Keypoints:
- Chronic underinvestment crippling African cities
- Poor coordination traps millions in poverty
- Minister calls for long-term planning reform
SOUTH Africa’s Human Settlements Minister, Thembisile Simelane, has warned that African governments remain dangerously unprepared for the continent’s rapid urbanisation, leaving millions of young people without jobs or adequate housing.
Speaking in an interview with urban scholar Edgar Pieterse, Simelane said chronic underinvestment and weak inter-ministerial coordination have created fragile, poorly planned cities that are failing their citizens. She pointed to the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Urban Development and Human Settlements (AU-STC 8) as an example of a platform that remains under-resourced and under-used.
‘It’s supposed to be our consultative body for sustainable development, but it’s severely understaffed,’ she said. ‘We don’t share lessons or leverage what it could offer us.’
Revenue and coordination gaps
According to the minister, most African cities lack sustainable revenue from governments or businesses, leaving municipalities unable to plan effectively for growth or employment.
‘Cities like Ekurhuleni should be driving industry, not waiting for central funding,’ she said. ‘Municipalities could offer tax rebates, incentives and targeted benefits to attract investment—but they don’t.’
Simelane added that the deeper structural failure lies in poor coordination between ministries. Housing and transport plans are often developed in isolation, she noted, forcing residents to spend heavily on commuting because residential zones and job hubs are disconnected.
‘Our metro districts were meant to create regional economies beyond municipal boundaries, but they’ve become empty shells,’ she said. ‘Look at the Vaal Triangle—it’s one economic belt, yet municipalities plan in isolation.’
Skills revolution needed
Simelane called for an African skills revolution in urban planning, arguing that too few professionals understand how to link spatial planning to economic growth.
‘Planning cannot happen by accident. It must be intentional and centred on job creation,’ she said. ‘We’re great at signing agreements and attending conferences, but weak on implementation. Two years later, we’re doing the same things.’
The minister urged closer partnerships with NGOs, universities and research institutions to embed evidence-based planning and long-term thinking in city development.
Climate resilience and human dignity
Turning to the climate agenda, Simelane said Africa should play a more active role in the G20’s Disaster Risk and Mitigation Working Group, warning that disasters continue to expose poor planning. She cited recent flooding in Mthatha, where children died after their transport was swept away, as evidence of municipalities failing to act on known risks.
‘Disasters cross borders—the effects in Mozambique or Lesotho reach us too,’ she said. ‘We must shift from recovery spending to prevention, build resilient infrastructure and relocate communities living near high-risk zones.’
Simelane added that every development plan should be grounded in human dignity. ‘Until we centre dignity, we’ll keep building empty shells instead of functional cities,’ she said. ‘The potential is there—we just need political will.’
A call for long-term vision
The minister contrasted Africa’s short-term planning with global examples. ‘Cities like Dubai and New York planned decades ahead,’ she said. ‘Their infrastructure still serves them because those planners had 100-year visions.’
Simelane concluded that Africa’s young population deserves the same foresight. ‘Urban planning is a human-rights conversation,’ she said. ‘We owe the next generation cities that serve, not suffocate, their potential.’
