FROM INFORMAL
SETTLEMENTS TO BRICK
STRUCTURES
Dr Ndinda, C
HSRC SEMINAR SERIES
KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS, PRETORIA, 18 MAY
2010
18 MAY 2010
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South African Housing Context
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Housing Policy
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Financing housing in South Africa
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Methodology
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Findings
• Housing typology by province
• Housing Typology by race
• Housing Typology by Income
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Discussion
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Conclusion
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• Right to adequate housing enshrined in the constitution
• Post-apartheid housing policy refers to White Paper (1994)
and subsequent policies and strategies of the Human
Settlements Department
• Influenced by the Reconstruction and Development
Programme (RDP)
• RDP -informed by the South African situation pre-1994
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1994 National population - 42.8million
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58% -secure tenure in the form of ownership, leasehold, or rental
accommodation
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9% lived in traditional type of dwellings
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18% (7.4 million people) lived in informal settlements,
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Current population about 49 million
Africans – 79%
Coloureds – 9%
Indians – 3%
Whites – 9%
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Envisions housing - “as a variety of processes through which
habitable, stable and sustainable public and private residential
environments are created for viable households and communities.”
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Goal - to ensure citizens have “a permanent residential structure
with secure tenure, ensuring privacy and providing adequate
protection against the elements; and potable water, adequate
sanitary facilities including waste disposal and domestic electricity
supply”.
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State intervention central in ensuring the attainment of the national
housing vision
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Mobilisation of private and public funds
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Private funds through traditional & non-traditional lenders
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Non-Traditional Lenders – Credit & savings schemes (e.g. Utshani
Fund), stockvels etc.
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Large portion of housing development is publicly driven through
the housing subsidy Scheme
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What is the housing scenario in post-apartheid South Africa in 2010,
16 years after apartheid?
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South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) is a household survey
conducted annually since 2003 by CSEI
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Data - range of socio-economic issues affecting South Africans such
as service delivery, poverty, health, education, governance etc
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Survey designed to yield a representative sample of adults aged 16
and older
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The sampling frame for the survey is HSRC’s Master Sample,
designed in 2002 and consists of 1 000 primary sampling units
(PSUs)
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Sample Sizes are representative and range from 3500-4000
households
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Use data on dwelling type to understand most common housing
typologies since 2005
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Use data from 2005-2009 to examine dwellings type across province,
race and income level
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Aim track changes in the housing situation in post-apartheid South
Africa
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Increase in 5 provinces of brick structure dwellings : WC, GP,
Mpumalanga, LP, FS
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5.2% increase in proportion of very low income residents
living in brick structures
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Brick Structure dwellings dominant across race
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Informal settlements predominantly African
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Declined by 6%
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2005 – Africans in IS 10 times the no of Coloureds
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2009: Africans in IS three times no of Coloureds
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Increase in Coloureds in IS
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Decline in proportion of lower middle income residents of IS from
21.5% to 14%
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Small & growing proportion of middle income residents in IS.
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Brick Structures dominant housing typology in South Africa
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All race groups represented in brick dwellings
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Informal settlements – predominantly African and Coloured
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Steady increase in very low income earners living in brick dwellings
explained by the government housing subsidy scheme
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Targets the poorest of the poor – earning R0-3500
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Proportion of those earning between R3001-10,000 living in informal
settlements has increased – represents Gap Market
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Gap market – ineligible for housing subsidy & considered not
credit worthy by housing finance institutions
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Residents ineligible for the housing subsidy and credit from
housing finance institutions have few housing options; either live
in run-down inner city housing or informal settlements
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Greater State assistance required to assist gap market in
accessing adequate housing
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Income alone does not explain access to housing in South Africa
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The range of housing finance options explains the housing type by
the population
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Decline in those living in informal settlements
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The change may be perceived as slow and inadequate -protests
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Changes in housing types across provinces do not explain service
delivery protests
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Protests began in Gauteng- shows decline in informal
settlements
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Mpumalanga – rise in brick dwellings and reduction in informal
settlements
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Other factors may explain service delivery protests – quality
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Role of NHBRC
 Housing finance options explain household access to dwelling type
 Apartheid residential patterns in post-apartheid South Africa persist
 Africans comprise the majority in informal settlements
 Focus in housing policy should be in providing all with adequate
housing
 Movement from shacks to brick structures slow
 May explain service delivery protests
 Fast-track rate of delivery – co-ordination of activities of municipalities,
provincial human settlement departments & NHBRC
 State intervention required to ensure that Gap market gets land at
affordable rates
 Encourage acceptability of different housing technologies
 Greater participation of beneficiaries in housing delivery.
 Housing policy needs to be more inclusive to curb the growth of informal
settlements as a result of rural-urban migration
 Eradication of informal settlements should be accompanied by the
development of affordable rental stock.
 Have we moved from shacks to brick structures? Informal
settlements/shacks have declined slightly but not at the desired rate
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