The term “urbanisation” creates the impression of something happening in faraway cities, but there is not a single town in the Northern Cape not affected by this phenomenon.
“Informal settlements are the result of urbanisation. Research in countries has shown that migration to cities is based on people’s expectation of a better quality life in urban areas.
“The expectations lead people to migrate even when they know that they will be unemployed and would have to live in squatter areas for some time.”
This is according to Simangaliso Samuel Malinga in his doctoral thesis in Historical Studies at the Rand Afrikaans University in 2000.
This year the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Families, on Sunday (15/05), focuses on “Families and Urbanisation” as the theme.
The UN has stated that urbanisation is one of the most important megatrends shaping the world, and the well-being of families worldwide.
Sustainable urbanisation is related to the achievement of goals such as poverty eradication, good health and well-being, as well as safety and resilience.
This year’s theme is aimed at raising awareness on the importance of family-friendly urban policies, including affordable safe housing, child and youth development, well-designed green public spaces, social stability and good infrastructure.
When looking at infrastructure, service delivery problems and the lack of honest job creation in the country, changes are good that hopeful migrants might get stuck in unemployment and poverty, affecting every family member – which might lead to severe socio-economic issues.
One hears of billions invested in the country, just for this to be followed up with news of corruption and unlawful expenditure.
Then the words of Dr Imitiaaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers, make sense. He said money is not needed to fix the country, but rather the principles of spirituality, morality, values and ethics.
“You fix that, you fix the country,” he said.
