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POLICY AND REGULATORY CONTEXT

Introduction

It is necessary to understand the various policies applicable to spatial planning in South Africa and the
context that they provide in relation to the way that departments develop their access standards and how
they apply them in determining the optimum provisioning and location of their service points.

Various government policies obligate government departments and institutions to improve access to their
services. These policies have a direct bearing on spatial planning priorities and processes across the 3
spheres of government. They also provide the context in which departments must develop strategies to
improve access to their services. It is important to consider these policies when studying the provision
of your services and in determining how and where different types of facilities should be located
geographically. An overview of some of the key policies is provided in this section.

Constitution

The Bill of Rights in the Constitution places an obligation on departments to improve access to services.
It also states that the state must take legislative and other measures to provide access to a range of
services, for instance, housing, health care, food, water and social security, within its available resources
to achieve progressive realisation of these rights.

The Constitution also provides for the setting of norms and standards to ensure equal access to public
services. In terms of Section 146 (subsection 2 (b)) of the Constitution, national legislation prevails in
the aim of uniformity for effective service delivery. Provincial authorities are responsible for translating
national norms and standards into provincially specific forms in law and for playing a monitoring and co-
ordinating role.
National Development Plan

The National Development Plan (NDP) highlights those spatial disparities which still stand in the way
of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality in South Africa, particularly because spatial challenges
continue to marginalise the poor; and poorly located and inadequate infrastructure limits social inclusion
and faster economic growth.

The NDP also points to systemic difficulties and unwillingness among state departments and entities at
all spheres of government to plan collaboratively across functional and spatial boundaries and to share
responsibilities in implementation. It calls for a more coherent national spatial planning framework to
tackle the inertia in achieving redress of the inherited legacy of inequality and exclusion.

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