The local government sphere plays a significant developmental role in the provision of public goods and services to the communities of South Africa. The effectiveness of municipalities in this sphere, to deliver on their mandate is largely dependent on their ability to plan and allocate public resources in a developmental and sustainable manner. This paper defines the relationship which exists between a municipality's integrated development plan (the IDP) and the budget process (the budget). It is considered necessary, at the outset, to operationalise the context of a municipality's legislative mandate, vision, the principles and the milieu within which an IDP exists, as well as the policy framework within which a municipality's budget is framed and adopted. In the process, the purpose of local government in South Africa is examined. This discussion sets out the framework within which the mandate of a municipality is fram