Johannesburg: AfricaUpdate – News Desk
The Department of Human Settlements has completed nationwide consultations with stakeholders across society as part of compiling South Africa’s Second National Report on Progress in Implementing the New Urban Agenda (NUA). Human Settlements Minister, Thembi Simelane, made the announcement during her keynote address at the National Urban Forum (NUF), currently underway at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.
The country is enjoined with other countries to implement the NUA which was adopted in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016, to guide countries on how to manage, address challenges and capitalise on opportunities presented by irreversible rapid urbanisation over the next twenty years. UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Member States are requested to voluntarily compile and submit quadrennial progress reports on the implementation of the NUA.
Simelane said the NUA makes provisions for transformative commitments that countries have to deliver on including housing, which is viewed as both inseparably linked to urbanisation, and as a socioeconomic development imperative.
“As explicitly articulated in the National Development Plan and the Integrated Urban Development Framework, the development of sustainable human settlements requires an integrated approach with the management of urbanisation through the expansion of access to adequate and affordable housing as a critical contribution to achieving inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities envisaged in the NUA,” Simelane said.
She emphasised that access to adequate housing goes beyond government subsidies and grants. It also entails access to land for human settlements, flexible and affordable housing finance and responsible property market regulations and practices. It also entails the development of human settlements that are responsive to climate and other natural disasters.
South Africa submitted its first national report on the NUA in 2021, outlining policy frameworks and programmes aimed at integrated urban governance. The second report, Simelane explained, draws on extensive public participation through in-person and virtual workshops, written submissions, and case studies across all nine provinces. Once finalised and approved by Cabinet, the report will be made available to the public.
Held under the theme: “Advancing Urban Transformation for Inclusive, Safe and Resilient Cities,” the 2025 forum marks South Africa’s second National Urban Forum, reaffirming the country’s commitment to the global urban agenda through continuous policy refinement and implementation. This year’s edition, held from 21-22 August, coincides with South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 and Urban20 (U20), further amplifying its significance on the international stage.
The localisation and implementation of the New Urban Agenda is carried out through the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) and requires all stakeholders to play their part in building sustainable human settlements and integrated urban development, to among other things, address spatial inequality through a transformational national agenda.
“The National Urban Forum as an engagement mechanism endorsed by the UN-Habitat, is an appropriate and strategic platform for formulating and adopting a national consensus on human settlements and urban development priorities. Your voices will be consolidated to inform the outcomes of this forum, which will shape, inform and contribute to our national position that we will take to the Second Africa Urban Forum and the Thirteenth World Urban Forum in 2026,” the Minister told delegates.
Simelane reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth, and in “shaping the future we want, we wish to improve the quality of life for all residents, while protecting the environment, and fostering innovation.”
