In early 2023, the UN recommended to the national government of South Africa to include the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda and the local level more strongly in its National Development Plan 2030 and its Voluntary National Review (VNR). As a result, with financial support from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a process was launched in March 2023 to empower cities in the Republic of South Africa to localise the SDGs.

In March 2023, South African cities were invited to a kick-off workshop to participate in the project to localise the SDGs. The initiative was launched by South African Local Government Association in partnership with the National Planning Commission, the Department of Statistics, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation and civil society organisations were also involved. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) took on the coordinating role and supported the participating cities with technical advice and training measures. Of the municipalities initially invited through the call for application, 14 were selected in the further process which started in August 2023 till May 2024, including the major cities and metropolitan regions of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tshwane, Buffalo City and eThekwini, intermediate Cities of Mogale City, Mossel Bay, Rustenburg, Umhlathuze and Kou-Kamma, the only rural municipality. Over a period of six months, the participants from the city administrations were invited to three to five-day training, analysis and writing workshops every month. Between meetings, the participants reported on the process to politicians, administrators and civil society organisations in their cities. They faced the often difficult challenge of collecting the necessary data, also with the involvement of business, science and civil society organisations.

Study trips by the participants to cities in South Africa that were more advanced in certain areas, such as sustainable economic development, waste management, public transport or urban gardening, were also part of the programme.

Over 200 administrative staff and representatives of civil society organisations took part in the programme and also contributed financially. This also shows the high level of commitment with which intensive work was carried out on the VLR.

A ‘SALGA SDG Hub’ was also set up: This digital platform is an important tool for ongoing data management, monitoring and reporting.

After the six-month joint training and support process, the participating cities still had two months to finalise their VLRs. After just eight months in April 2024, 12 of the 14 cities had finalised their VLRs, ten of which were ultimately presented to UN-Habitat. Four smaller cities in more rural areas, on the other hand, had difficulties keeping up with this pace and finalising the reports on time or in sufficient quality due to their poorer human and financial resources.

The United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) also asked SALGA to prepare a Voluntary Sub-National Review (VSR). This was also submitted in June 2024. This makes SALGA one of 44 local government associations worldwide to have produced a first VSR. This experience has since been shared with associations in ten other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

SALGA SDG Program initiated the National Urban Forum after extensive engagement with UN-Habitat, with the forum being a landmark event as the first National Urban Forum in Africa.The forum was hosted from 9 to 11 October 2024, embraced by Minister of Human Settlements: Hon. Mmamoloko Kubayi and Dr. Namane Dickson Masemola, Deputy Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr. Masayuki Yokota, Head of Sub-Regional Office, Southern Africa Regional Office for Africa UN Habitat, Seychelles Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, following the First Africa Urban Forum convened in Addis Ababa by the Africa Union, and hosted by the Government of Ethiopia from 04 to 06 September 2024.

The National Urban Forum, convened by SALGA, in collaboration with the Department of Human Settlements, and Department of Cooperative Governance, was particularly significant because it provided a crucial platform for addressing urban challenges in South Africa through collaboration and inclusive dialogue. The forum focused on promoting sustainable urbanization, integrating SDGs into local planning, and enhancing urban governance. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the event helped catalyse action on the critical issues facing South African cities, emphasis on urban resilience, particularly in the face of climate change, ensuring that urban development is inclusive and sustainable for future generations.

Small is beautiful’ is a lesson learnt from the process. After a number of kick-off events that were open to all cities, it proved to be a good idea to continue with a relatively small group of 14 committed cities. This made it easier to organise training and mutual learning processes and ensure a high level of quality.

The multi-stakeholder approach contributed significantly to the success: SALGA, as the coordinating organisation, was instrumental in driving the process forward, for which it also needed and received the political support of the national government. The financial and technical support from UN DESA, UNDP and UCLG helped to a not insignificant extent to implement the various measures at national level. A key part of the stakeholder initiative has been its collaboration with African Monitor, a South African-based non-governmental organization, and the financial support provided by GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation). This collaboration has helped enhance the effectiveness of SDG integration at the local government level, enabling municipalities to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders. The practical support provided by the national planning and statistics authorities contributed additional resources and information, and the involvement of civil society from the outset helped to anchor development processes together with citizens in a transparent manner in the municipalities.

Furthermore, a global exchange of experience is important. Precisely because many municipalities - not only in South Africa - are still at the very beginning of the process of localising the SDGs, a North-South, South-South and North-North dialogue is key to developing and disseminating innovative solutions and ideas through different perspectives and thus ultimately accelerating this process.