Ensuring Development
Under the South African system of representative democracy, the local sphere of government has evolved to consist of 257 municipalities who have the right to govern their own communities, subject to national and provincial legislation. These municipalities comprise eight metropolitan, 44 district and 205 local municipalities.
Local government in KwaZulu-Natal is organised into the eThekwini Metropolitan Council, and ten district municipalities, namely: Amajuba; iLembe; Harry Gwala; Ugu; uMgungundlovu; uMkhanyakude; uMzinyathi; uThukela; King Cetshwayo and Zululand. Each district is further divided into a varying number of local municipalities. The KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) is responsible for performing oversight and support to its municipalities.
The district municipalities have important roles to play to support municipalities to perform responsibilities for which they possess neither the finances nor human resources. The role of districts, according to the Municipal Structures Act, is to ensure the, "integrated, sustainable, and equitable social and economic development of its area as a whole".
Essentially, the role of district municipalities is to:
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Ensure integrated development planning for the district as a whole
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Promote bulk infrastructure and services
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Build the capacity of weaker local municipalities
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Facilitate economies of scale
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Encourage a measure of redistribution of resources between municipalities and more equitable services
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Provide services where local municipalities do not have the capacity to do so
District Development Agencies
At a KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Cabinet Lekgotla held on 11 -13 September 2012, a resolution was taken to establish District Development Agencies (DDAs) to provide effective business and investor facilitation and support to reduce regulatory burden. This concept is intended to serve as future local economic growth drivers of all the district and local municipalities in KZN. A key aspect of this programme is to promote the active involvement of the private sector in the planning and implementation of catalytic commercial economic development initiatives at the local level.
The agencies will create an enabling environment in which local people, institutions and businesses can take realistic and practical decisions to strengthen the local economies, create more jobs at local level and promote new enterprises.
The following agencies have been established:
