Speaker
Description
Globally a desire, seemingly not unlike that of the 1980s, has taken hold to reduce red tape in government regulatory frameworks (The Economist, 2025). In some cases, such as in the UK, it is reportedly related to the desire to increase the building of new houses and related to that, make housing more affordable (Mullane, 2024). In others, such as in Argentina, it is about freeing up and reviving a fledgling economy (Nugent, 2024).
In the case of South Africa, the urge is primarily driven by the urgent need to (1) rapidly grow an economy that has stalled for more than two decades, and (2) ensuring that all, and not only a few benefit from its rewards. This urge has, amongst other radical proposals, such as completely doing away with municipal bylaws and town planning controls, also found expression in more measured responses, such as revising, reconsidering, rationalizing and simplifying land use management/zoning schemes and related building control regulations.
This paper engages the subject drawing extensively on (1) research undertaken, and (2) legal and policy proposals prepared and engaged in multiple stakeholder forums undertaken by the authors as part of a project aimed at ‘reducing red tape’ in the domains of town planning and building control in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Areas of focus engaged in the paper include (1) the real and imagined significance of land use and building regulations in enabling and/or frustrating economic development and inclusion, (2) the role of contextual, institutional and individual factors in the functioning of land use management and building regulation-systems, (3) the expressed/stated and actual appetite for ‘red tape reducing change’, and (4) the consideration of, and preparation for the consequences of ‘radically red tape reduced systems’ in land use management and building regulation-systems.
While the paper relates a unique South African story, the questions the paper raise about the broader desire to reduce red tape in government systems, including land use management and building control, are sure to speak to a far wider audience.
References
The Economist. 2025. Many governments talk about cutting regulation but few manage to. The Economist, 30 January. Available at: https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/30/many-governments-talk-about-cutting-regulation-but-few-manage-to.
Mullane, Joseph. 2024. These planning reforms are coming in 2025. Housebuilding & Renovating. Available at: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/planning-reforms.
Nugent, Ciara. 2024. Argentina’s economy exists recession in major milestone for Javier Milei. Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/c92c1c71-99e7-49c1-b885-253033e26ea5.
| Keywords | Red tape reduction; land use management; building control; South Africa |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
