Habitat Day conference in The Hague, Netherlands
25 September 2007
The national Minister of Housing in South Africa, Lindiwe Sisulu, will lead
a delegation of top government officials to the World Habitat Day conference in
The Hague, Netherlands on 1 to 2 October 2007. The Minister will present a
keynote address looking into housing strategies and instruments in relation to
safe and just cities.
Under the theme "A safe city is a just city," the conference will focus on
housing and human settlement issues to highlight various urban problems, from
squalid living conditions in the slums to homelessness of refugees in post
conflict areas and the high crime and violence rates in many cities. In
exploring this theme, the conference will also look into the role of housing in
creating safer cities and communities, how local government can support
reconstruction and peace building in post conflict situations and how
restitution of land, houses and properties to returning refugees can be used as
a tool for reconstruction.
With more than 2,4 million houses built in South Africa since 1994 and a
target to eradicate informal settlements by 2014, the United Nation Agency
(UNHABITAT) invited the South African Government to share its successes and
challenges with delegates from across the world. Members of the media can
access speeches and media documents about the conference on http://www.housing.gov.za or http://www.unhabitat.org
Enquiries:
Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Tel: 012 421 1515
Cell: 083 645 7838
E-mail: ndivhuwo@housing.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Housing
25 September 2007
