Former City of Johannesburg mayor and South African Local Government Association (Salga) chairperson Parks Tau was appointed as a co-chair of the United Nations (UN) High Level Independent Panel on Monday to oversee the effectiveness of the Habitat III.

Habitat III is a programme adopted by the UN to "reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanisation".

Salga in a statement said Tau was appointed together with Mexican secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development, Rosario Robles, as co-chair during a sitting of the UN in New York.

In the statement, Tau described his new role on the panel as an instrument to advance the interests of local government both on the local and international scale.

"Having committed to advocate for the location of local government at the centre of a changing world, the panel presents an opportunity to lead this agenda," he said.

The panel is expected to write an assessment report of the progress of Habitat III, which will serve as an input to a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September.