During a recent council meeting, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) in the Tshwane Metro voted against a proposal by the ANC/EFF/ActionSA Mayoral Committee regarding a report on the approval of the Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) for 2025.
The Freedom Front Plus pointed out that serious statutory shortcomings pose a risk of violating national legislation.
Eighteen valid public objections were ignored, potentially leading to the violation of the following legislation:
• The National Environmental Management Act, due to the absence of confirmed environmental impact studies for developments in sensitive ecological areas.
• The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, due to the rejection of public submissions on spatial justice and sustainability.
• The Municipal Systems Act, due to the lack of infrastructure verification and implementation timelines for high-density development.
• The National Heritage Resources Act, due to the exclusion of heritage-related submissions from areas where they are required.
The Freedom Front Plus cannot endorse a Framework that permits illegal development, ignores infrastructure constraints and erases cultural heritage as a result of procedural failures.
The Regional Spatial Development Framework should not only be strategic, but also lawful, inclusive and feasible.
The party recommended that the implementation of the Regional Spatial Development Framework should be halted until full compliance with all applicable national legislation is confirmed. To ensure this, the Freedom Front Plus proposes the following:
• All disregarded public submissions should be formally referred to the relevant departments for review and reporting.
• Implementation of the Framework should be subject to environmental impact studies, infrastructure verification and heritage assessments.
• Approval of designated development areas may only be provisional, pending statutory clearance.
• An appendix detailing the Framework’s implementation has to be submitted to the Council within 60 days, including clear timelines, monitoring mechanisms and community inputs.
It is once again evident that the ANC, EFF and ActionSA coalition is disregarding legislation while perpetuating lawless governance at the expense of public participation, legal compliance and infrastructure capacity.
