21-11-2014: Joburg pulls out of migration conference
The City of Johannesburg has taken a decision to withdraw support to the hosting of the World Social Forum on Migration (WSFM) 2014 next month.
The City was approached by the South African Forum for Migration and Mobility (SAFMM) comprising of [African Diaspora Forum (ADF), Agency for Refugee Education, Skills Training and Advocacy (ARESTA), the Consortium of Migrants and Refugees in South Africa (CORMSA), The Joint Network (Mozambique), National Association of Non-governmental Organisation (NANGO-Zimbabwe) and UNISA to lend support to the hosting of the World Social Forum on Migration Conference. This was after the SAFMM won a bid in Manila to host the event.
The organisation made a presentation to the Johannesburg Migration Advisory Council, which was thereafter submitted to the Mayoral Committee and Council for approval to support the hosting of the World Social Forum on Migration conference.
So far the City has availed facilities to host the event as our support, but no funds were paid to the organisers.
The City's decision to withdraw is based on the following two key challenges:
the fragmented civil society movement and failure of efforts to ensure that the WSFM 2014 is organised in an inclusive and representative manner, and
concerns over legal and fiscal compliance in relation to the organisation that was appointed by the WSFM local organising committee to assume both the legal and financial risk for organising the gathering.
The withdrawal of all the necessary support is with immediate effect. However, the decision on other support, which was rendered by other independent organisations that were mobilised by the City, will be taken independently by the relevant organisations without The City’s interference.
Due to disagreements within the SAFMM Technical Secretariat, CORMSA and NANGO pulled out of the organising committee while ARESTA and Joint Network distanced themselves from actively organising the conference. The replacement of the SAFMM Technical Secretariat by the WSFM Local Organising Committee posed a governance issue for the City of Johannesburg given Council’s resolution to partner with the SAFMM.
This meant we could no longer appropriately account for any support given to the remaining parties who wish to continue hosting the event.
Following several failed mediation attempts led by independent parties, the City convened an urgent meeting earlier this week with the remaining members of the organising committee to propose a postponement of the World Social Forum on Migration Conference scheduled to take place from the 5th to the 8th of December 2014.
This would have given the City enough time to resolve governance issues that were not in-line with the City’s governance policy.
However, because the unresolved governance concerns and the refusal of the WSFM Local Organising Committee to consider the request for postponement, the City had no other option but to withdraw its support to the hosting of the WSFM 2014.
The city promotes accountability, and acknowledges the importance of migration and its contribution to development. It is the first city in the country to adopt a policy on integrating migrants, and I is in that spirit that in its’ Human and Social Development agenda, it identifies migration as a key issue that requires attention.
Issued by the City of Johannesburg
For queries contact:
Nthatisi Modingoane
011 407 7354
082 467 9228
nthatisem@joburg.org.za
