Mayor kicks off ILO meeting

Joburg's executive mayor Parks Tau hosts the South African labour minister, Mildred Oliphant, at his tableLabour ministers, employer and worker groups are in Johannesburg for the regional meeting of the International Labour Organization, where decent jobs programmes will be discussed.
THE City of Joburg hosted the opening lunch of the 12th African Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Sandton yesterday.

The City of Johannesburg has an excellent relationship with peers in various parts of the continent, says Executive Mayor Parks TauThe City of Johannesburg has an excellent relationship with peers in various parts of the continent, says Executive Mayor Parks TauSome 600 delegates will attend the conference over the next few days at the Sandton Convention Centre. Delegations from every African country will be attending – in all 53 labour ministers and their representatives. President Jacob Zama opened the conference later yesterday afternoon.

Executive Mayor Parks Tau hosted the South African labour minister, Mildred Oliphant, at his table at the lunch. She is to chair the conference. Its theme is “Empowering Africa’s peoples with decent work”.

Others attending include the director-general of the ILO, Juan Somalia; Aboulia Jane, the executive secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Charles Dan, the assistant director-general and regional director for Africa of the ILO; the French ambassador for the Promotion of Social Cohesion; Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ludman, the director-general of the Arab Labour Organization; Yusupha B Crookes, the director of Regional Integration Office of the World Bank; and Ben Duntoye, the president of the Panafrican Youth Union.

“The City of Johannesburg continues to enjoy and have an excellent relationship with some of our peers and counterparts in various parts of the continent,” said Tau. “In large measure, this derives from a special relationship that South Africa enjoys with many of your countries.”

The conference brings together high-level representatives of governments, and employer and worker organisations, including the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the European Union, the African Development Bank, donor countries, development partners and civil society organisations.

Decent work programmes
The aim, according to the Department of Labour website, is “to build consensus and accelerate the pace of implementation of the Decent Work Agenda in Africa; promote effective implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes as national responses to a jobless economic recovery; and build partnerships to ensure achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.

Panel discussions will focus on the “challenges posed as African countries recover from the global financial and economic crisis, the youth employment crisis, the need for social protection, governance and social dialogue, women’s economic and social empowerment and gender equality, social economy, rural employment, and international labour standards”.

Delegates will examine progress towards the implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes in more than 30 African ILO member states.

Parks said that Johannesburg experienced similar development challenges as other African countries, in particular rapid levels of urbanisation.

The City is drawing up a strategy to eradicate social inequalities and address poverty, deliver basic services and create economic opportunitiesThe City is drawing up a strategy to eradicate social inequalities and address poverty, deliver basic services and create economic opportunities“In the City of Johannesburg, we are engaged in a continuous struggle to eradicate social inequalities and address the burning issues of poverty, the delivery of basic services and the creation of economic opportunities for our people. The question of decent work is one of the issues that constantly exercises our minds as a City.”

Growth and Development Strategy
The mayor referred to the Growth and Development Strategy, a comprehensive guideline to the City’s development plans for the next 30 years. Over nine weeks, the City recently engaged with residents on nine key themes in a consultative outreach programme to review the document.

The themes were: liveable communities; resource sustainability; health and poverty; governance; transportation; community safety; the environment; economic growth and smart cities. Various forms of deprivation were identified, as well as the challenges of integrating migrants, and social exclusion.

“For us the issues of economic growth and the creation of jobs remain paramount. In the draft Growth and Development Strategy we note that ‘the formal economy has not been able to create enough jobs,’” he said.

“It is therefore important that that we stimulate economic growth and provide support for the informal sector, which serves as an important source of employment in our economies.”

The final document, incorporating the input from residents, stakeholders and experts during the outreach, Joburg 2040, is to be presented on 20 October.

He explained that cities played a greater role than the local government of old. People demanded more of their representatives, and therefore cities had to work together with civil society, communities and business.

Dan, the ILO regional director for Africa, said that South Africa had a particular place in the organisation because of its long struggle against apartheid. He complimented the mayor on his self-sacrifice in this struggle and his commitment to the values of the ILO.

He also briefly reminisced about the good memories made during a visit to the city for the football World Cup in 2010.

Oliphant welcomed delegates and ministers to South Africa and Joburg. “The next 60 hours or so require a lot from us.”