The president of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) parliamentary forum, Siteny Thierry Randrianasoloniaiko, on Monday called for stronger climate governance and accelerated progress towards the establishment of a fully fledged Sadc parliament.
Hosted by the parliament of South Africa and held in the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, the plenary sought to scrutinise the impact of climate change on women and youth in the Sadc region and the role of parliaments in “climate change mitigation and adaptation”.
Delegates included speakers of national parliaments, heads of delegations and representatives of youth and women’s parliamentary structures from across the region.
Randrianasoloniaiko recalled commitments made by South Africa at the 38th ordinary Sadc summit in Windhoek in 2018.
At the summit on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the need for a regional legislature to amplify the people’s voice and enhance oversight.
He said the Sadc parliamentary forum has matured into a credible institution, with model laws supporting the domestication of Sadc protocols across member states.
“A stronger regional parliament is essential for deepening integration, advancing accountability, and ensuring that citizens are at the centre of the regional agenda,” he said, urging member states to ratify the protocol before August 2026.
Speaker of the National Assembly Thoko Didiza spoke of climate‑related disasters, citing floods in KwaZulu‑Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape that displaced thousands and caused loss of life.
“Climate change and its impact on women, especially in rural areas, will be given priority at the 58th Sadc plenary forum in Durban today,” she said.
Didiza said parliaments must take an active role in shaping policy, strengthening oversight and ensuring that national responses align with regional priorities and global climate commitments.
She welcomed the outcomes of COP30, including the Global Mutirāo decision and new just transition frameworks, describing them as opportunities for collective global action.
She urged for gender‑responsive and youth‑centred budgeting, transparency, and legislative reforms to support renewable energy, sustainable land use and resilient water management. “We must harmonise laws and share best practices to ensure a just transition that leaves no community, woman, or young person behind,” she said.
The plenary also heard from South Africa’s human settlements minister, Thembi Simelane, who warned that climate change is no longer a distant environmental concern but a systemic challenge affecting housing, infrastructure and social equity.
Simelane outlined the following pillars for climate‑resilient human settlements:
- Settling communities in safe areas;
- Upgrading vulnerable settlements already in hazardous locations; and
- Establishing climate‑resilient infrastructure norms and standards.
She said women and youth are disproportionately affected by climate disasters, in terms of exposure and exclusion from decision‑making.
She linked her ministry’s climate change response strategy and the implementation plan for human settlements to the constitutional guarantee of adequate housing, calling for parliaments to integrate climate risk into land‑use planning legislation and align settlement laws with the Climate Change Act.
Across all interventions, leaders insisted that only a unified regional approach, anchored in responsive legislation and effective oversight, can safeguard the future of Sadc’s women and youth.
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