ANALYSIS OF WORK DURING MARCH 2010
Managed Land Settlement Conference
Afesis-corplan, with the support of Urban LandMark, hosted a conference on Managed Land Settlement (MLS) 10 March 2010 in Johannesburg. The conference was well supported with thirty people in attendance, which included representatives from government departments and community structures.
Afesis-corplan and Urban LandMark have been working on the LANDfirst campaign. LANDfirst is both an approach to settlement development that emphasises incremental development, and an emerging network of civil society organisations campaigning for dignity through obtaining land.
The conference reviewed previous experiences of MLS and explored the possibility of implementing MLS in the present context. Afesis-corplan and ULM commissioned researchers to look at previous attempts of MLS-like programmes, such as the Mayibuye Rapid Land Release programme in Gauteng, the Accelerated Managed Land Settlement programme in Cape Town, the 4 Peg Policy in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, and the Rural Housing programme in the Eastern Cape.
Five case studies that have been completed were reported on and discussed at the conference. It was agreed amongst the participants that, technically, the managed LANDfirst approach with work in South Africa.
A discussion on the sociopolitical context also ensued regarding whether the time is right for managed land settlements. The participants viewed mixed opinions, and it was decided that further analysis on funding for managed land settlements needs to be done.
Afesis-corplan and Urban LandMark will be exploring additional areas of work and collaboration in taking managed land settlements further. Managed land settlements are a workable alternative for land tenure security. If the South African Government continues to work with the current settlement development approaches only, it will take decades to address the housing backlog in South Africa. Therefore, alternative approaches need to be found to meet the demand for land tenure security and service delivery.
Meaningful Engagement Discussion
A Round Table discussion was held on 4 March, in Cape Town to establish meaningful engagements in the realisation of socio-economic rights. It was hosted by the Community Law Center at the University of the Western Cape and it brought together civil society organisations, social movements as well as government officials. The meeting discussed challenges of public participation and ways in which to ensure that there is indeed a meaningful engagement that makes it possible for especially the poor to access and enjoy socio-economic rights. Peter Kimemia attended the discussion.
The discussion was beneficial and various inputs were made by the participants, which shed light on how municipalities function and how they respond to different situations. An example that was discussed showed how the local municipality dealt with a group of homeless people who took over some of the inner city buildings in Johannesburg and the litigation involved. Another example cited was the expression of frustration regarding the poor service delivery and the brutal reactions from the public towards the municipalities.
For Afesis-corplan, access to this discussion broadens our knowledge of socio-economics and how the government responds. A platform of this nature allows an opportunity to share ideas with government officials in meaningful engagements, which should ultimately lead to getting a desired response. The outcomes of the discussion contribute positively towards designing intervention strategies at local government level.
Another valuable point of the discussion was that representatives from various municipalities were present and could better explain their responses to service delivery.
The discussion was dominated by civil society organisations, which encouraged good, frank interactions between participants.
WUF5, Brazil
Fred Kusambiza, director of Afesis-corplan, attended the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Brazil, 22-30 March, which was made possible with sponsorship from Cordaid. Other organisations that also attended the WUF sponsored by Cordaid from South Africa were DAG in Cape Town, BESG in Pietermaritzburg and Planact in Johannesburg.
The World Urban Forum 5 Conference (WUF) was established by the United Nations – Habitat for Human Settlement to examine and find solutions for some of the most pressing issues facing the world today, which include rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies.
One of the mandates from the United Nations Council to the Habitat for Human Settlement Programme is to strengthen the coordination of implementation of the Habitat Agenda with international support through “promoting the merger of the Urban Environment Forum and the International Forum on Urban Poverty.” Therefore, by inviting different sectors in society, government, academic, public and private institutions across the world, different ideas and energies are expected to emerge to tackle the challenges faced in the rapid urbanisation seen today in many cities of the world.
There are four WUF sessions that have happened so far. The first session of the WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 as WUF1 and the theme was ‘Sustainable Urbanisation”. The second session, WUF2 was held in Barcelona, Spain under the theme “Cities: Crossroad of Cultures, Inclusiveness and Integration.” The third session, WUF3 was held in Vancouver, Canada under the theme “‘Our Future: Sustainable Cities – Turning Ideas into Action.” The fourth session, WUF4 was held in Nanjing, China in 2008 under the theme “Harmonious Urbanisation“. The latest session WUF5, was held in Rio de Janeiro under the theme “Right to the City – Bridging the Urban Divide”.
The following observations were made from discussions at WUF 5:
• Developing a sustained vision for society is an on-going process. The route to sustainability changes as circumstances change over time.
• There are alternative approaches to supporting development. For example, one approach would be to work with policies and regulations, while another approach would be to work with vulnerable groups in society, by preparing them to become resilient to obstacles.
• Urbanisation needs to be managed through a process of proactive investigations, planning, action and learning so as to create a virtuous circle in development.
The five world urban forums that have taken place so far have provided an opportunity for people involved in urban development from all corners of the globe to share information and experience gained, and in some cases record some resolutions. It would be worthwhile for these WUFs to set some form of clear targets so that the different sectors involved (e.g. water, transport, shelter, etc.) can measure progress made (however little it is) in these different sectors. The difficulty of this however would be that the targets have to be spread across the entire world whereby countries have different settings and challenges. With such targets set, institutions in their respective countries can then have a base from which to measure progress made in tackling the different urbanisation challenges that they face.
Afesis-corplan, with the support of Urban LandMark, hosted a conference on Managed Land Settlement (MLS) 10 March 2010 in Johannesburg. The conference was well supported with thirty people in attendance, which included representatives from government departments and community structures.
Afesis-corplan and Urban LandMark have been working on the LANDfirst campaign. LANDfirst is both an approach to settlement development that emphasises incremental development, and an emerging network of civil society organisations campaigning for dignity through obtaining land.
The conference reviewed previous experiences of MLS and explored the possibility of implementing MLS in the present context. Afesis-corplan and ULM commissioned researchers to look at previous attempts of MLS-like programmes, such as the Mayibuye Rapid Land Release programme in Gauteng, the Accelerated Managed Land Settlement programme in Cape Town, the 4 Peg Policy in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, and the Rural Housing programme in the Eastern Cape.
Five case studies that have been completed were reported on and discussed at the conference. It was agreed amongst the participants that, technically, the managed LANDfirst approach with work in South Africa.
A discussion on the sociopolitical context also ensued regarding whether the time is right for managed land settlements. The participants viewed mixed opinions, and it was decided that further analysis on funding for managed land settlements needs to be done.
Afesis-corplan and Urban LandMark will be exploring additional areas of work and collaboration in taking managed land settlements further. Managed land settlements are a workable alternative for land tenure security. If the South African Government continues to work with the current settlement development approaches only, it will take decades to address the housing backlog in South Africa. Therefore, alternative approaches need to be found to meet the demand for land tenure security and service delivery.
Meaningful Engagement Discussion
A Round Table discussion was held on 4 March, in Cape Town to establish meaningful engagements in the realisation of socio-economic rights. It was hosted by the Community Law Center at the University of the Western Cape and it brought together civil society organisations, social movements as well as government officials. The meeting discussed challenges of public participation and ways in which to ensure that there is indeed a meaningful engagement that makes it possible for especially the poor to access and enjoy socio-economic rights. Peter Kimemia attended the discussion.
The discussion was beneficial and various inputs were made by the participants, which shed light on how municipalities function and how they respond to different situations. An example that was discussed showed how the local municipality dealt with a group of homeless people who took over some of the inner city buildings in Johannesburg and the litigation involved. Another example cited was the expression of frustration regarding the poor service delivery and the brutal reactions from the public towards the municipalities.
For Afesis-corplan, access to this discussion broadens our knowledge of socio-economics and how the government responds. A platform of this nature allows an opportunity to share ideas with government officials in meaningful engagements, which should ultimately lead to getting a desired response. The outcomes of the discussion contribute positively towards designing intervention strategies at local government level.
Another valuable point of the discussion was that representatives from various municipalities were present and could better explain their responses to service delivery.
The discussion was dominated by civil society organisations, which encouraged good, frank interactions between participants.
WUF5, Brazil
Fred Kusambiza, director of Afesis-corplan, attended the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Brazil, 22-30 March, which was made possible with sponsorship from Cordaid. Other organisations that also attended the WUF sponsored by Cordaid from South Africa were DAG in Cape Town, BESG in Pietermaritzburg and Planact in Johannesburg.
The World Urban Forum 5 Conference (WUF) was established by the United Nations – Habitat for Human Settlement to examine and find solutions for some of the most pressing issues facing the world today, which include rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies.
One of the mandates from the United Nations Council to the Habitat for Human Settlement Programme is to strengthen the coordination of implementation of the Habitat Agenda with international support through “promoting the merger of the Urban Environment Forum and the International Forum on Urban Poverty.” Therefore, by inviting different sectors in society, government, academic, public and private institutions across the world, different ideas and energies are expected to emerge to tackle the challenges faced in the rapid urbanisation seen today in many cities of the world.
There are four WUF sessions that have happened so far. The first session of the WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 as WUF1 and the theme was ‘Sustainable Urbanisation”. The second session, WUF2 was held in Barcelona, Spain under the theme “Cities: Crossroad of Cultures, Inclusiveness and Integration.” The third session, WUF3 was held in Vancouver, Canada under the theme “‘Our Future: Sustainable Cities – Turning Ideas into Action.” The fourth session, WUF4 was held in Nanjing, China in 2008 under the theme “Harmonious Urbanisation“. The latest session WUF5, was held in Rio de Janeiro under the theme “Right to the City – Bridging the Urban Divide”.
The following observations were made from discussions at WUF 5:
• Developing a sustained vision for society is an on-going process. The route to sustainability changes as circumstances change over time.
• There are alternative approaches to supporting development. For example, one approach would be to work with policies and regulations, while another approach would be to work with vulnerable groups in society, by preparing them to become resilient to obstacles.
• Urbanisation needs to be managed through a process of proactive investigations, planning, action and learning so as to create a virtuous circle in development.
The five world urban forums that have taken place so far have provided an opportunity for people involved in urban development from all corners of the globe to share information and experience gained, and in some cases record some resolutions. It would be worthwhile for these WUFs to set some form of clear targets so that the different sectors involved (e.g. water, transport, shelter, etc.) can measure progress made (however little it is) in these different sectors. The difficulty of this however would be that the targets have to be spread across the entire world whereby countries have different settings and challenges. With such targets set, institutions in their respective countries can then have a base from which to measure progress made in tackling the different urbanisation challenges that they face.