Integrated development planning is an approach to planning that involves the whole municipality and its citizens in finding the best solutions to achieve effective long-term development. An IDP is a broad plan for an area that gives an overall framework for development. It looks at existing conditions and facilities, at the problems and needs and finally at the resources available for development.
The six main reasons why a municipality should have an IDP are to:

• Make good use of scarce resources
• Help speed up delivery of services to poor areas
• Attract additional funds (government departments and private investors are more willing to invest their money where municipalities have an IDP)
• Strengthen democracy
• Overcome the inequalities and discrimination of the apartheid system
• Promote co-ordination between local, provincial and national government

All municipalities have to draw up an IDP in consultation with local forums and stakeholders. In other words, the public must participate fully in the process. The final IDP document has to be approved by the council. The plan must show:

• The basic needs of disadvantaged sections of the community
• The long-term vision for meeting those needs
• The need for these sections of the community to advance socially and economically
• How the plan will be financed and whether it is financially sustainable, that there will be money in the future to keep the plan going
• The capacity of the municipal council to carry out the plan and what resources are available to help carry out the plan.

The municipality is responsible for co-ordinating the IDP and must draw in other stakeholders in the area who can help and/or benefit from development in the area. Decision-making is devolved from the executive mayor or Exco, who pass on responsibility to the municipal manager and municipal officials. All municipal planning must take place using the IDP, related policies, by-laws and plans as a guide. The annual council budget should be based on the IDP.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (LED)

LED is an approach towards economic development that allows and encourages local people to work together to achieve sustainable economic growth and development, and in this way bring economic benefits and improved quality of life to all residents in a municipal area.
Municipalities decide on LED strategies and the process of arriving at a LED strategy must be part of the integrated development planning (IDP) process. Local economic development must aim to create jobs by making the local economy grow. This means that more businesses and factories should be started in the municipality. As part of the IDP, people in a municipality must come together to reach agreement and take decisions to make the economy grow and create income opportunities for more people, especially the poor.

The LED strategies should be based on the overall vision outlined in the IDP and should take into account the result of the analysis phase. It should also look
at things like integrating our residential and work areas, building development corridors between areas and supporting the economy with good public transport.

Key principles underlying Local Economic Development include:

• Making job creation and poverty alleviation a priority in any LED strategy
• Targeting previously disadvantaged people, marginalized communities and geographical regions, black economic empowerment enterprises and supporting SMMEs to allow them to participate fully in local economies
• Promoting local ownership, community involvement, local leadership and joint decision-making
• Involving local, national and international partnerships between communities, businesses and government to solve problems, create joint business ventures and build local areas
• Using local resources and skills
• Integrating diverse economic initiatives in a comprehensive approach to local development
• Applying flexible approaches to respond to changing conditions