SPLUMA

 

SPLUMA stands for the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act. It’s a law introduced in South Africa in 2013 that overhauled the country’s approach to land use and development. Here’s the gist of how it works:

 

 

Main goals of SPLUMA:

• ✅ Empower municipalities: SPLUMA puts municipalities in the driver’s seat for regulating land use within their areas. This means they have the power to ensure properties are used according to zoning laws and have approved building plans.

 

• ✅ Standardize development: SPLUMA aims to create a consistent approach to land development across South Africa. Municipalities can create bylaws under SPLUMA to enforce these requirements.

 

• ✅ Address past inequalities: SPLUMA intends to address the spatial and development imbalances created under apartheid-era policies.

 

 

How it works:

 

• ✅ Framework law: SPLUMA sets broad principles, but the details are filled in by provincial governments.

 

• ✅ Municipal responsibility: Municipalities are responsible for creating development plans and handling applications for things like building permits.

 

• ✅ Standardization: SPLUMA promotes a more standardized process for planning applications and decision-making.

 

• ✅ Enforcement: Municipalities have the authority to enforce SPLUMA’s regulations and their bylaws.

 

 

📌📌📌 Overall, SPLUMA aims to create a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable approach to land use planning in South Africa.