Delegates at the development planning Indaba that ended in Sun City near Rustenburg yesterday called for intergovernmental planning and coordination to ensure people's needs are met.

The two-day gathering resolved that intergovernmental planning was essential for governments to realise the objectives to meet social and economic needs and eradicate poverty.

The Indaba brought together planning and implementation managers from all three spheres of government, who acknowledged the need to strengthen the focus on key national development priorities, improve intergovernmental coordination information sharing and capacity.

Spokesperson for the Department of Provincial and Local Government Xolani Xundu said the managers agreed that integrated planning, as an approach ought to be entrenched in and between all three spheres.

Mr Xundu said this needed improvements on perceptions and understanding of key role-players on the subject, municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and its processes.

"They also agreed that the capacity of municipalities to plan need improvement and this would be done through the department providing support on the strategic content of the IDP and its role within district and regional strategic planning and guidance on cross-cutting and sector planning," he said.

He said the meeting also agreed to improve the implementing capacity of local, district and metropolitan municipalities to ensure feasible, effective and sustained operations, service delivery and capital investment in municipalities.

Director-General in the department Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela told the Indaba that municipalities were required to integrate and coordinate with other spheres of government and stakeholders, in order to maximise social development and economic growth based on principles of democratisation, empowerment and redistribution.

The Municipal Systems Act of 2000 requires every municipality to produce a five-year integrated development plan (IDP), influenced by community needs.

"The department will also strengthen support measures to municipalities through the planning and implementation management support centres which are now in operation in 46 district municipalities," explained Mr Xundu - BuaNews.