Urbanisation and the African Continent: A Critical Inflection Point

As the African Union (AU) forges its agenda for sustainable urbanism across the continent, the spotlight falls on the Urban20 (U20) Engagement Group, a G20 subgroup focused on inclusive economic development, climate resilience, and urban management issues. With the AU's membership in the G20, African cities are poised to take center stage in the global conversation on urbanisation, but this requires a reckoning with the past and a commitment to empowering city governments.

The U20, co-hosted by the Cities of Tshwane and Johannesburg, aims to address the pressing challenges and opportunities facing African cities, including inadequate infrastructure investment, limited political and fiscal devolution, and the rising aspirations of young people. The AU has been sharpening its focus on the spatial and territorial dimensions of macro-development policymaking, with a new emphasis on inclusive mechanisms for debating national urban policy priorities.

However, the trajectory of urbanisation in Africa has been marked by state hostility and squandered opportunities. The legacy of forced removals and displacement, such as Zimbabwe's Operation Murambatsvina, serves as a stark reminder of the importance of embracing a new era of urbanisation. The AU's renewed attention to empowering local governance and harnessing the demographic transition for economic development and cultural purposes presents a crucial turning point.

Key Takeaways:

• The Urban20 Engagement Group, co-hosted by the Cities of Tshwane and Johannesburg, is focused on inclusive economic development, climate resilience, and urban management issues, with a spotlight on African cities.
• The AU's membership in the G20 has brought greater attention to the potential of cities and empowering local governance, but devolution has been a low priority for most member states.
• Only nine countries have ratified the Charter's adoption, with South Africa being one of them, highlighting the reluctance to empower subnational governments.
• The African Urban Forum hosted by the Ethiopian government in September 2024 clarified the AU's agenda for advancing sustainable urbanism across Africa, emphasizing inclusive mechanisms for debating national urban policy priorities.
• The AU is positioned to heed the advice of leading African economist, Carlos Lopes, who argues that urbanisation is an essential dynamic for Africa's structural transformation.
• The priority topics for the U20 Engagement Group during the South African presidency of the G20 include inclusive economic growth, municipal finance, social inclusion and equity, and innovation in service delivery.

Statistics:

• The AU has been giving far greater attention to the potential of cities and empowering local governance for more than a decade, but devolution has been a low priority for most member states.
• Only nine countries have ratified the Charter's adoption on 27 June 2014, with South Africa being one of them.
• The African Urban Forum hosted by the Ethiopian government in September 2024 highlighted the imperative to establish national urban forums for the implementation of integrated and inclusive national urban policies.
• The AU's renewed attention to empowering local governance and harnessing the demographic transition for economic development and cultural purposes presents a crucial turning point for Africa's urbanisation trajectory.

Sources:

• "The Urban Question in Africa" by Professor Edgar Pieterse
• African Urban Forum declaration hosted by the Ethiopian government in September 2024
• Charter of the African Union (ratiifications)
• Carlos Lopes, "Urbanisation as a Central Axis for Africa's Structural Transformation"
• High-level Symposium, Fostering Shared Growth: Urbanisation, Inequality and Poverty in Africa (2008)
• Operation Murambatsvina (circa 2005)