Minister Sisulu leads South African delegation to the World Urban Forum
The Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu, as the responsible lead Minister for Human Settlements and Housing, will lead the South African delegation to the forthcoming 9th World Urban Forum (WUF 9).
The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to ensure that member states and the world responds to ensure proper and sustainable management of urbanisation in towns and cities across the globe. The matters which receive attention includes eradicating the ill effects of urbanisation including poverty, unemployment, inequality as well as the managing the negative consequences of climate change on communities.
It brings together government leaders, ministers, mayors, diplomats, members of national, regional and local government, non-governmental and community organisations, professionals, academics, grassroots leadership of women and youth to debate and propose solutions to ensure proper, working, equitable and sustainable livelihoods for households and people living in urban areas.
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 policy and plans to allow for Africa to meet the challenges of urbanisation.
The Forum, which will start on the 7th -13th February 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia seeks to bring together government leaders, ministers, mayors, diplomats, members of the national, regional and international associations of local government and non-governmental organisations 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
WUF 9 will be held under the theme: Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda
“After the adoption of the New Urban Agenda by the United Nations, we resolved as a country to create our own Implementation Framework for the New Urban Agenda to ensure that we tackle urbanisation collectively”, said Minister Sisulu.
South Africa’s preparation process for WUF 9 which included the hosting of 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.
“As a developing country, we are attending this forum to share with the international community our success and challenges in dealing with problems of the rapid urbanisation, this will help us to better plan our programmes around the urbanisation”, added the Minister.
The South African delegation also includes the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements Zou Kota-Fredericks and representatives from the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Provinces and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
WUF 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.
The WUF will also contribute to global mobilisation towards the 2030 vision on sustainable urban development.
Enquiries:
Mr Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Cell: 083 645 7838
