Mchunu asks architects for help with PGDP

KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu says architects have a key role to play in the eradication of slums and the infrastructural development of the province. Image: AEES

Mchunu explained that the PGDP, which is aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP), puts more emphasis on investments in strategic infrastructure in order to drive socio-economic development.

He was speaking at the opening of the 25th International Union of Architects World Congress (IUA).

"One of the fundamental approaches of the PGDP is to ensure that development takes place in a way that empowers people and communities and enables them to take control of their own development.

"We believe that this must be taken forward through a concrete set of partnerships around local projects, in which local authorities, the private sector, the community and organised labour have a role to play," Mchunu claimed.

He asked architects to assist with innovative ideas on how to ensure that government moves with speed in implementing the programme to eradicate slums and informal settlements in the province.

Infrastructure development

"As architects, you must realise that you have an important role to play in terms of guiding the infrastructure development to accommodate the ever increasing population growth and urbanisation."

The IUA's World Congress is being held in Durban where delegates from 140 countries are attending the event. Image: KZN Top Business

The IUA, which is a non-governmental organisation accredited by the United Nations, represents professional associations of architects in 124 countries and about 1.3m architects worldwide.

The five-day Congress, which started on 3 August 2014, is held under the theme "Architecture Otherwhere", and the intention is to acknowledge the built environment as a major force that can be harnessed towards enhance life for all the people of the world.

Mchunu said that the Congress comes at a particularly significant time when the province is going ahead with the implementation of the PGDP, which among other things, seeks to create it as a gateway to South Africa and the entire southern African region.

He also added that the IUA is a platform on which synergies between the economies of different countries should be strengthened through the promotion of partnerships and the identification of opportunities for investments.

"I view this congress as a strategic platform through which we must promote trade among our countries. As KwaZulu-Natal, we are always on the lookout for trading partners because we know that we cannot prosper in isolation. Therefore I want to state unequivocally that we believe that our long-term success lies in economic integration with the economies of the world.

"For instance, the private sector has significant capacity in the field of project management and infrastructure maintenance - there are new ways of delivering and managing infrastructure more effectively based on international best practice," he said.

The Provincial Government is working with local authorities and government parastatals to find ways of organising projects, so that the private sector can play a role in planning, implementation, financing and management.