The Secretary to Parliament, Mr Xolile George, on Tuesday highlighted the critical role of parliaments in shaping regional resilience amid a growing climate emergency.
Mr George welcomed delegates and delivered opening remarks on the second day of the 58th Plenary Assembly of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF). The Plenary Assembly is currently underway in Durban.
The Secretary to Parliament reminded delegates that the climate emergency is already altering the social, economic and developmental trajectory of the SADC region, with women and young people shouldering most of the impact. "Climate change is not an abstract threat; it is a lived reality for millions across our region," Mr George said.
He called for greater regional cooperation, improved data systems and stronger accountability mechanisms through the SADC-PF to address disasters that increasingly transcend borders. Mr George also highlighted the importance of gender-responsive and youth-inclusive legislation. "Women remain the backbone of rural food systems, and youth constitute the majority of the region's population," he noted.
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In her keynote address, the Minister of Human Settlements, Ms Thembi Simelane, outlined the scale of climate devastation facing the region. She noted recurring floods and cyclones, prolonged droughts, infrastructure collapse, and the displacement of entire communities. Minister Simelane stressed that climate change has evolved into a human security crisis, particularly for informal settlement dwellers in high-risk areas, for rural communities who depend on natural ecosystems, women who bear the social and economic burdens of recovery, and young people whose futures are directly jeopardised by environmental degradation.
"Climate change is profoundly gendered," she noted. "Women and girls are disproportionately affected, yet they remain excluded from decision-making spaces. We cannot build a climate-resilient SADC without putting women and youth at the centre of our strategies," the Minister said.
She outlined South Africa's three-pillar framework for climate-resilient human settlements and encouraged SADC countries to adopt it. The first pillar focuses on building settlements in safe, climate-compatible areas and avoiding development on floodplains, wetlands, unstable slopes, and heat-stress zones. The second pillar involves intervening in vulnerable informal and established settlements that are already at risk and prioritising in-situ upgrading, access to basic services and nature-based adaptation. The third pillar strengthens climate-resilient infrastructure standards by improving the durability and sustainability of materials to withstand future shocks.
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Minister Simelane urged SADC parliaments to embrace innovative technologies, rigorous early warning systems and cross-border information sharing. She reminded delegates that disasters have no respect for national boundaries and that disaster preparedness must follow the same approach.
The Vice President of the SADC-PF, Ms Sylvia Izaks, in turn, reflected on the Forum's sustained focus on climate change across successive plenary assemblies. According to Ms Izaks, the 57th Plenary Assembly adopted a landmark resolution to develop a SADC Model Law on Climate Change. She urged parliaments to translate commitments into action through climate-smart budgets, stronger accountability and mobilising regional and international climate finance.
The speakers all emphasised that the region is entering a decisive decade for climate action and that parliaments must take the lead through lawmaking that is responsive to youth and gender needs and aligned with regional frameworks such as the SADC Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
*The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum is a regional inter-parliamentary body composed of Members of Parliament from SADC Member State national parliaments, representing over 3,500 parliamentarians in the SADC Region.
Malentsoe Magwagwa
