepared development plan or strategy, changes to the spatial structure are

unlikely. Service delivery in areas under traditional authority is also problematic; both

from a practical provision perspective (given the dispersed structure and land

allocation processes) and a revenue collection perspective.

Spatial planning was not directing development or investment. There appears to be

limited appreciation of the importance of spatial planning. The Draft SDF was prepared

by consultants and appeared not to have been ‘owned’ by the municipality. Thus, the

Draft SDF, as reasonable as its proposals were in the context, might have been a futile

exercise. Spatial transformation, as it is commonly understood and implemented in

South Africa, may be a lower priority than basic service delivery.

The capacity of a municipality to direct and manage planning and implementation of

both the IDP and the SDP is also critical to spatial transformation. In this context, the

concept of capacity comprises revenue generation and collection, as well as financial

management, in addition to control over development by the Municipality. Thus, spatial

transformation, in the context of Mahikeng, is a function of good governance.


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ANNEXURE 1

SDF EVALUATION4 Yes/No Comment

1. Does this SDF claim to be drafted in terms of SPLUMA? Partially Extensive quote from SPLUMA – but the Act was not in force when compiled

2. How does this SDF attempt to promote spatial justice5, as defined by SPLUMA, within the municipal area?

• Redress of spatial imbalances through improved access to land and use of land.

Yes Long section on “making land reform work” (p. 103)

• Access to land: Is mention made of provision of housing/land for previously disadvantaged people preferably in accessible locations?

Yes Land ownership was identified as a major issue (p. 158)

• Use of land: Are provisions made for a diversity of land uses, especially higher-order economic uses6 encouraged/permitted?

• Is mention made of how the land use scheme should promote/encourage redress?

No

• Inclusion: Does the SDF specifically include informal settlements, areas under traditional authority, areas of poverty/deprivation and the rural part of the municipality?

Yes At least 50% of the residents of the area live on traditional land

4Some of the terminology used will be explained through footnotes. Please note that the definition of these terms is provided in SPLUMA, and the interpretation given is your own. 5Soja (2009) defines spatial justice as: “1. In the broadest sense, spatial (in)justice refers to an intentional and focused emphasis on the spatial or geographical aspects of justice and injustice. As a starting point, this involves the fair and equitable distribution in space of socially valued resources and the opportunities to use them. 2. Spatial justice as such is not a substitute or alternative to social, economic, or other forms of justice but rather a way of looking at justice from a critical spatial perspective. From this viewpoint, there is always a relevant spatial dimension to justice while at the same time all geographies have expressions of justice and injustice built into them.” Source and more detail at: https://www.jssj.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/JSSJ1-1en4.pdf 6 For example, office parks, retail developments and industrial parks.

https://www.jssj.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/JSSJ1-1en4.pdf



• Is mention made of mechanisms or development procedures or provisions in the land use scheme to promote secure tenure7 for all and the incremental upgrading of informal settlements?

Yes Both security of tenure and upgrading – through nodal development

• Is mention made that the provisions of the land use scheme should be sufficiently flexible and appropriate for the various forms of settlement in the municipality and specifically informal settlements, areas under traditional authority, and areas of poverty/deprivation?

Yes Also notes that the current scheme is outdated and does not meet the requirements of SPLUMA

3. How does this SDF attempt to implement the principle of spatial sustainability8, as defined by SPLUMA, in the municipal area?

• Is there an attempt to quantify the land demand for specific land uses, and the supply of this land (land allocations) given the constraints imposed by the SDF?

Yes

• Are the developments / land allocations in the SDF realistic and within the ‘fiscal’, institutional and administrative means of the municipality?

Partial The municipality may not have authority to implement the proposals where they are on traditional land

• Do the proposals take current and future costs – such as incremental extensions, operational costs (e.g. staffing) or maintenance – into account in respect of both infrastructure and social services?

Partial

• Is prime/unique agricultural land protected? Yes

• To what extent are/were strategic environmental assessments/ environmental management plans an integral component of the

Yes A strong component of the analysis and SDF

7At its simplest, secure tenure “is the right of all individuals and groups to effective protection by the State against unlawful evictions”. Source and more detail (pp 12-19): http://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/expert-group-meeting-urban-indicators%5B1%5D.pdf 8One definition is: “development providing for a territorial balance of satisfying at the same rate the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations” (Petrişor, 2009). According to Collignon (2009), its aim is to “ensure the coherence of socioeconomic objectives in relationship with the territory and its ecological and cultural functions, aiming to enhance the quality of present and future generations’ life by creating sustainable communities able to manage and use resources efficiently, exploiting the innovative ecological and social potential of the economy and guaranteeing the welfare, environmental protection and social cohesion”. Source and more detail at: https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/pesd.2014.8.issue-1/pesd-2014-0016/pesd-2014-0016.pdf

http://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/expert-group-meeting-urban-indicators%5B1%5D.pdf

https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/pesd.2014.8.issue-1/pesd-2014-0016/pesd-2014-0016.pdf

https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/pesd.2014.8.issue-1/pesd-2014-0016/pesd-2014-0016.pdf



planning process or the proposals of the SDF? Or are they an afterthought?

• Will the SDF’s proposals encourage the functioning of an equitable land market9 with a variety of choices in type and price of property for all income groups?

Yes This is not a major issue in this area – title is more problematic

• Are the proposals for future development in accessible, cost-effective locations10 that will not require an extension of infrastructure or additional transport costs? Will these proposed developments lead to sprawl or a more compact city?

Partial The low-density sprawl of the peripheral tribal areas is already a problem. The SDF seeks to densify and compact these areas with the development of specific nodes

• Will the SDF create viable communities, i.e. communities where there are jobs (numbers and diversity of opportunities), social facilities including educational (from pre-school to at least secondary school), health, recreational and retail facilities, and access to municipal and government services? Are there any proposals for creating dignified places?

Partial The low-density sprawl makes it difficult to create a more sustainable settlement form

4. How does this SDF attempt to optimise the efficiency11, as defined by SPLUMA, of the built form in the municipal area?

• Do the proposals in the SDF, or the SDF itself, seek to optimise existing resources or infrastructure in the municipal areas?

Yes

• Is there any mention of decision-making processes to minimise the negative impacts (social, economic, financial, environmental)

Partial There is a prioritisation methodology included in the SDF

9A land market is defined as “the mechanisms by which rights in land and housing, either separately or together, are voluntarily traded through transactions such as sales and leases. These

transactions may take place on the formal land market, or may happen through informal channels such as informal land developers.” An equitable land market is one in which “no group within society ... [is] legally or politically excluded from being able to access to land or related natural resources.” Sources: http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf and http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf 10This relates to both the cost to the city and the household of infrastructure and transport costs. In terms of infrastructure, different parts of the city are likely to differing capacity to absorb new development before bulk infrastructure upgrades are required. In principle, guiding development to occur in locations where there is an infrastructure ‘surplus’ should result in less costs for the city. Furthermore, different parts of the city are likely to result in differing costs to service, due to factors such as slope gradient, distance from bulk treatment facilities, etc. For households, having a shorter trip distance between place of work/education and residence is likely to lead to lower transport costs, which frees up funds for other household expenses. For more on this, see: http://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/45590/Venter_Access_2014.pdf?sequence=1 11The Oxford Dictionary defines the word ‘efficient’ as meaning “achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense”. In planning, this has many different applications/interpretations, for example, an ‘efficient’ low-income housing layout might be one with a narrow street frontage as this results in lowering service cost. Other examples include considerations such as having higher dwelling unit densities, which result in a lower cost for the state with regard to providing access to public transport, and for households, lower transport costs and time, amongst other cost-saving benefits. For more on this, see: http://pdg.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/FFC-cost-of-inefficient-land-use.pdf

http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf

http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf

http://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/45590/Venter_Access_2014.pdf?sequence=1

http://pdg.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/FFC-cost-of-inefficient-land-use.pdf



of the SDF recommendations in terms of interventions and land use proposals?

• Is there any mention of creating efficient, expeditious and streamlined land use management processes?

No

• 5. How does this SDF attempt to incorporate the principle of spatial resilience12, as defined by SPLUMA, in the municipal area?

• Do the proposals in the plan seek to limit negative impacts of economic or environmental hazards (particularly of poor or otherwise vulnerable communities)?

Yes

• Is there mention of flexibility of policy, etc. to promote sustainable livelihoods (e.g. food gardening, home-based and small businesses)?

Yes

6. How does this SDF attempt to comply with the principle of good administration, as defined by SPLUMA?

• Does the SDF clearly set out the policies, legislation and procedures that must be followed in drafting and adopting the plan?

Partial Contains SPLUMA requirements verbatim (Sec 1.4)

• Does this SDF set out how the public participation process was conducted, and how this process affected the formulation of the SDF?

No

• To what extent does the SDF contain all the elements required of a municipal SDF as per §12 & 21 of SPLUMA (as stated in the list below)?

12Note there is no clear guidance on what exactly is meant by this. SPLUMA’s definition is “‘flexibility in spatial plans, policies and land use management systems are accommodated to ensure

sustainable livelihoods in communities most likely to suffer the impacts of economic and environmental shocks”. For more on the definition of this concept see: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-017-9303-6

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-017-9303-6



− Give effect to norms and principles13 Partial

− Spatial representation of 5-year spatial plan Yes

− Written content re 5-year spatial plan Yes

− Contain a longer term (10-20 years) spatial vision Yes

− Contain (re)structuring elements – nodes, corridors, economic nodes, public and private investment focus areas, etc

Yes

− 5-year population growth estimates Yes P 48

− Housing demand estimates

− Planned location & density of new housing Yes

− 5-year employment trends, estimates of economic activity and its location

No Only information up to 2011

− 5-year estimates of infrastructure needs (where, what, how much) Yes

− Possible inclusionary housing areas No

− Strategic environmental assessment of opportunities and sensitive areas

Yes

− Incremental upgrading areas Yes

− Areas where more detailed plans are needed Yes

− Areas where shorted land development processes should be applied

?

− Spatial depiction of integration/alignment of municipal policies, plan and strategies

Yes

13Principles are the concepts discussed earlier such as spatial justice, spatial resilience, spatial sustainability, efficiency and good administration. Norms refer to a yet to be issued document from the national department which set out the desired normative patterns of land development, i.e. ‘what ought to be’. In effect, all is required here is a summary sentence reflecting on the overall assessment on how well the plan incorporated the SPLUMA principles.



− A capital expenditure framework – depicted spatially

− Sectoral requirements, including budgets and resources

− Necessary amendments to LUS

− Institutional arrangements for implementation

− Specification of implementation targets, including dates and

monitoring indicators

− Arrangements for partnerships in implementation

No

− An implementation plan No

Section 12 requirements

The SDF must interpret and represent the spatial vision of the municipality

Yes

Represent the integration and trade-off between sector plans Yes

Be able to guide decision-making (related to land and spatial development)

Yes

Integration of national, provincial and municipal plans in that space

Yes

Provide clear and coherent direction for investment Yes

Address historical imbalances ?

7. Does this SDF show how it is aligned with other municipal plans (such as the IDP), and other spatial plans at a provincial and national scale?

• Other municipal plans Yes

• Spatial plans at a provincial and national scale? Yes



8. Does this SDF provide an overview of how it relates to past SDFs/structure plans, what some of the issues with these past plans/approaches were, and how this plan responded to, or intends to respond to, these issues?

Yes

9. Are heritage conservation areas identified and included in the SDF? Yes

10. In your judgement, how credible is this SDF? This SDF has a thorough analysis and seeks to create a structure around which the disparate elements of the municipal area can be linked physically and from a legibility perspective. However, without the buy-in of the traditional authorities in the provincial government, the plan may never be implemented.