African cities trying to keep up with fast-changing global demands, notes Tshwane Mayor

JOHANNESBURG - Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya says African cities are trying to keep up with the fast-changing demands, as mayors from across the world meet to discuss urban policy.

Moya and Joburg Mayor Dada Morero are currently co-hosting the African Mayors’ Assembly and the U20 Sherpa meeting in Tshwane.

The meeting will see Moya and Morero put Africa on the map to find solutions to common global challenges.

Moya says South African cities are urbanising swiftly but often without the infrastructure or resources to match the requirements.

But she says the country’s challenges are not unique, with SA as a microcosm of the rest of the continent.

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With six in 10 Africans expected to live in cities by 2050, Moya says the urban transition should bring with it innovation, climate action, and economic activity.

“But this future is not guaranteed. We face serious and urgent challenges: deep inequality and spatial divides, stretched or missing infrastructure, limited access to finance, rising climate shocks and a growing population of young people with too few pathways to opportunity.”

Moya says the gathering of 96 delegates cannot be another talk shop but must find solutions that are local, practical, and urgent.