SPEECH BY LN SISULU MINISTER OF HOUSING AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSING RESEARCH SEMINAR

SPEECH BY LN SISULU MINISTER OF HOUSING AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSING RESEARCH SEMINAR

4 July 2005

International Convention Centre

Cape Town

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Master of Ceremonies
Ministers
Vice Minister Prof. Erminia Maricato of Brazil
Members of the Executive Councils of the different provinces
The Mayors and Councillors
Senior Government officials from abroad and locally
Representatives of various institutions including banks, construction companies and academic institutions
Representative of non-governmental organizations
Esteemed guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have arrived at this point with a great deal of optimism for this engagement. For us in South Africa this is a culmination a great deal of interaction both on the continent and at international level. We have all come here determined that we will enrich our experiences and emerge from this Seminar perhaps the wiser from this collective effort.

At various levels we have found each other and learnt from each other and gained strength from each other. Starting with our experiences as South Africa at the World Urban Forum, it became quite evident that we who face a common challenge could effectively come together and set ourselves a common agenda to influence the world to understand that on the issue of poverty and human settlements, in this respect, the perspective of the developing world is pivotal. I would like to acknowledge with Brazil leading the way developing countries resolved that the issue of debt repayment would need to be aligned to the Millennium Development Goals.

This focused our attention as developing countries in various international fora where we ensured that this became a rallying point for us. Out of that interaction was born the idea of this Seminar. Our sincerest gratitude to Brazil represented here by Vice-Minister Prof. Erminia Maricato.

At the beginning of this year, in February to be exact, African Ministers represented here by Honorable Ministers Amos Kimunya and Sylivia Masebo met in Durban to commit themselves to working together to achieve a common outcome. This was to be based on raising the international communities’ awareness of the centrality of the issue of human settlements when we deal with the eradication of poverty as well as to work together to share experiences and take lessons from best practices and reinforce each other’s efforts at achieving Goal 7 and Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goals. We arrived at this commitment as the African Ministers on Housing and Urban Development (using the avenue of a new organization called the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development) looking back on the ground we have covered I really am happy with the progress we have made. At two international fora since then we were able to act with a common purposefulness that made me proud.

At the 20^th Session of the General Council of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme we took lessons from our partners, MINURVI, refined our positions and with a single-mindedness were able to put the issue of the revision of the Millennium Development Goal targets on the agenda, linking these very firmly to the central matter of funding. I am glad to acknowledge here two of the countries that played a pivotal role in this, namely; Kenya and Zambia. I deeply appreciate their presence here.

Recently when we met at the 13^th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development it became quite clear to all of us, that is, Brazil, Kenya, Zambia, India and all of us as developing countries that we were fighting a war that was debilitating and at which we were distinctly disadvantaged. Where the high moral tone set in Johannesburg in 2002 seemed like a mirage forever fading in the face of poverty.

We are at this point now, hosting the this Seminar which is aimed at drawing on international knowledge that might help us determine collective actions by ourselves on urban development and human settlements. I am convinced that this holds great promise and that they unity and purpose of developing countries has never been stronger on matters of common concern. Our confidence in acting collectively on matters of common interest has never been greater. Relations to enhance this newly found mood have been developed.

We are particularly thrilled to have the Minister of Local Government, Public Works & National Housing from Zimbabwe here, Honorable Dr. M.Kasabuya. You come at a very interesting time Minister and I am certain your presence here will provide an essential fervor in our discussions.

Given the commonalities in social, political and economic realities where the latter in particular is characterized by underdevelopment the fact of our coming together should not at all be surprising. Equally relevant too is the dualism in our economies where growth and consumption define the one economy, on the one hand; and high unemployment, low growth, low savings and low levels of investment define the other economy. And the one stark, clear and ever present challenge is housing: a constant reminder about the levels of poverty.

As developing countries we are host to an estimated 43 percent of the urban population living in slums as opposed to 6 percent of the population in developed countries. Two-thirds of the global population explosion is estimated to have been absorbed into our cities since 1950’s. Where world cities will account for all future world population growth, which is expected to peak at about 10 billion in 2050, ninety-five per cent of the same will occur in the urban areas of developing countries, whose population will double to nearly 4 billion over the next generation. Even more frightening is the revelation that at least half of our slum population is under the age of 20.

In addition, available figures indicate that eight of the cities in the world with populations of over 6 million are in developing countries. These are Bombay, Lagos, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Dhaka, Karachi, Calcutta, and Johannesburg. For us, therefore, the outlook for the future is indeed alarming unless some urgent actions are taken today.

Since collectively we envision an equitable and a fairer world those actions would thus need to address the immediate challenge we all face of ensuring that the process of urbanization benefits all. This is in view of the fact that in contrast to the nature of developments in developed countries where industrialization enables the cities of these countries to absorb and provide economic infrastructure for the massive influx of people, our process of urbanization is without the attendant infrastructural support and capacity. It is thus excluding the majority of the poor from participating as equal citizens in the life of their cities. Thus, over a billion families remain poor and vulnerable. And this is despite the fact of the integration of some of our countries into the global economy following the process of globalization.

It is this reality Chairperson, that informed our deliberations as the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development at the recently held related events of the United Nations that I referred to earlier, namely; the 20^th Session of the General Council of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme and the 13^th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. At both events we had put forward the position that the Millennium Development Goals’s Target 11 relating to improving the lives of ‘at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020’ is wholly inadequate to meet our requirements as developing countries. We advocated for a review of the target to take account of new slums formations that are daily taking place in our cities and towns believing that halving the slum population by 2020 was a more realistic objective to work towards to.

We are happy, that as a result of these engagements the debate on the global target as presently conceptualized has been raised. We thus believe that it will form part of the deliberations of the heads of state when they again meet in New York in September to review the Millennium Development Goals.

In addition, we had called for increased development assistance. Our own public investments into housing are too low to enable us to meet the challenge of eradicating slums. The United Nations Human Settlement Programme estimates, for example, that in developing countries only between 3-8 percent of the Gross National Product is invested into housing. And this, in addition, is dependant on the income of the individual countries.

We have made the case that global cooperation is key in enabling developing countries meet the targets stated in the Millennium Development Goals for we believe that market access, the provision of new and additional resources to enable massive infrastructural investments in urban including debt relief require global action. In this regard we would like to welcome the recent announcement by the G-8 Finance Ministers relating to the cancellation of the debt of some 18 indebted countries in terms of the scheme for Highly Indebted Poor Countries. We would have hoped however that the relief was in respect of all countries that presently struggle to meet their domestic public commitments and not merely those that are deemed to have met the criteria set. Thus, our belief is we are still in need of deeper and broader debt relief.

Our common situation as developing countries and Africa in particular show that certain policy recommendations and programmes emanating from international financial institutions are not necessarily valid for our particular situations. And these, have recently been highlighted by the recent publication by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme of a report indicating how the privatization of land in developing countries limit and exacerbate homelessness.

We believe that should we fail to attain a collective action of ourselves at international on these and other matters related to development the presence of slums will continue to weaken the capacity of our governments to generate economic growth and development through our cities. Moreover, slums will ensure that inequality is maintained and that many countries who form part of our grouping will remain excluded from the global economy.

What emerges then for purposes of the Seminar is the requirement to tailor solutions to our own particular circumstances. Our task of ensuring housing for all our citizens is not simply about the provision of housing but is also related to the redefinition of our place in the world economy. The Seminar therefore must help us lay the foundation, craft and consolidate strong policy positions related to housing and human settlements for ourselves as developing countries. It must consolidate and further advance our own perspectives on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and the related outcomes of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. It must enable a fruitful and a common agenda in respect of the September Millennium Review Summit of the Heads of State.

I have confidence that all of this will be achievable for not only have we assembled experts in housing but development economists and social commentators. Members of the private sector are also present to participate. I am therefore confident through the ideas that will be developed by yourselves we would finally end resentment and bring hope to the millions of the homeless in our countries.

We are proud and honored as South Africa therefore that we could host a Seminar of such determined importance.

I thank you and wish you well in your deliberations.