Spatial Planning-Housing Nexus: The Ramifications of Dual Governance in Rural Areas Under Traditional Leadership at the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Paul Mudau; Aubrey Manthwa; Gaopalelwe Mathiba

doi:10.25159/2663-6549/19402

Authors

Paul Mudau University of South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8696-7495
Aubrey Manthwa University of South Africa
Gaopalelwe Mathiba University of South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6549/19402

Keywords:

housing-spatial planning nexus, dual governance, right to adequate housing, rural and traditional authority areas, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Abstract

This article examines the multi-faceted interplay between spatial planning and housing development in rural areas under traditional leadership within the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. It explores the ramifications of dual governance, in which traditional authorities and municipal structures co-exist, often with overlapping mandates and conflicting priorities. The study highlights how this duality impacts land allocation, housing delivery, and spatial planning processes, leading to inefficiencies, tenure insecurity, and uneven development. Using a desk-based qualitative research approach and legal policy analysis, the article identifies key challenges, including power dynamics, jurisdictional disputes, limited co-ordination, and the marginalisation of traditional governance in formal planning frameworks. It argues for an integrated governance model that harmonises traditional and municipal systems to enhance equitable and sustainable housing and spatial development. The study’s recommendations for policy and practice include strengthening participatory mechanisms, clarifying land rights, and fostering collaborative policy frameworks to bridge the gap between the two systems, thereby significantly contributing to achieving equitable development in South Africa.

Author Biography

Paul Mudau, University of South Africa

Dr Paul Mudau is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public, Constitutional and International Law at the University of South Africa (Unisa). Dr Mudau is an Associate Editor of the Southern African Public Law Journal; and an Editorial Board member of the Turf Law Journal. He is the Founder and Project Leader of the Civic and Voter Education Law Project (CVELP) at Unisa. He was born in Musina, Limpopo Province, where he attended at Makushu Primary School and later went to Musina High School. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Limpopo; a Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa jointly from the University of Pretoria and Makerere University, Uganda; a Master of Laws (LLM) in Law, State and Multilevel Government from the University of the Western Cape; and a PhD in Law from the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Mudau's doctoral research was entitled: "The Role of Local Government in Achieving Spatial Equity Through the Realisation of the Right to Housing in South Africa". His specialised areas of research interests include local government law, decentralisation, human rights law, democracy and elections, and constitutional law.

References

Agyemang, Fredua. 2024. "The Extent to Which South Africa's Legal and Policy Frameworks Empower Traditional Leadership to Contribute to Achieving SDG 11." Town and Regional Planning 85: 19-36. https://doi.org/10.38140/trp.v85i.8528

Deochand, Ektaa. 2022. "Seeking Tenure Security: An Analysis of the Communal Land Tenure Bill and its Purported Promise to Give Effect to Section 25(6) of the Constitution." Master's diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Du Plessis, Elmien. 2023. "The Legal Framework Governing Traditional Leaders' Role in Land Use Planning in South Africa." PER / PELJ 23: 1-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2023/v26i0a16564

Enwereji, Prince C, and Dominique Uwizeyimana. 2020. "Engaging Traditional Leaders in Municipal Governance: The Case of South African Municipalities." Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 19(1): 126-140.

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. 2023. "Draft Integrated Development Plan - 5 Year Plan: 2023/24 to 2027/28."

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. 2022. "Draft Integrated Development Plan - 5 Year Plan: 2023/24 to 2027/28."

Faboye, Samson, Trynos Gumbo, and Jackson Sebola-Samanyanga. 2024. "Polycentric Governance: Evaluating the Relevance of Traditional Authorities in Good Governance in South Africa." Town and Regional Planning 85:1-18. https://doi.org/10.38140/trp.v85i.8425.

Grain SA. 2015. "Unpacking the Various Forms of Land Ownership." Accessed April 20, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/jzjdx2mb.

Harber, Jesse, and Megan R. Bryer. 2020. "Unrealistic Expectations: Bus Rapid Transit in Johannesburg." Accessed April 17, 2025. https://cdn.gcro.ac.za/media/documents/GCRO-provocation-unrealistic-expectations-unrealised.pdf.

Sambo, Tinyiko. 2018. "Implications of SPLUMA in Areas Under Rural Traditional Leadership in Mpumalanga Province: The Case of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality and Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality." Master's Diss., University of the Witwatersrand.

Mathenjwa, Mbuzeni, and Porsche Makama. 2017. "Revisiting the Participation of Traditional Leaders in Municipal Councils in South Africa." Law, Democracy & Development 20(1): 200-214. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ldd.v20i1

Msomi, Xolani S. 2016. "The Impact of Ingonyama Trust Board Controlled Land in The Delivery of Low-income Housing: A Case Study of Turton in Umzumbe Municipality." Master's Diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Mudau, Paul. 2026. "A Legal and Policy Analysis of the Interface of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Rural Development, and Spatial Equity in the Musina Local Municipality." African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies 8(3): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6967678

Mudau, Paul. 2025. "Judicial Delineation of Local Government Spatial Planning Powers in South Africa." Journal of Law, Society and Development 12: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-9515/16988.

Mudau, Paul, and Aubrey Manthwa, 2025. "The Challenges for Traditional Leadership in Lesotho's Local Government System." In Local Governance and Decentralisation in Lesotho, edited by Hoolo 'Nyane and Motlalepele A. Kapa. Durban: LexisNexis/Butterworths.

Ndebele, Johannes S. 2016. "Spatial Planning Interventions in Ingonyama Trust Board Areas: A Case Study of the uMnini Trust Traditional Authority Area, located in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal." Master's Diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Ntlhe, Daphne. 2022. "The Transformation of Compact Rural Human Settlements in South Africa - The Case of Elim in Limpopo." International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 17(1): 313-322. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.170132

Pieterse, Marius, and Thomas Coggin. 2023. "Property's Shadow: Governing Land and Plurality in Durban, South Africa." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 47(6): 1013-1029. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13207

Poswa, Xavia. 2022a. "Traditional Leaders, Municipalities and Land Use Management: Who Does What?" Local Government Bulletin 17(4). https://dullahomarinstitute.org.za/multilevel-govt/local-government-bulletin/archives/volume-17-issue-4-november-2022/traditional-leaders-municipalities-and-land-use-management-who-does-what

Poswa, Xavia. 2022b. "Court Prohibits Traditional Authorities from Developing Land Without the Approval of the Municipality." Local Government Bulletin 17(4). https://dullahomarinstitute.org.za/multilevel-govt/local-government-bulletin/archives/volume-17-issue-4-november-2022/court-prohibits-traditional-authorities-from-developing-land-without-the-approval-of-the-municipality

Poswa, Xavia. 2019. "Land Use Management: Where Traditional and Municipal Governance Meet in Rural Areas." Local Government Bulletin 14(2). https://dullahomarinstitute.org.za/multilevel-govt/local-government-bulletin/archives/volume-14-issue-2-december-2019/land-use-management-where-traditional-and-municipal-governance-meet-in-rural-areas

Ramolobe, Kutu. S. 2023. "The Dynamics of Traditional Leaders' Relationship with Municipal Councillors and Service Delivery." Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation 4(0): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.4102/jolgri.v4i0.95.

Sithenkosi, Lungisa, and Iruoma N. Ogochukwu. 2024. "A Blueprint to Dismantle Apartheid Spatial Differentiation? A Reflection on 25 Years of the White Paper on Local Government." Commonwealth Youth and Development 21(2): 1-2. https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6549/16538.

South African Human Rights Commission. 2019. "Report on the High-Level Public Inquiry on the Impact of Rural Land Use and Ownership Patterns on Human Rights."

United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment 4: The Right to Adequate Housing (Art. 11 (1) of the Covenant), 13 December 1991.