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 World Class CITIES for All Campaign: National Meeting

ON THE MOVE TO 2010:

Street vendors, hawkers, unions and social movements join forces

On 7 and 8 March 2007, 25 organisations representing street vendors, sex workers and other constituencies of the urban poor from 6 provinces met to discuss and plan a  programme for the WCCA (World Class Cities for All) campaign.  Spearheaded by the Durban-based StreetNet International, the WCCA campaign was launched on 28 November 2006 to challenge traditional elitist First-World approaches to building World Class Cities, and create a new, more inclusive concept of “World Class Cities for All”.  This campaign will run from 2007 leading up to the FIFA World Cup in 2010.

Participant organizations identified the following common issues that need to be addressed by the campaign:

-         fighting against evictions/unemployment

-         lack of legal protection, perception of illegality in normal everyday activities

-         lack of basic facilities

-         exploitation of informal workers

-         low insecure incomes and poverty

-         marginalization and lack of consultation by authorities when decisions/policies are made affecting us

-         increased uncertainty about development plans in run-up to 2010 

Organising under the slogan “Nothing for us without us !!” the following key commitments are sought from the World Cup LOC (Local Organising Committee), municipalities and other relevant institutions, including NEDLAC:

1. To undertake to engage in participatory consultative processes with any persons or interest groups who may be affected in any substantive or material manner by any aspect of urban improvement or urban renewal initiatives envisaged in the creation of World Class Cities.
2. To undertake to engage in social dialogue or substantive negotiations with any potentially affected persons or groups or their democratically elected representatives, in any situation where urban improvement or urban renewal initiatives may have a bearing on their work or livelihood.

Participating organizations included the following:

1. Eight street vendors’ organizations from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape;
2. Municipal Workers Unions SAMWU and IMATU;
3. COSATU;
4. PSI (Public Services International) Southern African office;
5. TAC (Treatment Action Campaign);
6. SWEAT (Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Task Force);
7. LPM (Landless People’s Movement);
8. SACP;
9. APF (Anti-Privatisation Forum);
10. Abahlali Basemjondolo;
11. CUP (Coalition against Urban Poverty);
12. Community media organizations.

A Kenyan perspective on the organization of informal traders was presented to the meeting by guest speaker Prof. Winnie Mitullah from the IDS (Institute of Development Studies) at the University of Nairobi.  She also represents the international research coalition WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising).

Issued by:            WCCA Media Sub-Committee  8/3/2007   

Contact details:

Pat Horn, Campaign Co-ordinator

International Coordinator, StreetNet International

031 307 4038, stnet@iafrica.com

076 706 5282

Cheche Selepe, Media Co-ordinator

The Developer Community Media Forum

073 864 5424, thedeveloper@mweb.co.za

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