South Africa’s Oil and Gas Potential ‘Significant’ – Mantashe
October 8, 2024
Former Court Interpreter Remanded Over Corruption Case
October 9, 2024
Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi says improving rural human settlements, both in terms of the rural ecological environment and the creation of a healthy rural human settlements environment, are areas that require intensive research.
“Not only will this help us reinvigorate rural development, but it will also assist in mitigating climate change and its effects,” Kubayi said.
Kubayi was speaking at the launch of the Human Settlements Research Strategy, held in Kempton Park, Gauteng, on Monday.
The research strategy launch, which coincided with World Habitat Day, celebrated globally on the first Monday of October, outlined the long, medium, and short-term research timelines.
The launch aimed to establish partnerships with research institutions within the built environment and human settlements sector, outlining collaborative arrangements and stakeholder roles.
In her address, Kubayi highlighted the challenges faced by the human settlements sector, including climate change, population growth, slow economic and spatial development, urbanisation, and governance instability at the local government level.
As rapid urbanisation continues, Kubayi noted that many villages face issues such as depopulation, population ageing, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of public service facilities.
She emphasised that while much of the government’s work has focused on urban challenges, such as informal settlements and inner-city slums, the problems of unsustainable rural human settlements have received little attention.
“Well-researched solutions are needed to address these challenges so that we can create a peaceful, economically sustainable, and stable country. Therefore, we are focusing on applied research to provide solutions to existing problems,” Kubayi said.
The Minister explained that the research agenda has been developed to inform planning, policy development, review, and implementation processes within the human settlements sector.
“The Research Agenda will help uniformly identify problematic areas that need resolving within the policy and implementation space,” Kubayi added.
The strategy is also designed to guide funders and development partners in investing in key research areas, assist the department in resource allocation, encourage collaboration on common problems, and promote capacity building by encouraging student participation in sector research.
Kubayi acknowledged the complexity of aligning policy, research, and practice, stating that research should not only serve current policies but also influence long-term policy and practice.
“The scope of the human settlements research agenda is broad, focusing on priority areas over the next three financial years. We aim to leverage existing research and further invest in the sector,” she said.
The Minister also encouraged research collaboration between organisations and announced that the department plans to establish research chairs, where institutions of higher learning will support research initiatives based on their expertise.
Through these research chairs, postgraduate students will be encouraged to choose topics from the research agenda or from thematic areas identified in the agenda. The departmental research committee will approve the students’ chosen topics for funding.
“Part of the research will be funded directly by the department through commissioned research, calls for papers, and providing partial funding for students’ academic programmes,” Kubayi explained.
