Investigating the viability of rural housing finance as a vehicle for the creation of sustainable human settlement in Moletlane village – Lepelle Nkumpi municipality

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need for sustainable human settlements, particularly for the poor, is crucial in SouthAfrica (SA). This is because of the apartheid spatial constructs that segregated the blackpopulation groups from white minority and denied them equal access to economicopportunities, housing, as well as basic and social services (Smeddle-Thompson, 2012).Many South Africans remain without basic services in the many informal settlements. Eventhose who have jobs and a consistent salary find it difficult to sustain a decent quality of life,as they fall outside of the subsidy bracket but at the same time are unable to afford and accessthe mortgage products available from commercial banks (Department of Human Settlement,2009). Consequently, the South African government is faced with the task of developingsustainable human settlements and improving quality of household life. For this reason, manyinitiatives such as legislative frameworks, policies and programmes to drive housing deliveryhave been established since 1994 and millions of rands have been used to implement suchinitiatives. However, housing delivery remains a challenge. Thus, the researcher sought toinvestigate the viability of rural housing finance in creating sustainable human settlement inrural areas, with special focus on Moletlane Village as a case study. Like many rural areas inSA, Moletlane village is still faced with a challenge of housing delivery.This study was conducted within the interpretive qualitative paradigm. Techniques to collectdata focused on questionnaires and interviews for validity purposes and to countersubjectivity. For the survey, 100 participants were purposefully selected based on theirknowledge and their expertise in rural housing finance. The survey was followed by in-depthinterviews with key personnel of Moletlane Village and a few ordinary community membersto verify and complete some answers. The researcher used data collected to draw findingsand made recommendations.The foremost findings revealed that rural housing finance plays a major role in ruraldevelopment as it provides people with the opportunity of improving their houses and rescuesthem from living in substandard conditions. The overall sentiments from the respondents arethat rural housing finance has led to an increase in the economic activity and job creationwhich is a solid foundation for the creation of sustainable human settlements.This study has established a link between rural housing finance and rural development. It isclear from the findings that participants believe in rural housing finance and value it. Theysee it as a good strategy to liberate their lives and of realising sustainable human settlement.However, they all acknowledged that institutions that provide housing finance are not doingmuch to assist rural households and that there is a gap in as far as rural housing finance isconcerned. Almost all of them indicated their wish to see rural housing finance across thecountry. Moreover, they are of the opinion that a paradigm shift is required to tackle the ruralhousing finance shortfall. Hence, the study present to policy makers and government a set ofrecommendations discussed in full in chapter 6.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University