"One of our members in Bronkhorstspruit wants to build eight chicken houses. Each house is 2 227 square metres. The city council requires R19,00 per square metre just to submit its building plans for approval," said Mr Bennie van Zyl, TLU SA General Manager said.
"It is a ridiculous amount of money that has to be paid for the approval of an empty structure just to be able to produce to meet the need of the food production chain. This is an example of how local government complicates doing business. This farmer must pay R338 500 to go through this process and then there are the costs of construction, infrastructure and means of production. What President Ramaphosa wants is certainly not what's happening at the grassroots level. This situation is certainly not a stimulus for anyone to go into production to produce food."
Mr Henry Geldenhuys, TLU SA President, went further and referred to costs if a farmer wants to sell his farm.
"The principle also applies if the land is sold. The farmer must then submit a plan for each structure - drawn up by an architect - for approval and there are costs involved. Agriculture is cardinal in the economic growth of the country, but around every corner it's made difficult for farmers."
Doing formal business involves working through a lot of regulatory red tape. According to SPLUMA (Spatial Planning and Property Use Management Act no 16 of 2013), the applicant for a formal business license must bear the development and associated costs and sometimes pay a fine of hundreds of Rands if all aspects are not complied with due to misinformation, all this to contribute to economic development.
SPLUMA's standards specifically refer to the role of the private sector in promoting development with a view to job creation and food security. However, this message does not seem to have reached the municipalities considering the extreme financial obstacles that are hampering development.
The Spatial Planning process must be accessible to all communities to contribute to the development so that the economy is promoted. The revenue that a municipality wants to derive from it must be urgently addressed as development is the cornerstone of a municipality's integrity and serviceability to a community.
