Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will lead the South African delegation to the forthcoming 9th World Urban Forum (WUF 9), which will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Held under the theme ‘Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda’, WUF 9 seeks to bring together government leaders, diplomats and NGOs to examine one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today: rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies.
The forum -- which starts from 7 to 13 February -- was established by the United Nations to ensure that member states and the world respond to ensure proper and sustainable management of urbanisation in towns and cities across the globe.
The forum also advises the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and UN-Habitat’s Governing Council on key issues that should inform the work of UN Habitat and all key stakeholders in the field of human settlements and urban development.
Issues, including eradicating the ill effects of urbanisation, poverty, unemployment, inequality, as well as managing the negative consequences of climate change on communities, will receive attention at WUF 9.
Region and Continent policy placed on world agenda
The South African delegation, led by Minister Sisulu, will -- together with leaders and representatives from all sectors in Africa -- ensure that the policy positions of the region and continent are placed on the world agenda to allow for Africa to meet the challenges of urbanisation.
Minister Sisulu said after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda by the United Nations, South Africa resolved to create her own Implementation Framework for the New Urban Agenda to ensure that the country tackles urbanisation collectively.
“As a developing country, we are attending this forum to share with the international community our success and challenges in dealing with problems of rapid urbanisation. This will help us to better plan our programmes around urbanisation,” Minister Sisulu said.
South Africa’s preparation process for WUF 9, which included hosting the Human Settlements Development Summit and the Urban Conference in 2017, paved the way for the improvement of the South African Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF).
The establishment of the National Forum on Human Settlements and Urban Development also provides a platform for the continuing engagement and collaboration with role players and actors to respond to the global debate on human settlements and urban development.
The South African delegation includes Human Settlements Deputy Minister, Zou Kota-Fredericks and representatives from Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as provinces and the South African Local Government Association.
WUF 9 will further contribute to global mobilisation towards the Vision 2030 goal on sustainable urban development. – SAnews.gov.za
