Abstract
M.Ed.
At the Nineteenth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS)
President Thabo Mbeki, reaffrrmed that Agenda 21 remains the fundamental programme
of action for achieving sustainable development. He also emphasised that the
achievement of sustainable development requires the intergration of the economic, social,
and environmental components.
The Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 laid down a global plan to achieve a
sustainable development through Agenda 21. Its Principles are modified into Local
Agenda 21 according to the specific local needs and priorities of a country. Therefore
local authorities as the level of governance closet to the people, play a vital role in
educating, mobilising, and responding to the public to promote sustainable development.
Few local governments have yet demonstrated their capacity to develop their own Local
Agenda 21 (LA21) in order to translate and interpret the principles of sustainable
development in their local areas. Thus the primary objectives of this study are:
• to identify areas in which the implementation of LA21 1s carried out by local
authorities
• to determine measures used for the implementation ofLA21 by local authorities.
• to determine whether barriers exist towards the implementation ofLA21
• to develop guidelines for meaningful implementation of LA21 in a balanced and
integrated manner.
The data for this study was collected by using questionnaire and mining data from official
documentation such as environmental reports, brochures, magazines and newsletters. A
case study was carried out in Greater Johannesburg Metro Council because it been
selected as one ofthe 20 cities to participate in the LA21 charters Project.
The process of the implementation of the LA21 planning programme in Greater
Johannesburg highlighted a number of issues that are relevant to South African Cities and
other cities across the world. Recognising that local government is central to the
implementation of sustainable development, there is a need to streamline planning,
political management and administration in order to place local government at the centre
ofthe sustainable agenda.