The Hague – Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, is to outline African governments’ commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the World Habitat Conference in the Netherlands.
As the chairperson of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD) the minister will pay special focus on African immigration, urbanisation and post conflict reconstruction challenges.
She will also highlight possible solutions and the commitments of African Governments to achieve MDGs.
The eight MDGs are:
- eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
- achieving universal primary education
- promoting gender equality and empowering women
- reducing child mortality
- improving maternal health
- combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- ensuring environmental sustainability
- developing a global partnership for development.
The minister will deliver her keynote address, at the two-day conference which kicked off on Monday, which will focus on amongst others, South Africa’s urbanisation challenges.
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 (UN-HABITAT) invited the South African Government to share its successes and challenges with delegates from across the world.
The conference is also expected to focus on:
- housing and human settlement issues to highlight various urban problems
- the role of housing in creating safer cities and communities
- how local government can support reconstruction and peace building in post conflict situations
- how restitution of land, houses and properties to returning refugees can be used as a tool for reconstruction.
The delegates will also be addressed by Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and the Executive Director of UN Habitat, Anna K Tibaijuka.
Subsequently, the minister and her Netherlands counterpart will also have bilateral discussion on strengthening co-operation between the two countries to support housing delivery in South Africa.
They will also review progress on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2004 in the area of social housing and urban development and management.
Among key programmes currently being implemented through the MOU is providing short-term technical assistance, knowledge and good practice exchange and skills development in the area of Rental Housing.
A South African rental housing project, Madulamoho Housing Association is also to be presented as a successful case study on how to transform problem neighborhoods into vibrant communities.
This project focuses on the work of the Gauteng Housing Department and the City of Johannesburg in the Hillbrow area.
The Europa Hotel conversion was part the Better Buildings Programme initiated in 1997 with a budget of more than R40 million to provide affordable rental accommodation for inner city residents.
The hotel now offers affordable rental accommodation, short stay rental units and rooms as well as emergency shelter facilities. – BuaNews
