The Chairperson of the South African Cities Network (SACN) and Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Yunus Carrim, today launched the 2011 State of the Cities Report (SoCR) at Turbine Hall, Newtown. Johannesburg. The report, themed 'Resilient Cities', outlines progress and challenges in municipal management over the past decade and examines how cities can become drivers of all-round development for the nation.
“The 2011 Cities Report assesses the progress of the metros and secondary cities over the past 10 years inimproving service delivery, development and governance, and identifies, trends that have emerged andchallenges that have to be addressed in the period ahead, said Carrim during his keynote address at the launch. “For all the difficulties the cities have experienced over the past 10 years, the report points to the resilience they have shown and will need to have in dealing with issues largely beyond their control, such as in-migration, fluctuations in the global economy, levels of foreign direct investment and aspects of climate change”.
“The report”, he said, “looks at the problems and opportunities facing the cities from economic, spatial and structural, environmental, governmental and financial perspectives. The suggestions it offers are intended to assist a new generation of civic leaders and officials who will be in charge of planning, developing and managing cities after the 2011 municipal elections. The report would be of value to policy-makers, business, labour and civil society activists. It has been put together by a range of academic experts in a particular style.
The report has value in its own terms but it must also broadly influence policy-making. It is not directed at influencing immediate ad hoc policy decisions, but requires considered strategic reflection by a range of stakeholders to see what value it has for policies and action. To encourage the widest range of stakeholders to engage with this report, we will make available a user-friendly accessible summary of the key issues raised in the report. We are very keen to engage in dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders on this report”.
According to SACN CEO, Sithole Mbanga who also delivered a keynote address, the report places a particular emphasis on Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, Buffalo City and Msunduzi municipalities, because these municipal structures and systems were brought together from disparate administration structures to form single-tier, autonomous city authorities over 10 years ago.
“These cities enjoyed a period of more robust growth and job creation than had been experienced in the previous two decades,” explains Sithole. “The primary driver of growth was a consumer spending boom, partly funded by rising household debt. The strongest growth was seen in low‐value household services, such as retail, telecoms, security and health rather than in long‐term investment to expand domestic production.”
Mbanga noted that higher levels of investment in research and development, human capital, greater external connectivity and higher investment in physical capital were the points of success for the cities. Much more needs to be done so that they can spread prosperities to other municipalities who were not so resilient during the economic downturn”.
The report states that little progress has been made to transform the geographical patterns inherited from the past or to promote urban integration from a built environment point of view. City municipalities need to improve their strategic capabilities, vision and resources to more effectively transform the urban landscape. Metros also need a period of greater stability and political will and high-level national support.
The report further recommends that South African cities need to prepare themselves for rapidly increasing prices of oil and dependent products, erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns as a result of climate change as well as fresh water demand amongst other challenges. City managers, responsible for acting in the best interests of their citizens, must take proactive steps to improve the ecological resilience of cities so that the metros become life-supporting systems.
Carrim points out that the “report stresses the need to significantly reduce the racial spatial patterns of the cities and improve the density of the population to encourage greater integration, lower transport costs and more effective use of limited energy respources.”
"Although the actual delivery of basic services in the metros is better than in the rest of the country there is room for significant improvement. The community protests, not always but often, suggest the need for this, as do other social and economic pressures," says Carrim.
“For the cities to be more effective in the future they will require much more support from provincial and national government as part of a more integrated cooperative governance system. After all, the cities provide 60 percent of the country’s economic output. Their success is crucial to the strengthening of the rural areas and the country as a whole. All of us – national and provincial government, business, labour, civil society and individual residents – have an interest and role in ensuring that our cities are developmentally more effective, and need to work together to ensure this”.
Going forward, the 2011 SoCR recommends that the developmental vision of the metro government must be refreshed, metro government must be stabilised and trust must be restored keeping in mind the reshaping and reconfiguration of the cities. The report is available on the SACN website http://www.sacn.net. A hard copy is available on request at SACN offices contactable on 011 407 6471 (T), 011 403 5230 (F) or info@sacities.net.
For more information please contact:
Mika Chauke
Tel: 011 513 3409
Cell: 082 742 2498
About SACN
The South African Cities Network (SACN) is an established network of South African cities and partners that encourages the exchange of information, experience and best practices on urban development and city management.
