Annual Metropolis kicks off

UPDATE: 16 July, 2013: 3pm

Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Sello Hatang has urged citizens to mark International Mandela Day through acts of humanity.

“The wonderful thing about promoting Nelson Mandela’s legacy is that we don’t have to try hard. Mandela is a ‘deity man’, and he’s not hard to reach. The best we can we do is to follow his legacy and do good unto others,” he said.

He was addressing delegates at the Metropolis Annual Meeting in Sandton.

Newly appointed Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister, Andries Nel, echoed Hatang’s sentiments, further noting 17 international countries that had already planned celebrations for the struggle icon’s birthday.

The Metropolis Annual Meeting is a global network of cities from around the world comprising mayors, city managers and key decision makers; and this week’s meeting marks the first time it’s being held in Africa.

The theme, Caring Cities, would examine global strategies on issues such as food resilience, engaging citizens, creating a greener and safer city, social cohesion and urban renewal.

These topics will be discussed in meetings as parties seek to find a more effective working partnership. It is anticipated that some major announcements will be made following the meeting.

July 16, 2013: 10am

The Metropolis Annual meeting kicked off with discussions between mayors of South African cities and their international counterparts at

the Hilton Hotel in Sandton.

Talks included how to deal with challenges faced in transport and urbanisation. Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau said the meeting was an

opportunity to share and learn lessons from his counterparts. “Looking at some of the programmes other cities run, ours is to take the best practice case

studies and translate them onto a local platform,” he said.

Tau noted the Rea Vaya system and programmes that dealt with climate change and safer cities as some of Johannesburg’s challenges.