Low-income housing in the post-apartheid era: towards a policy framework for the Free State

[摘要] English: This thesis titled 'Low-income housing in a post-apartheid era: towards a policy framework for the Free State is conducted as one of the first thorough analyses on housing policy in a single province since 1994. Furthermore, it is also conducted against a background where limited regional guidelines exist for investment by provincial government departments. The thesis poses the question as to 'who should receive what where' in terms of low-income housing investment in the Free State. The thesis starts off by assessing changing international trends in low-income housing policy and the role of the World Bank. The shift from the provision of formalised housing to site and services is analysed from the individualistic perspective of Turner and the economic model of the World Bank. The approach of the World Bank to housing in the early 1990s suggested that targeted housing subsidies should be provided to the poor �?but mainly for infrastructure and not for the housing structures themselves. Furthermore, the emphasis on sustainability since the early 1990s and its impact on housing policy are also discussed.This international perspective is followed by an assessment of various policy documents directly or indirectly linked to housing in South Africa since 1990. South African policy was labelled a victory for width over depth because a smaller product that had to reach as many people as possible was introduced. It has been found that despite various similarities between the South African and the World Bank policies, the main difference lies in the fact that South African policy also proposed a housing structure. So, to some degree, South African housing policy - according to the World Bank - could have had more width (reaching more people) if infrastructure only had been provided. The South African policy is clear on who should become end-beneficiaries and what they should receive. However, regional guidelines for housing investment (where) in South Africa or the provinces are virtually non-existent.Housing policy in the Free State has placed more emphasis on the housing structure itself by emphasising that housing units of 40m2 should be constructed �?thereby laying more emphasis on depth. However, this resulted in housing subsidies being allocated to areas where land was cheap, or where planned stands were available. Consequently, housing investment favoured small towns and middle-order towns at the expense of larger urban areas. Though some progress was actually made between 1999 and 2001 to improve on the delivery in larger urban areas in the Free State, this was achieved at the expense of municipal finance, or it required deposits from beneficiaries - which in turn excluded the poor from accessing housing subsidies. The emphasis on the size of housing further resulted in housing finance being focused only on the poor and not distributed proportionally between the income groups that were able to access the housing subsidy. As low-income housing delivery in the Free State focused mainly on the top structure and was aimed at existing stands, the infrastructure levels of housing projects in the Free State are significantly lower than in the rest of the country, and, no informal settlement upgrading has thus taken place.Against this background, the thesis proposes that the pro-poor and targeting nature of the low-income housing subsidy should be maintained; obstacles in policy that prevent private sector finance from supporting the subsidy should be minimised; the rationale for low-income housing subsidies in the Free State should be reconsidered; housing subsidies should be available incrementally; final decision-making on how to spend the subsidy should be done at the local level; low-income housing should accommodate urban growth; the emphasis on 40m2 should be reconsidered; further, there should be emphasis on width and not depth; and, a regional framework for the allocation of investment of low-income housing, based on housing need, demographic trends and economic potential, should be implemented.

[发布机构] University of the Free State