South Africa outlines IUDF 2025–2030 urban vision

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Hon Velenkosini Hlabisa, announced the 2025–2030 IUDF vision and a set of concrete institutional and programmatic actions at the National Urban Forum 2025 to strengthen coordination, finance, technology uptake, climate resilience, and municipal capacity.

• Main announcement/action: Establish a National Urban Coordination Mechanism and an Intergovernmental Urban Leadership Forum to institutionalise cross-sphere accountability; commit to a 2025–2030 IUDF Implementation Plan centered on Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society coordination, Inclusive Urban Development, Innovation in Financing and Technology (including green bonds, land value capture, community crowdfunding, digital twins, AI, and IoT), Climate Resilience, and Strengthened Local Government Capacity (via the Intermediate City Municipalities Programme, Small-Town Regeneration Initiative, and Cities Support Programme).
• Background and concrete details: The IUDF was adopted by Cabinet in 2016 and the second Implementation Plan covered 2020–2025; lessons include improved spatial planning, pilot small-town regeneration and intermediate city support, and innovative financing approaches but gaps in fragmented implementation, municipal capacity, spatial inequality, and monitoring. Specific timelines: By 2026, every municipality must have a climate-resilient spatial development plan; the Minister also committed to publishing annual urban progress reports and aligning IUDF with the NSDF and National Development Plan 2030 ahead of U20 and WUF13 participation.