Prof Stephen Berrisford delivers a guest lecture for LLM students
According to him, perhaps planning is the most important responsibility of local government. Yet, in many parts of the continent, local authorities conduct planning in terms of outdated colonial laws. These laws were written for post-war Europe and never designed to deal with specific challenges such as urbanisation, informality and environmental challenges.
In line with this, on Friday 12 September, a respected law consultant, Prof Stephen Berrisford from the African Centre for Cities at the University of cape Town presented a guest lecture on "Why it is so difficult to change planning laws in Africa" to the Masters in Law, State and Multilevel Government. He presented a compelling lecture on the need to change planning legislation and to do so whilst being mindful of economic, political and legal realities.
The seminar was part of the "Local Government" seminar series in the Masters in Law, State and Multilevel Government, presented under the auspices of the South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Development.