Parliament, Tuesday, 3 June 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) called today for a detailed, municipality-by-municipality report to enable proper analysis and oversight of the District Development Model (DDM). Members expressed concerns about the implementation and evaluation of the DDM, with many noting the lack of clarity and insufficient progress in the six years since its formal announcement by the President in 2019.
The department briefed the committee on the outcomes of pilot evaluations conducted in eThekwini, the OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape, and the Waterberg District in Limpopo.
Committee members, however, felt that the department’s presentation should include a detailed breakdown by municipality to provide a coherent picture of implementation milestones and achievements.
While welcoming the DDM’s intended aim of integrated and collaborative service delivery, the committee raised concerns that despite being framed as a national model, the DDM remains unevenly implemented, with only pilot sites receiving detailed attention.
Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize highlighted the existing confusion over the use of the term “pilot” and what differentiates these sites from other municipalities already engaging with the DDM framework. “If the DDM is a national model, we need clarity on what differentiates a pilot site from a fully implemented site,” he said. “We must be able to track progress meaningfully across all districts and metros and not only a select few.”
The committee also urged the department to simplify its communication and messaging to ensure that stakeholders and the public clearly understand the DDM, thereby facilitating buy-in. It was noted that 53% of stakeholders surveyed within pilot sites do not fully understand the DDM, with many viewing it as an additional structure rather than a reform of existing systems. The committee called for transparency, accountability and a consistent national rollout that will enable it to assess the DDM’s impact across all 52 districts and metros.
The Chairperson noted that the core purpose of the DDM is to transform governance and service delivery through a new, integrated approach, and noted that the confusion and over-bureaucratisation of the DDM undermine this objective. Some members echoed the concern that the DDM adds additional layers of bureaucracy and duplicates existing frameworks without addressing fundamental challenges, such as intergovernmental coordination, stakeholder buy-in, and revenue collection.
“There is a pressing need to separate political messaging from actual implementation realities,” the Chairperson noted. “Parliament must be able to understand where we are, what has been achieved, and what has failed,” he said, cautioning that the model risks becoming bogged down in technical complexity. This, the Chairperson warned, may distance the DDM from its original purpose of streamlining governance and improving service delivery. “The concept of the DDM must not be lost in elaborate structures and jargon. Its success depends on practical, coordinated implementation and not additional bureaucracy.”
Citing the department’s own figures, the committee pointed out that the DDM only achieved half of its milestones, signalling that the pilots have struggled with change management and developing partnerships, which impacts on the viability of scaling the model to all 257 municipalities.
Responding to members’ concerns, departmental leadership and officials acknowledged the confusion and committed to providing a detailed report covering all 52 implementation sites. Members were assured that the DDM is not a replacement for existing planning instruments, such as the Integrated Development Plan or National Development Plan, but rather an integrative approach intended to align these planning tools into a single, coordinated “one plan” aimed at streamlining planning, implementation, budgeting, and monitoring across government.
The committee requested a detailed presentation from the department, breaking down progress and challenges by pilot site and providing clear data on what has been implemented, what remains pending, and what adjustments are required. Members also called for updated reports from DDM champions in all districts to assess broader rollout readiness. The participation and impact of DDM champions must be disclosed, including the consistency in their participation and consequence management of champions who are reported to frequently abdicate their responsibilities. The presentation must also further elucidate the role, functions, and level of participation of Traditional and Khoi-San leaders in the DDM.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COGTA, DR ZWELI MKHIZE.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Alicestine October (Ms)
Cell: 083 665 4345
E-mail: aoctober@parliament.gov.za
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