Ents Alfred Nzo District Municipality strategic Agenda

^L^a^c^k^o^f^ac^c^oun^t^i^n^g	^•^I^n^stitute^in^t^ern^a^l^c^o^n^t^r^o^ls^(^p^r^o^ce^s^s^fl^o^ws^a^n^d checklist). • Develop Institutional Project Management Framework	^Jun^e^2^0^1^7
^I^nadequa^te funding for Repairs and Maintenance	^•^D^e^v^e^l^o^p^pro^p^er^pl^ann^ed a^n^d^pre^v^en^t^ati^v^e^c^o^s^t^ed Maintenance plans. • Council to adopt PPM budgeting tool. • Consolidate Asset Register.	^Jun^e^2^0^1^7
^P^oo^r^dr^i^n^ki^n^g water quality and effluent quality	^•^D^e^v^e^l^o^p^T^O^Rs^/^j^o^b^de^s^cri^p^t^i^o^n^s^f^o^r r^u^ral^o^p^era^t^o^rs • Partner with LGSETA for skills development and capacity building • Benchmark the most optimal model through DWS that can be employed by the ANDM to operate and maintain rural water schemes. • Request DWS to conduct BDS and GDS assessment for rural water schemes seasonally	^Jun^e^2^0^1^7
^Va^r^iati^o^n^o^r^d^ers	^•^P^r^o^p^er^p^la^nn^i^ng^, desi^g^n^a^n^d^proje^c^t^c^o^sting^pr^i^o^r^t^o implementation ^•^U^nd^erta^k^e^d^u^e^d^ili^g^ence^p^r^o^ce^s^ses^(d^e^m^a^n^d management section with SCM) with regards to project cost estimates • Develop Standard Operating Procedures for approval of variation orders.	^Ju^ly^2^0^1^7
^H^i^g^h^W^at^e^r^L^o^ss^e^s	^•^P^art^n^er^w^i^th^D^B^S^A^and^s^e^c^t^o^r^D^epa^r^t^m^ents^to benefit for best practices • Prioritize staffing of WCDM section • Mobilise resources so at to roll out installation of prepaid water meters programme throughout ANDM
^M^ED^I^UM^T^E^RM F^O^C^US^A^R^E^A^S
^FOCUS^AREA	^P^R^O^P^OS^E^D^I^N^T^E^RVE^N^TION	^TI^M^EFR^A^M^E
Insufficient qualified staff for water services	• Compile a data base of people trained on water services within the district • Establish the tripartite relations with institutions (TVETs, Universities, Department of Public Works)	^Sep^2^01^7
^U^n^a^u^th^o^rised ^Wat^e^r^C^o^nn^e^ct^i^o^n^s	^•^Clear^m^a^nd^ate^f^r^o^m^t^h^e^C^oun^cil regar^d^i^n^g^c^o^n^t^r^o^l ^m^easu^r^es^a^i^m^ed^a^t^m^a^n^a^g^i^n^g^un^a^u^th^o^rised connections • Charge a flat rate to consumers that have unauthorised water connections (rate to be differentiated for uses).	^D^ec^2^0^1^7
^I^n^stituti^o^n^al Customer Care not conforming to RPMS requirements	^•^D^esign^s^y^n^ergy^be^t^w^e^en^I^D^M^S a^n^d^C^D^S in^o^r^d^er^to comply RPMS • Council policies should be aligned with RPMS • Development of Customer care communication plan	^Sep^2^0^1^7
^Reg^u^lat^o^r^y Performance Management System (RPMS)	^•^A^ud^iti^n^g^by^D^WS^(^reg^u^la^t^o^r^)^should^r^e^ce^i^v^e^s^a^m^e status as AG’s auditing. • Internal Auditor to perform periodical assessments	^Im^m^ed^i^at^e^l^y
^LONG^T^ERM^F^O^C^US^A^RE^A^S

^FOCUS^AREA	^P^R^O^P^OS^E^D^I^N^T^E^RVE^N^TION	^TI^M^EFR^A^M^E
^Mo^n^i^t^o^ri^n^g^and ^E^v^al^u^at^i^o^n^o^f Service Providers	^•^MM^’^s^o^ff^i^ce^to pr^i^o^riti^s^e^M^&E^fu^n^ct^i^o^n^.	^D^ec^2^0^1^7
^T^e^rr^a^in^and inaccessible households	^•^C^o^un^cil^t^o^l^o^bb^y^f^o^r^r^e^v^i^e^w^al^o^f fu^n^d^i^n^g^m^o^d^el^w^ith sector departments (budget allocated for rural municipality must be different from urban municipality)	^On -^g^o^i^n^g
^A^g^ei^n^g^W^at^e^r ^Servic^e^s Infrastructure	• Council to embark on refurbishment / replacement programs • Establish Resource Mobilisation Committee for the purposes of lobbying for funding.	^On -^g^o^i^n^g
^F^r^ee^Bas^i^c^Se^r^v^ices	^•^M^un^ici^p^al^i^ty^to^r^e^d^efi^n^e^i^n^d^i^g^ence^within^A^N^DM^. • Devise mechanism to provide services to population residing in the privately owned land	^Jun^e^2^0^1^8

INSTITUTIONAL AND CAPACITY BUILDING

That issues of governance and institutional capacity building need to be prioritised as they have a direct bearing on service delivery which will affect the Municipal Audit opinion.
Some challenges and recommendations relating to institutional transformation include:

^C^ha^ll^en^g^e^s^/^C^o^st Drivers	^Mea^s^u^r^e^s^t^o Reduce Costs	^P^r^opo^s^e^d intervention	^P^o^l^i^c^y Implications	^Se^rv^i^c^e^De^l^iv^e^r^y Implications
^T^e^l^e^c^o^mm^uni^c^a^t^i^o^n ^(v^oi^c^e^c^a^l^l^s^onl^y^)	^To^r^ed^u^ce ^mo^n^th^l^y telephone pin codes allocation amount	^Mo^n^th^l^y ^mo^n^i^t^o^ri^n^g^o^f telephone usage by Supervisors	^To^r^e^v^i^e^w ^t^e^le^ph^o^n^e^p^o^li^c^y to address the monthly pin codes allocation.	^Ex^c^ess^i^v^e^/^h^i^g^h^b^ill ^o^f^t^elep^h^o^n^e reduces service delivery vote budget allocations
^P^ri^n^t^i^n^g^So^l^u^t^i^o^n (Rental only without toners and repairs)	^To^r^ed^u^ce printing by implementation of paperless	^Centralise printing	^N^ew^p^o^li^c^y^o^n paperless management	^Red^u^cti^o^n^will^f^un^d s/d votes
^S^t^an^d^B^y^A^ll^o^w^an^c^e^s	^C^o^n^ti^nu^o^u^s placement of employees in stand by wherein they are 5 day workers	^Re^v^is^i^t a^n^d review institutional arrangements – review functional chart	^I^r^reg^u^lar^p^laci^n^g employees on standby is in conflict with collective agreement and no policy review is required	^N^o^n^-c^o^m^p^lia^n^ce with collective agreements will to the municipality being issued with compliance orders
^Wo^r^king^o^n^Sa^t^u^r^da^y	^M^i^n^i^m^i^s^e^w^o^rk on Saturday and Sundays	^Re^v^is^i^t a^n^d review institutional arrangements – review functional chart	^N^o^p^o^li^c^y implication	^sa^m^e as a^b^o^v^e matter

^C^o^st^D^r^i^v^e^r^s	^M^easu^r^es^t^o Reduce Costs	^P^r^o^p^o^sed Intervention	^Po^li^c^y Implications	^Service^D^el^i^v^e^r^y Implications
^Ov^e^r^t^i^me	^Close a^n^d management of overtime; Overtime payment should be reduced. Office based employees overtime work must be stopped with immediate except for service delivery department.	^Re^v^i^sit a^n^d review institutional arrangements – review functional chart. HODs to account as per policy	^O^v^e^r^ti^m^e^is regulated in terms of Basic Conditions of employment Act and Municipal Policy and maximum hours to be work is 40 hours. Working overtime is not a right and reduction thereof will not conflict with the act	^Service^deli^v^ery^will not be affected if overtime is properly managed vis avis proper shift shift system and /or stand by systems
^Sh^i^ft^A^l^l^o^w^an^c^e	^E^m^p^l^o^y^e^es^w^h^o do qualify and who do work shift as envisaged in the collective agreement should not receive same. Immediate audit of the shift allowance vs employing personnel	^Re^v^i^sit a^n^d review institutional arrangements – review functional chart	^I^r^reg^u^lar sh^i^ft allowances are in conflict with collective agreements.	^Service^deli^v^ery^will not be affected if shift allow. is properly managed visa vi proper shift system and /or stand by systems
^C^o^st^D^r^i^v^e^r^s	^M^easu^r^es^t^o ^Red^u^ce^C^o^s^t^s	Proposed intervention	^Po^li^c^y ^Im^p^licat^i^o^n^s	^Servi^c^e^D^el^i^v^e^r^y ^Im^p^licat^i^o^n^s
^Tr^a^v^e^l^l^i^n^g^cl^a^i^m^s	^E^m^p^l^o^y^e^es^m^u^st report at their workstation and must not claim from Mount Ayliff despite their workstations are in the satellite offices. Employees must claim from the satellite they are based on to the site.	^Re^v^i^sit a^n^d review institutional arrangements ^– re^v^i^ew functional chart	^Re^v^i^ew^t^h^e policy to be aligned cost cutting Council adopted policy	^Service^deli^v^ery^will not be affected as employees will be working on their sites but need to be stationed on the satellite they are working at.

^Acc^o^mm^oda^t^i^o^n^c^o^sts

^C^o^n^si^d^er payment in terms of 8.3.2 and increasing R303.00 to R500.00 Further consider to review use of travelling agents

^This can^b^e done by ANDA.

^Re^v^i^ew^t^h^e policy to be aligned cost cutting Council adopted policy

^S^a^v^i^ng^s will^b^e used to fund municipal operations

LEGAL AND CONTRACTS

The diagnosis identifies limited contract management capacity; from inception to performance managing contracts, herein are the details of the challenges and solutions.

^N^o^.	^C^ha^ll^en^g^e^s	^P^r^opo^s^e^d^So^l^u^t^i^o^n	^Rating^:^S^,M^&^L
^1.	Limited contract management capacity	^1^.^There^m^u^st^be^a^C^o^n^tr^a^ct Management Unit, composed of : 1.1. Legal Unit 1.2. Contract Management practitioner 1.3. SCM Practitioner	^S^h^o^rt^(S)
		^2^.^Res^t^r^u^ctur^in^g^the S^C^M Organogram	^S^h^o^rt^(S)
		^3^.^Centrali^z^ati^o^n^o^f^C^o^n^t^r^act^o^f Management: 3.1 Service level agreement including Agency. 3.2 Contract documents	^S^h^o^rt^(S)
		^4^.^C^o^n^tra^c^t^M^a^n^a^g^e^m^ent Framework, Policies and Procedures must be in place in order to guide the contract management operations	Medium (M)
		^5^.^Ca^p^acity^b^u^il^d^i^n^g^f^o^r^all Stakeholders that are involved in the Project.	^S^h^o^rt^a^n^d^O^n^g^o^i^n^g (S)
		^6^.^Mo^n^i^t^o^ri^ng^,^R^ep^o^r^ti^n^g^and Evaluating in order to enhance	^S^h^o^rt^a^n^d Continuous (S)

		^acc^o^un^tab^i^li^t^y^. 6.1. Contract register
2.	^Ov^e^r^c^o^m^m^i^t^m^e^n^ts^o^n projects	^1^.^Foll^o^w^p^r^o^p^er^p^r^o^ce^s^s^es^o^f^b^udg^et adjustments. Clarify the elements of focus due to budget constraints versus commitments	^S^h^o^rt^(S)^t^o^M^ed^iu^m (M)
^3.	^Ext^en^s^i^o^n^o^f^S^c^op^e^f^o^r Capital Projects	^1^.^It sh^o^u^ld^in l^in^e^w^ith^the l^a^w, National Treasury Regulations and National Treasury Circulars	^S^h^o^rt^(S)^t^o^M^ed^iu^m (M)
4.	^L^a^c^k^o^f^c^u^st^o^m^iz^e^d^o^f^Se^r^v^ic^e Level Agreements	^1^.^The^L^egal Se^r^v^ices^Un^i^t^s^h^ou^ld review the Service Level Agreements in order to ensure that they are tailor-made to a specific Project. 1.1 Aligning the ANDA SLA duration with Municipality Council’s term.	Medium (M)
5.	Limited Legal Support	1. Capacitating Legal Unit 2. Co-sourcing of Legal Services matters 3. Review of Litigation Register of the Municipality to assess the individual cases. 4. Centralization of Legal services between the Agency and the ANDM (Through a shared Service).	Medium (M) Medium (M) Short (S) Medium (M)

6.4.1.3 Interventions

In light of the deliberations and presentations furnished at the Business reengineering session, the following recommendations have been deduced:
ANDM urgently needs to re-prioritise projects for implementation in the short, medium and long term
The District also needs to take into account grants at the District’s disposal versus the revenue that

the District is in a position to collect.

To have clearly determined collection rates for own revenue collection to assist the Municipality’s

cash flow

ANDM Council calls upon for Section 154 support of the Constitution, with its purpose being to support turnaround ANDM, Financial woes, institutional processes and systems, building of requisite capabilities and change management.

7. Spatial Development Framework
7.1 Executive Summary

Spatial planning in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality occurs within the national and provincial policy directives, and sets the agenda for spatial planning at a local level. The national policy framework includes the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, various pieces of legislation that give effect to the intentions of the Constitution in respect of spatial planning, and the associated policies that outline the spatial transformation and development agenda. Provincial policy includes the Eastern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and the accompanying Spatial Development Plan.

The ANDM SDF aligns with these policy directives and enables the municipality to contribute to the attainment of the spatial development targets and objectives outlined in these policies. It also deals directly with the spatial issues facing the district.
7.2 Spatial Planning Mandate

Since the beginning of the new democratic era in South Africa, the notion of spatial planning has become an integral part of the development planning and transformation discourse. The Constitution (Schedule 4 Part B) bestows this responsibility to local sphere of government. In the interim, municipalities give effect to this mandate through the Development Facilitation Act, Act No. 67 of 1995 and the Municipal Systems Act, Act No. 32 of 2000. The latter requires a municipality to prepare and adopt and SDF as part of its IDP.

On 6 May 2011 the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform published the Draft Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill (SPLUMB) for public comments. Once passed into law, the proposed legislation will replace the Development Facilitation Act No

67 of 1995, Removal of Restrictions Act No 84 of 1967, the Physical Planning Act No 88 of

1967 and other laws. The Bill provides, inter alia, for a uniform, effective, efficient and integrated regulatory framework for spatial planning, land use and land use management in a manner that promotes the principles of co-operative government and public interest. It provides for and determines development principles, compulsory norms and standards for land use management, and promotes sustainable and efficient use of land.
As prescribed in the bill, the ANDM SDF gives effect to the development principles enshrined in the bill, and presents both a narrative and visual representation of a five year spatial development plan. It assumes a long term vision and identifies significant structuring elements of spatial development.
7.3 National Development Plan (NDP)

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has been established and tasked inter alia with the formulation of a long term strategic plan for South Africa. The plan will articulate a long term vision and a plan for its implementation. It will shape government’s service delivery and development programmes, and guide spatial transformation.

In the interim, the national government has adopted various sector based policy frameworks. The majority of these have serious implications for spatial planning at a local level. In view of the rural nature and underdevelopment that characterises the ANDM, only the following are considered:
 The New Growth Path.

 Comprehensive Rural Development Strategy and the associated programme.

 The Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements.
7.4 Environmental Management

The Environmental Management Plan for Alfred Nzo District fulfils, in part, the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) of 1998. It was prepared as a means to promote sound environmental management and promote sustainable land use practices within the district. It provides a comprehensive picture of the status of the environment, and outlines a strategic direction for environmentally sustainable development and effective management of the natural resources.

It adopts a long-term vision, but also identifies short to medium term actions that need to be addressed as part of the IDP process. These include capacity building and training, catchment management, protected areas, climate change and vulnerability mapping, and waste management.
It also identifies priority environmental areas (PEAs) such as follows:
 Mount Fletcher-Maluti Drakensburg Escarpment.

 Ongeluksnek-Matatiele Ridge Corridor.

 Western Tswereke Catchment

 Semongkong ridgeline

 Matatiele - Cedarville Ridge Corridor
Map 1: Tourism Potential
7.5 Spatial Planning

Spatial planning is a shared function between the district and the local municipalities with the former focusing mainly on cross- border issues, bulk infrastructure and regional economic development. Both the current ANDM SDF (November 2007) and the OR Tambo DM SDF provide an overview of the districts spatial development trends and patterns, and outlines strategies for spatial transformation at a district level. They adopted a service centre (service node hierarchy) approach and accordingly identify primary, secondary and tertiary nodes. Mt Ayliff is the only primary node, while Matatiele, Mt Frere and Ntabankulu and Mbizana all serve as secondary nodes. Tertiary nodes include Maluti, Cedarville, Mzamba and others. This recognises the role of these towns as service centres and commercial hubs for a large part of the district, and a strategic link with towns outside the district. The N2 which runs in a north-south direction linking the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu- Natal provinces serves as the primary corridor and main access route to the district while R56 and R61 are identified as secondary corridor.

Map 2:

In addition, they identify the following key areas for intervention:

 Improved access and service delivery to urban and rural areas;

 Facilitating efficient agricultural development;

 Developing the tourism potential and managing the environmental resources; and

 Developing a hierarchy of service nodes.

All four local municipalities have developed and adopted SDFs as a component of their IDPs. This review will consider each of these SDFs and provides a framework for alignment.
7.6 Regional Access

The geographic location of Alfred Nzo District Municipality along the border of Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces establishes the area as gateway (entry and exit) point to KwaZulu-Natal from the Eastern Cape and vice versa. The N2 national corridor runs in a north-south direction and serves as the main access route to the District. Other important access and trade routes include R61 linking Mbizana and Port Edward, and R56 which runs along the northern and western boundaries linking Matatiele with Kokstad to the east and

Mt Fletcher to the south respectively. The ANDM forms part of the Eastern Region in terms of the ECPSDP. This region includes the majority of the former Transkei, smaller towns (Mt Frere, Mt Ayliff, Maluti, Mbizana, etc) and the surrounding dispersed rural settlements which occur alongside various environmental corridors. The distance from the ANDM to the major economic hubs within both provinces suggests that Kokstad, Port Shepstone and Pietermaritzburg are the main areas that service the district with major commercial facilities. These economic hubs are all located in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape are within a 300km radius. East London and Port Elizabeth are located beyond the said radius.
The position and role of the ANDM in the regional space economy is tightly interlinked with both the provinces with the area having strong functional linkages with KZN town such as Kokstad and Port Shepstone. Despite this strategic location of the area in relation to the N2, Alfred Nzo has remained a peripheral economy to these two provinces. The key challenge is to capitalize on its regional accessibility, location in relation to Drakensberg, Coastline, Lesotho and a huge rural (rural settlement and commercial agriculture) catchment/threshold.
7.7 Land Use Patterns

Current land use patterns has evolved in response to the settlement patterns, rural character of the district, applicable planning policies and land use management practices i.e. formal and customary. The broad categories of land uses that exist within the area are:

 Urban Settlements – these are the small towns with an agglomeration and variety of social and economic uses;

 Rural Settlements – which primarily include rural villages with social facilities, subsistence agriculture but limited economic uses;

 Commercial agriculture – these are mainly the privately owned farms around

Cedarville and Ongeluksnek Nature Reserve; and

 Conservation areas – which include the protected nature reserves such as

Ongeluksnek and Mkhambathi Nature Reserve.

A substantial area of arable land has been left fallow. This could be ascribed to a number of factors including availability of resources to produce food, degradation and loss of productive potential. Most of the hill slopes are used for grazing of livestock with the result that most of these slopes have limited vegetation cover (ADM Enviro Status Quo Report, June 2003:1).
7.8 Land Ownership Patterns

Land ownership within Alfred Nzo District Municipal Area is dominated by state land which functions as the rural villages and accommodates the majority of the population. There are few privately owned farms within Matatiele and Umzimvubu Municipal Area. The majority of the land is registered in the name of the state and used for a different uses. The following categories of state land could be identified:

State land – the majority of the land parcels within the municipal area are held in trust by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform (Formerly the Minister of Land Affairs). Some state land (former commercial farms) is surveyed and registered, but much, especially communal land, has only recently been surveyed and is still unregistered in the Deeds Registry (PSDP, Vol 1: 60).
There are numerous parcels of state land located throughout the local municipal areas. They include the Nature Reserves, land parcels upon which various facilities have been constructed, for example, government and municipal offices, police stations, schools, clinics and utilities (such as water works and sewerage treatment works).
7.9 Communal Land

Communal land is held in trust by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform and formerly registered in the name of the state, it is occupied by individuals members of the respective communities under Permission to Occupy (PTO) and/or customary tenure commonly referred to as beneficial occupation rights. Individual’s rights on the land are protected in terms of the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, Act No. 31 of 1996 also known as IPILRA.

7.10 Land Tenure Upgrading

The land tenure upgrading project has been initiated in Maluti, which is a former R293 township that is situated within the administrative boundaries of Matatiele Municipality. This upgrading of land tenure rights in Maluti occurs at two levels such as follows:

Upgrading of Deeds of Grant, which the apartheid government issued to black people in urban areas in the past. A review of the land ownership database in Maluti suggests that an overwhelming majority of residents still hold the land in terms of Deeds of Grant. The extent to which the same applies in Itsokolele Township needs to be confirmed.
Upgrading of land tenure rights that pertain to communal land in the rural hinterland. These include Permission to Occupy (PTOs) and beneficial occupation rights. The declaration of the Communal Land Rights Act, Act No. 11 of 2004 (CLaRA), unconstitutional means that the status quo will remain in the rural areas until a new land rights legislation is enacted. This has denied local communities an opportunity to benefit from localised spatial planning and exercise their rights in terms of security of tenure (CLaRA provided a continuum of tenure security from communal through to titling paradigm).
7.11 Bulk Infrastructure (Water and Sanitation)

The provision of bulk services is very important for the sustainability of settlements and economic growth, such that economic development is heavily dependent on the availability of good infrastructure in order to be unlocked. Local government has a responsibility as well, to ensure that communities have access to basic services. Bulk infrastructure delivery is therefore a legal mandate as well as an economic instrument to unleash the growth of the area. Sector plans have been prepared for some of the services. These include the Water Services Development Plan and Integrated Development Plan. The

recommendations thereof have implications for the SDF especially for alignment and integration purposes.
7.12 Sanitation

The Water Services Development Plans indicated that there is a huge sanitation backlog within Alfred Nzo, particularly within Ntabankulu where the town does not have a waterborne sewerage. Also some rural villages within various parts of the municipal area have poor access to sanitation. Packaging of sanitation programs should be based on settlement clusters and be integrated with the drive towards the transformation of rural villages into sustainable human settlements. The following spatial planning standards should be applied in all sanitation projects:

 Giving priority to settlements located within priority environmental areas.

 Providing settlements located within a 100m of wetlands with lined ventilated pit latrines at the minimum.

 Providing urban (Ntabankulu) and other peri-urban settlements with water borne sewerage.
7.13 Water

Like many areas in South Africa, Alfred Nzo Municipality has inherited the historical legacy of a large backlog of water services infrastructure. This situation is clearly intolerable and therefore the efficient and adequate supply of water services for domestic consumption and for economic development is one of the most important challenges facing Alfred Nzo District Municipality, in its capacity as the Water Services Authority for its area of jurisdiction. ANDM has identifies the following as critical and strategic water supply areas:

 Additional sustainable water source for Matatiele and Maluti towns.

 Bulk water supply system where rural schemes can just be “plugged in”.

 Bulk water supply to Cedarville.

 Raw water supply for Agricultural irrigation (Ongeluksnek, Matatiele, Cedarville, and some other areas).

 Implementation Readiness Study for Regional Bulk Water Supply Infrastructure in the Matatiele and Umzimvubu Municipality areas recommended the following bulk water schemes for Matatiele:

 M1 - Kinira River Dam.

Map 3:
7.14 Spatial Economy

This section provides an analysis of where population and economic activities and related opportunities are located within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality. It compares the structure of the district economy, with those of other districts economic performances within the Eastern Cape Province. The main aim is to identify those sectors of the economy with which the Alfred Nzo District has an inherent comparative advantage relative to spatial characteristics and economic infrastructure so as to enhance the process of translating the comparative advantage to competitive advantage for the district and province’s benefits.

7.15 Impact of Boundary Re-demarcation

Alfred Nzo has over the years evolved drastically in terms of geographical space and population composition. During the early 2000s, the district comprised of Umzimvubu and UMzimkhulu Local Municipalities. Both these municipalities were very fragmented such that they did not even share the boundaries, which allowed for wall-to-wall municipal planning. After the 2006 local government elections, Alfred Nzo District administrative boundary was changed to include Matatiele. UMzimkhulu Local Municipality was transferred to KwaZulu-Natal Province. Both these municipalities shared the administrative boundaries and therefore mark an improvement in the spatial configuration of the district for planning and administrative purposes.

The recent demarcation following 2011 local government elections has resulted in Alfred Nzo District obtaining two additional local municipalities (i.e. Ntabankulu and Mbizana). This will further strengthen the role of co-ordinated spatial planning amongst the four municipalities that were previously administered by two different districts.
7.16 Under-Developed Urban Centres

Urban towns (Mount Ayliff, Matatiele, Mount Frere, Mbizana and Ntabankulu) play a significant role within the municipal area. These serve as the administrative, service and main economic centres with a threshold that covers the full extent of the municipal area and beyond. Although these towns exist with a range of commercial activities, they are currently poorly developed and structured. They are characterised by an unstructured linear form, land use separation and sprawling residential expansion. These towns should be planned as rural towns and be structured and managed to enable them to perform their functions efficiently and effectively.

7.17 Spatial Planning Principles

Alfred Nzo District Municipality’s SDF is underpinned by normative principles reflected in various policy documents and pieces of legislation including the Development Facilitation Act (DFA), National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and Provincial Spatial Development Plan. The following principles have been extracted from these sources and are considered appropriate to guide the preparation, review and implementation of Alfred Nzo Municipality SDF.

7.18 Spatial Framework

Alfred Nzo District Spatial Framework provides guidelines and directives for development in respect of the following key concerns:

 Spatial transformation and restructuring;

 Environmental management;

 Protection of high value agricultural land;

 Rural Development and Agrarian Reform;

 Economic Development and Land Use Management.

7.19 Spatial Restructuring

The following are the key elements of a spatial restructuring programme for Alfred Nzo

District Municipality:

 Hierarchy of Nodes

 Hierarchy of corridors.

 Settlement clusters.

7.20 Primary Node

Mount Ayliff is one of the main urban centres within Alfred Nzo District. It is strategically located at the central parts of the district and it plays an important role as a regional centre for district. It has a good potential as a primary node for investment promotion and centre
of supply of services in the district. It forms part of the provincial spatial systems and is identified in the PSDP as one of the economic hubs. This node has administrative, social, and economic potential and there is provision of concentration of different activities of services. As a regional node, the following activities should be strengthened in Mount Ayliff Town:
 Development of commercial activities serving the entire district municipal area and the surrounding areas (region).

 Location of district and sub-district offices of various government departments and service delivery agencies.

 Location of facilities and services for an effective administration.

 Industrial development, focusing mainly on the processing of raw materials produced within the sub-region.

 Location of public facilities serving the whole sub-region and beyond. These may include district hospital, sports facilities and transportation facilities.
7.21 Secondary Nodes

There are three secondary nodes that have been identified within the district and these are:

 Matatiele;

 Mount Frere; and

 Mbizana
These nodes currently function as the main urban centres for the local municipalities that they serve. Similar to the primary node, these areas are well located within the main transportation routes that connect nodes with various settlements within each local municipality. As a sub-regional node the following activities should be strengthened in these secondary nodes:
 Development of commercial activities serving the whole local municipal areas and the surrounding areas (sub-region).

 Light Industrial development, focusing mainly on the processing of raw materials produced within the sub-region and the neighbouring areas – agri-processing centre.

 Location of public facilities serving the local municipalities. These may include sports and transportation facilities.

 Location of facilities and services for an effective administration and local governance of the municipalities.

7.22 Tertiary Nodes

While the primary and secondary nodes serve as regional and sub-regional centres, at least four other areas present an opportunity for the development of tertiary nodes with much less threshold/sphere of influence, namely:

 Maluti;

 Cedarville;

 Mzamba.
Three main factors have influenced the selection of these areas:
 Location in relation to major access routes. Secondary nodes are located either along a primary or secondary corridor, or at the intersection of the primary and secondary corridors.

 Location in relation to large rural or urban settlements, which provides a threshold for services, rendered from these areas.

 Development potential based on the above two factors, and broad overview of the historical development of the areas as well as the current level of development.
Map 4:
7.23 Hierarchy of development corridors

Development corridors in Alfred Nzo District Municipality occur at different scales depending on function and categorization of the transportation route that forms the basis of the corridor. They carry the flows of people and trade between two points (origin and destination) and encourages nodal development at strategic point.

7.24 Primary Corridor

The N2 is identified in the NSDP as a national corridor, and is recognised as such (strategic transport route) in the PSDP. It runs in a north to south direction almost dividing Alfred Nzo District Municipality into half and link the area with KwaZulu-Natal towards the north as well as Eastern Cape towards the south. The N2 is a high speed limited access road providing access and inter-nodal connections at a national and provincial level. At a regional and local level, it presents an opportunity for the integration of Alfred Nzo to the national and

provincial trade routes. It is a tourist route to the major tourist destinations in Eastern Cape. Development along this route should occur as follows:
 Facilitate the establishment of mixed land use activity nodes at the intersection of the N2 and the regional or provincial routes. Activities that may locate in these areas include logistics, warehousing, light industry and commercial facilities.

 In the short to medium term, high value agricultural land located along the corridor should be protected, but in the long term, strategically located areas abutting onto the mixed land use nodes should be opened for development as mixed land use precincts.

7.25 Secondary Corridors

R56 and R61 are the provincial routes that link Alfred Nzo with external significant nodes such as Kokstad, Port Edward and Mount Fletcher. Secondary to the N2, these routes serve as the main link between the Eastern Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal Province. These are identified in the Provincial Spatial Development Plan (PSDP) - Eastern Cape as some of the Strategic Transport Routes.

R56 is a multi-sectoral corridor as it facilitates access to agricultural zones in the Cedarville- Matatiele Area, tourism zones in the Ongeluksnek area and commerce and industry in Matatiele. It forms the basis for a road system that connects different parts of the municipal area.
Due to the current settlement patterns and population distribution, R61 has attracted a lot of settlement and establishment of business uses dependent on accessibility and population concentrations. The on-going densification along this route is resulting in R61 fulfilling the role of a residential access road.
Development along R61 and R56 Development Corridor should follow the following guidelines:
R61 and R56 are regional limited access and high speed public transport routes, as such direct access onto this road should be subject to the provincial road transport regulations.
Higher order land uses should be accommodated in the nodes, but lower order land uses could develop in a linear fashion subject to alternative access opportunities;
A 15m buffer should be observed from the boundary of the road reserve. This has implications for settlements that have encroached onto the buffer areas.
7.26 Tertiary Corridors
There are a number of existing roads that have potential to develop as tertiary development corridors. These create opportunities to unlock new development areas through the use of a network of tertiary corridors. The key existing tertiary corridors include:
 The road from Matatiele to Lesotho through Maluti is one of the roads that carry huge volumes of vehicular and trade related traffic. It also provides access to a large number of peri- urban and rural settlements located just outside of Maluti. This road requires regular maintenance and upgrade as it has huge volumes of traffic.

 Road to Ongeluksnek which braches nearly 15km outside of Matatiele. This road provides access to a tourist destination (tourism node) and block of high potential agricultural land located in the area. It also requires substantial upgrading and maintenance.

 Proposed Maluti – Kingscote link road. This road will run along the foothills of the Drakensburg Range and thus provide strategic linkages and unlock tourism development potential of this area.

 Road linking Matatiele and Ongeluksnek;

 Road linking Swartburg with both Matatiele and Cedarville; Road from Ntabankulu to

N2 (leading to Mount Frere); Road from Ntabankulu to Isilindini;

 Mzamba-Mtentu Road; and

 Other district roads providing access to clusters of rural service nodes and settlements.

Map 5:

7.27 Proposed Wild Coast Toll Route

There is a proposed national route (i.e. wild coast toll route) which will be positioned from Mbizana (Mzamba) to Lusikisiki. According to the discussion with South African Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) this toll road will not replace the existing N2 such that both routes will be under the authority of the Department of Transport. However the description of the existing N2 may change.
8 ANDM Sector Plans