1 September,
2002
Press Release
To: All News
Editors
From: The City of
Johannesburg
Joburg turns table on world poverty
On
Friday 30 August the City of Johannesburg engraved
its name on the
history books as the place where for the
first time local folks from all
over the world united in deciding the future
of the peoples of world.
It is often heads of state
that engage each other on matters such as the
structure of
the world economy, access to international markets, global
trade
regime, and national debts. But when world leaders meet for the
first
time for the Johannesburg 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
development in
Sandton tomorrow (Monday 02 August) they will have
to face up to the dawn
of a new era.
Local government
leaders from all over the world gathered in Sandton
on
Friday took an unprecedented step to act globally in a document
called the
"The Johannesburg Call". The document commits all
municipalities on earth
to the sustainable development of the planet and
people.
"Since 1992, local governments
have made significant strides towards
realising
the goals and aspirations of the Rio Earth Summit.
Today, we
pledge to intensity those local efforts to realising the
aspirations, goals
and targets of the Johannesburg Summit, as well all
existing international
protocols and declarations, including Agenda 21, the
Millennium Declaration
and the Habitat Agenda. As the interface between
government and people, we
are dedicated to the
attainment of a more just, equitable and caring
world,"
read the Johannesburg Call.
In the document,
local government leaders further insist on
national
governments, representative international bodies and the United
National to
enhance their capacity and ability to launch a frontline
attack on poverty
and underdevelopment.
This they
say is because of their role in the universal battle
against
poverty. They also insisted that in the African context, all
international
institutions, including the United
Nations should work through the New
Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD) to support local government in
the
continent.
"We are deeply concerned about the impact of
globalisation at local level,
especially within the
developing world and countries with economies
in
transition. We have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of
aspects
of our international system on local communities and our local
spaces.
"We therefore call for a fundamental destructing of
international relations
in order to realise a just and more humane world
order. We believe that the
current structure of the world economy
limits local governments ability to
fulfil our
developmental mandate. Inadequate access to
international
markets, an inequitable global trade regime, unsustainable
debts, declining
levels of Overseas Development Assistance and the digital
divide impede our
efforts to govern with authority and humanity,"
declared the Johannesburg
Call.
In a 12-year
plan, world municipal leaders committed themselves to
the
following achievements by 2015 in line with the t
millennium development
goals:
Halving
the number of people without access to
safe water and
sanitation;
Undertaking active
steps to address public health problems, in
line
with the WTO/TRIPS
agreement;
Improving access to affordable
modern energy services;
Increasing market
access to goods from the developing world;
Moving towards technology and knowledge partnerships in the
context
of a fair and accessible intellectual
property regime
Ensuring equitable access to
quality education at all levels for all.
As heads
of state gather in Sandton tomorrow more will be expected
from
their deliberations, but for ordinary folks throughout the world,
it would
be the news at how their lives at street, township, village or
suburb level
would be change and more
importantly, will indeed a plan to half the
world's victims of
famine be announced. The challenge now is on governments
to join their local
counter parts in taking humanity forward.
ENDS.
For more
information please contact
Mbangwa Xaba
Media Liaison
Tel: 407
7226
Fax: 403 3494
082 467 9230
Or visit our website www.joburg.org.za