Mushiyane - Over 400 families living in Mushiyane, in the Greater Giyane Municipality will no longer be expected to travel long distances to fetch wood in order to cook, thanks to the electricity switched on in the village.

"The important turning point in the lives of the Mushiyane Village is that immediately, 417 households will have electricity for the first time, with government spending almost R4 million to make this possible," said President Jacob Zuma.

He was speaking at the official Electricity Switch-on Ceremony in the Mushiyane Village in Giyani on Sunday.

He said with the switch-on today, government is making a statement to the people of South Africa who are living in rural areas that "their government cares for them".

"We are saying that they do not need to be in the metropolitan areas to have access to electricity and other basic services.

"We have known for a long time as government that the biggest casualties of this lack of access to electricity in particular are women, children, people with disabilities as well as pensioners," the President said.

Kenya: Plan Properly, Architects Tell State - The architectural association of Kenya wants the government to establish a fully fledged metropolitan ministry that will oversee the planning and development of all towns in the country. [AA Construction]

African Perspectives 2009 is seen as an event of practical solutions, to be tabled and to be challenged by expert academics of a broad multidisciplinary background.

Nigeria: Development Concept of Abuja And Land Economy - Revolved around a concept more out of empirical studies of the spatial organization of Nigerian cities rather than any specific theory of urban structure, the neighbourhood concept was adopted for the development of the Abuja Capital City. [AA Urbanisation]

TOWARDS INCLUSIONARY HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

A WORKSHOP ON THE COSMO CITY DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Africa's Tallest Building To Be Built In Lagos - A 65-storey mixed-use edifice touted to be the tallest building on the African continent is set to grace the beleaguered Lagos skyline. [AA Urbanisation]

Swaziland: Resurrecting Bulembu - In 2005, Bulembu was a ghost town. The once-prosperous mining town's population had fallen from 10,000 to just 100. The beautiful houses that used to accommodate company staff and their families, schools that had been among the best performers in the Kingdom, shops, clinics - all fell quickly into disrepair when the asbestos mine closed. [AA Urbanisation]

Lagos Adopts GIS - Lagos Adopts GIS - The Lagos State Government yesterday reviewed the adopted digital mapping and comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) towards coordinating information storage system for geospatial data commonly used by many agencies. [Nigeria News : All Africa] [AA Nigeria]

Nigeria: Weeds Threaten Lagos Mega-City Project - The Lagos State government's efforts to transform the state into a mega-city may suffer a hitch as weeds have overgrown strategic areas of the metropolis. [AA Urbanisation]

Zimbabwe: 'Harare Running Out of Open Spaces' - HARARE is fast running out of open spaces previously reserved for recreational facilities as demand for residential estates in the city soars. [AA Urbanisation]

CLINTON CLIMATE INITIATIVE TO DEMONSTRATE MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN GROWTH WITH PROJECTS IN 10 COUNTRIES ON SIX CONTINENTS

May 19, 2009 - SEOUL - The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, today announced a global program developed in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), called the Climate Positive Development Program.

The program will support the development of large-scale urban projects that demonstrate cities can grow in ways that are "climate positive." Climate Positive real estate developments will strive to reduce the amount of on-site CO2 emissions to below zero.

Sixteen founding projects on six continents, supported by local governments and property developers, will demonstrate Climate Positive strategies, setting a compelling environmental and economic example for cities to follow.

Nigeria: Amaechi Unveils Design for 50 Years Greater P-Harcourt City Project - The Rivers State government has earmarked eight local governments for the creation of Greater Port Harcourt City, which would commence from the 2009 budget and terminate in 50 years with a yearly input of N100 billion for its development. [AA Urbanisation]