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New District Coordination Model to Improve the Coherence and Impact of Government Service Delivery and Development

In his 2019 Budget Speech, the President highlighted the “siloed” approach to governance as a key challenge, noting that this has led to a lack of coherence in planning and implementation, as well as difficulties in monitoring and oversight. As a result, service delivery has been suboptimal, and progress on tackling poverty, inequality, and unemployment has been hindered. The President called for the introduction of a new, integrated, district-based approach to service delivery, emphasizing localized procurement and job creation to support local businesses and engage communities. He acknowledged that such an approach would require national departments with district-level delivery capacity to collaborate with provincial governments to align their implementation plans with priorities outlined in the State of the Nation Address.

The proposed New District-Level Model leverages existing legal frameworks, including the Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Framework Act, which mandates the Minister of Cooperative Governance to create a framework for aligning development priorities across all levels of government. This model aims to enhance these frameworks by facilitating joint planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation across the various spheres of government, with “district” referring to a geographical locality rather than the District Municipality itself. While the District Municipality plays an important role, the focus is on the broader planning and delivery architecture.

The model seeks to maximize impact by attracting public, private, and nonprofit sector investments to district localities, guided by district-specific implementation plans. The aim is to address immediate challenges faced by local municipalities, which are critical building blocks for realizing the model’s objectives and the development aspirations of communities. By laying a strong foundation in the short term, a long-term, spatially relevant development plan for South Africa will be secured through the aggregation of District Implementation Plans into a unified, integrated “One Plan.” This One Plan will:

  • Focus on district/metropolitan areas as the appropriate scale for intergovernmental planning and coordination.
  • Use the 44 districts and 8 metropolitan areas as developmental spaces, strategic alignment platforms for all levels of government.
  • Produce a Spatially Integrated Single Government Plan for each of these areas, directing strategic investment and project delivery across government and ensuring accountability.
  • Reinforce an outcomes-based IGR system, with a structured program and process for formulating and implementing the Single Government Plan.
  • Prioritize development within communities, ensuring that government actions directly benefit local populations.

The One Plan will be divided into 5- and 10-year implementation phases, supported by annual operational plans based on shared diagnostics, strategies, and actions. Each government sphere and sector department will further detail their own plans and actions. The plans will cover:

  • Managing urbanization, growth, and development.
  • Identifying and supporting local economic drivers.
  • Managing spatial form, land release, and development.
  • Determining infrastructure investment needs to support integrated human settlements, economic activities, and basic social services.
  • Institutionalizing long-term planning while addressing immediate issues.

The content of these plans will detail the transformation processes needed to achieve long-term goals in each district and metropolitan area.

To lay the foundation for this model’s future success, a short-term implementation plan is proposed, which includes:

  • Finalizing spatially referenced budgets and programs by all levels of government for specific districts and metros, at the ward or local municipality level. This step is crucial for informing the One Plan and the proposed Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC), which will involve district mayors starting in November 2019.
  • A stabilization phase to address governance, financial management, infrastructure delivery and maintenance, and community engagement challenges.
  • A long-term, spatially referenced plan linking national development with regional and global markets to secure decent work, food security, and improved living conditions.

To drive this initiative, the President will champion the effort, supported by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and an Interministerial Committee. This will be complemented by a similar structure at the provincial level, with oversight provided by multi-stakeholder District Hubs. These hubs will involve district and local municipalities, as well as the private and community sectors. Each hub will be led by a District Hub Manager, appointed by the Department of Cooperative Governance, and staffed by a multidisciplinary team of experts.

No additional resources are needed in the short term (12 to 18 months) for the development phase. The Department of Cooperative Governance will seek approval from the National Treasury to reprioritize existing budgets and explore funding partnerships with the private sector and development partners, advised by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the Department of Trade and Industry.