Community participation in low-income housing projects : experiences of newly-urbanised Africans in Mfuleni in the Cape Metropole

Hele tekst

(1)"~a. -. ' 't. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN LOW.INCOME HOUSING PROJECTS: i}.)(periences 01 Newly-Urbanised Africans in MIlilen; in tlJe Cape Metropole. JANUARY. 1~98. Stuvy Project presented In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Public Administration, University of Slellenbosch. Study Leader: F Theron. Mbulelo Mazlzi Saba NR: 9G·78196. Wi (.

(2) DECLARATION I the undersIgned hereby declare Ihat Ihe worl-. conlalned In this study project IS my own origInal work and Ihat I have not previously In Its entirety or In part. subrnll19d It al any univerSity for a degree. Dale. au. 22 January 1998. j. I.. .i.

(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the very outsel my grealeslthanks go 10 Ihe Almlgh'y God to whose glory Ih,s work IS dedicated. My warm appreciation \0 my wife Nomvuyo and my two chddren my daughter Nangamso and. f11y. son Bazise for their patience enc-.'uragement and devotion. despIte ha ... ,ng had to spend many hOUf5 WIthout It1C co"nfort of a husbanj and. falher. To my mother and my lale tather whose determination In life Instilled tile value. of educ.at Ion dIscipline and ambitIon Within me I am truly Indebtpd. I acknowledge With gratitude the gUidance afforded rne by Mr F Hwron, my supervIsor My deepest thanks go to Dr F,delia Maforah who was kind enough. to comment critically on Ihe proposal and the development of Ihc Interview schedule and also gave expert advice on sampling. My deepest appreciation goes to Ms Nosls, Dlnganl an experrenced Inlervlewer Without whose help. wl~h. collection. codIng and punchIng of data the study would. not have been llmeously completed I am Indebted 10 Ms Marianne VrIes of the. Department of Social Services fOf thelf willingness and patIence In assIsting me wllh computer and slailstlcal analySIS. I am also Ihankful 10 Ms Jane Geldenhys. for editIng the research report. Finally, my gratrtude goes to friends and re r. ·~s,. particularly my brothers and. Sisters who expressed confidence In me and gave me support. - - -.............'.:""1"iii.II;IIlIIIlIIII• • • • • • , ';• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •4.• •. I!lUIIJ!'IIJ!$$lIIIltIItillli!/l3tj• .~.U. 11113111.

(4) iii. ABSTRACT In the past effective. the policy for 11-,. provISion of low·cost 11QUSIng 'NBS not very. bec.ause the context of dcvelopment plann,ng was characterised by. fragmentation. segregation and ,solatIon from the largeted communities. The. reasons for ttlrS are that these development progrnm1llCS were nol participatory and. that. they. crmtrJbuted. 10. dependenc,. rather. lhan. empowerrnent. of. communIties Selected case studies ha . . e\ shown that wilhout the Invol\ oment of. lhe community In planning and deCISion-makIng low· Income hOUSIng prOjects cannol meet the needs and demands of the communIty for If'1provemenl In an efiectlve and eHlclenl way. One. of the baSIC prinCiples of The Reconstruction and D,,?veIOpmlJnt Programme. IS that deveioprnen: projeels should be peopie·drlven. '(he policy framework. clearly slates that . delll,'ery systems In hOUSing wIll depend upon community. panlClpatlon' ThiS current study sought to determine whether delivery systems In fow-income hOUSIng prOjects. have made thIS paradigm shift - that they are. particIpatory and need·drlven. The study IS descflpllve and Issue-oriented lImiting Itself to understanding the process of lOW-Income hOUSIng prOVISIon to n~wly·urbanJsed Afflcar,s In Mfulenl,. a pen-urban seltlement In the Cape-Metropol'l Interv;ews were conducted With 100 respondents male or female heads of households, uSing a semI-structured. questionnaire. The study gave respondents an opportunity 10 share their. experiences regarding prOVISion. the. process of community participation. In. hOUSing.

(5) -. -. ' .. Iv. Findings of the study Indicate that although there has been some effort 10 Involve the community and individual members In the pro/ecl, the le....el of. Involvement. particularly of indivIduals, was nol sa!lsf.qCIO~y Recommendations prOVide some Insights on how low·lncome hOUSIng proJects can be made more relevant and effIcient to the needs of urbanisrng communItIes. I.

(6) OPSOMMING In d,e verlede was die beleld ten opsigle van lae·kosta behulslng nle bale effekllef me. omdat ont\Vllo.kellngsbeplannlng blnnen konteks w;]l gekenmerh.. was deur fragmenlasle, 5egregaste en Isolasle vanaf die gemeenskappe waarop dlt gem'k was. piaasgevlnd het. D,e redes (w die gabrek aan doellreffendheldl. was dal die programme nle deelnnme aangemoedlg het nle. dat hulle dIe. afhankllkheld eerder as die bemagllglng van die gemeenskap gewerk. hel. Geselekleerde. ~oon. gevallesludles. 1,0. dat. die hand. lau-Inkomsle. behulslngsproJekle ole die gemeenskap S8 behoefles en else len op~lgle van. verbelem)g effek\lef en ooelgeng kan aanspreek nle 'Nanneer die gemeenskap. nle by die beplannlng en beslUltnemmQ belrokke IS nle. Een. van. die. grondliggende. Ontwlkkel'ngsprogram besluur moet word. IS. dal. beglnsels. van. die. ontwlkkellngsprOJekle. deur. Heropbol J. die. gemeenskap. dat ontw,kkeling 'n gemeenskapsgesenlreerde pf<Jses 's. Ole beleldsraamwerk slel dll dUldellk da! dIe stelsels Vir dIe. behulslng van gemeenskapsdeelname afhankllk IS om. en. lewf~rlng. van. H,erd,e slud,e hel gepoog. vas Ie slel of die slelsels waarblnne lae·lnkomsle behUlslngsproJekle. plaasvlnd reeds die klem .... erkulwing na die nuwe onlwlkkelingsparadlgma (vanaf beplannlng vir In plaas van beplanning sa am met gemeenskappe) handhaaf. Ole studle IS beskrywend van aard en probleemgeng begrlp. Vir. die. prosesse. waarvolgens. lae-Inkomsle. OJt. IS. beperk tot die. ber,ulslng. aan. nuut-. versledellke Swartes In Mfulenl. aan die rand van die Kaapse Melropolls gelewer word. Onderhoude IS met behuJp van 'n sernl-gestruktureerde vraelys.

(7) vi. gevoer fTlel 100 respondente. wal manllko cf vroullke hoofde van hUishoudlngs was. OU! studIO het respondente dIe geleer'ltheld gabled om hui ervarinas. random gemeenskapsdeelname In die lewenng van lae·lnkomste behUlsJf"'9 Ie. deel. O,e bevlndlngs van die studle dUi daarop da!. alhoewel daar reeds poglngs IS om die gemeenskap en Indlvlduale lade by dte proJek Ie botrek. dIe vlak van betrokkenhetd onvoldoende InS1Q wal. IS,. veral onder Indlvldue. Ole aanbevellngs bled. dlt moontllk kan mask dat lae·,nkomsle behulSlngsproJokte dIe. behoeftes van verstedellkende gemeenskappe op 'n meer lersake en eHektlewe. wyse aanspreek. ----------- -- ----.

(8) "I know. no. safe depository of the ultimate powers of society, but. the people themselves, and If you think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy 15 not to take If from them, but to inform their discretion by education" Thomas Jeffersen. 1743·1826.

(9) viii. "ABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. Declara\lon Acknowledgements. II. Abstract. III. Opsomm,ng. v. CHAPTER ONE:. INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION. 1.1. INTRODUCTION. 1. 1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. 2. 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. 4. 1.4. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY. 5. 1 4 1 Overall Aim. 5. 1 42 Specific ObJeclives. 5. 1.5. THE RESEARCH DOMAIN: MFULENI. 6. 1.6. METHODOLOGY. 7. 161. -,. The Research Design. 1 62 Study Site and Study Populallon. 8. 1 63 SamlJ"ng and Sampling Procedures. 9. 1 6 4 The Instrument. 9. 1 65 AnalySIS of Data. 10. 1.7. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 10. 1.8. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY. 10. 1.9. DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS. 11. Z.O. PRESENTATION OF CONTENTS. 12. ._----_._--------------------.

(10) ix. CHAPTER TWO:. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION LOW-INCOME HOUSING. IN. 2.1. INTRODUCTION. 14. 2.2. GLOBAL ISSUES IN HOUSING. 14. 2.3. THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT. 18. 2.4. THE WESTERN CAPE CONTEXT. 19. 2.5. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: POTENTIAL OR PARADOX?. 22. 2.6. DEFINING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. 23. 2.7. S:JMMARY. 27. CHAPTER THREE:. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA. 3.1. INTRODUCTION. 28. 3.2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIO·ECONOMIC DATA 321 Demographic D~ta 322 Other Soclo-EconnmlC Data. 29 29 33. 3.3. URBANISATION DATA. 33. 3.4. DATA ON HOUSING NEEDS. 34. 3.5. DATA ON INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. 34. 3.6. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE. 38. 3.7. SUMMARY. 40. 1.. .#;. . :.

(11) LIST 01" TABLI!S PAGE NO.. Table 1:. Age/Se. Distribution. 30. Table 2:. Education Level. 30. Tabl.. 3:. Living with partner. 32. Table 4:. Level of lr.tJlvlduallnvolvemenl. 35. Table 5:. Satisfaction with Individual Involvem..nt. 36. Table 6:. Satisfaction with Community Involvement. 36. LIST 01" fIGUR!S Figure 1:. Employment Stalus. 31. Figure 2:. Joint Income. 32. Figure 3:. Phase of Indlvlduallnvclvemenl. 35. Figure 4:. Phase of Community Involvement. 37.

(12) x. CHAPTER FOUR: MAIN FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1. INTRODUCTION. 41. 4.2. RE·STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES. 41. 4.3. MAIN FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS. 42. 4.4. RECOMMENDATIONS. 45. 4.5. CONCLUSION. 46. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 49. APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE/INTERVIEW SCHEDULE. 53. APPENDIX B: MAP OF MFULENI. 54. .,.

(13) ·. ..... ~. .. ... .. .. ~,. .. .. CHAPTER 1. 1.1. In. INTRODUCTION. South Africa. as In most dev· ,~,ng countries. rapid urbanizatIon has. outstnppod Investments of municIpal govE."nrnenls tn l'lfraslfuC!ure and services. especially In reSIdential areas wIth a predominance of poorer tlousetlolds This situation craales complex management and Dolley problems 'n housmg Income dlstflbutlon. public serVIces and other areas and usually causes changes :;lat. ar(> synonymous wllh lhe Iransilion of soclely from Ih(> Iradilional 10 Ihe modern accom~anYlng. wl;h Its l~'ese. ten$lons, problems and opportunIties. Many people In. neighbourhoods lIve In cramped overcrowded rlQUSlng cundltlons. Inadequal~. ...... Ith. sanlfallon and poor waler supply A dlslurb"'9 fealure of 11115 trend IS. Ille rapid growth of slums and squatter seltlemenls where peop:e live under appalling conditions of poverly and depnvallon Assoclaled wllh the lack of servIces. IS. ar. Increase In disease and III·health of growIng. perl-urban. populallons Studies almoo at providing a betler underslBndlng of the complex n~tlJre. of these problems and Informing pollcy·makmg on how 10 address. uruarHzallon.. IS. urgently needed. ThiS study aSSU'11AS that In deSigning hOUSing ~ollcles and serVices South Africa Shl·uld cunSI(1m the human attitudes, values and needs of Its respective. commc.nllies. and lhat parllclpatlon and Involvemenl of communilies should be I1lgh on Ihe priority of declsl(m-makers, planners. and service providers II IS the role of social sCIentists and 'esearchers to Identify problem aredS and provide gUidelines 111 thiS regard.

(14) 2. 1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. Housing provIsion IS one of the greatest cnallenges facing the South African Government It IS estimated that over 28 million people (66%) of South Afnca's population are functtonally urbanised Approximately 13.5% (If all households. I I 6 million) live In so-<:alllld Informal housing This form of hOUSing, made from corrugated Iron and other material, IS the prevalent means through which l'rban. households are presently accessing sheller II IS estimated that approximately 150.000 new families per annum house themselves In th,s way (White Paper on Housing 1996 3 ). The eXisting backlOO In hOUSing requires about 200 000 families to !'q housed annually In order for the backlOO to be eradicated over a penod of 10 years Government's goal 1$ to Increas.tl hOUSing deltvery on a sustainable basis to a. peak level of 350 000 units per annum. Within a five yeil< penod to reach the target of 1 000 000 houses. In. five years (White Paper on HOUSing, 19963) The. WhitE! Paper on HOUSing states that there IS no single formula for solving South Afroca's hoUSing dilemma diverSity. of. resources,. 11 IS only by mobilising and harneSSing the full Innovation,. energy. and. Initiative. of. IndiViduals,. communilles, the State and the privat, sector. that the cnallenge can be met effectively This statement IS In line With the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) (199421) In ItS focus on Incluslvlty and partlClpalion. The aim of the ROP IS to transform South Afnca by eliminating the Inequalities associated with decades of apartheid. The transition to a new democratic dispensation requires change in the fotms and institutIons of urban management. and development. Given the comptexity of governance an rl e;dvelopment, it is not possible simply te' 'destroy' the 'old' system, but rather to create a managed transition from the current system inlo a new order The management of this. cnange has particular significance in an urban context. For example. it is estimated that 80% of South Africa's gross domestic product (GOP) IS generated from the metropolitan areas. Population size In these areas IS projected to. ...--.._-----------~----.

(15) ,1. double over 25 years (1985 . 2010), with a unique r11lgralton pattern H1 the. Western Cape lermed ·clrculalory· mlgrallon (Spiegel and Mehlwana 1996 '·17, Spiegel, 199727) Furthermore, Ihe mismanagement of urban planning and resources and developm$nl as a result of urban planning and management policies has led 10 some breakdowns of Ihe urban system The difficultIes are further compounded by a limited fiscal base running at 20. %. With government consumption. of the GOP and debl servIcing absorbing 17% of the Budge!. not. much money IS avaIlable for RDP programmes In particular hOUSing delivery. Experience In South Afnca has shown Ihat people can be Instrumental In. brlngmg about change The emergence and grow1h of the CIVIC movement under. apartheid. IS an e;x;ample of how communIties can mobIlise for change A new r"Jle IS expected of those CIVICS. that of ensurIng the same level of public. participation In reconstructIon as they have In resistance to apartheid, Through. community participation and partnerships belween all stakeholders involved In development, In particular In urban development that energy can be channeled towards community development An assumption underlyIng thiS s:r3tegy IS that. by giving the community a ,'Olee, bellar qualrty declslon·maklng and programmes lied 10 local need will resull Anolher P' sumptlon IS Ihal as a consequence of part,clpallon. local people will lake greater responSibility for the care and. maintenance of their neIghbourhood than they would If development was. Imposed lop-down with minimal Involvemenl of Ihe local community As stated earlier, people who actually expenence and suNer Ihe problems should be given a vOice In what happens If we fall to do Ih,s we shall fall Itl'. ,'11. yel again. However. Bekker (1996 50) states that In some cases the expectations that. accompany a!templs al citIZen part,clpallon can be. unrealistically high. He. warns that ~citlzen participation cannot be considered a panacoa for all the Ills ·""-f. soclely, II IS simply a change In process· Anolher slatement of caullon. ~m. Burkey (1993 50) is Ihat developmenl workers should "talk aboul making people self·reliant. You cannot make people self-rellan!. people become self-reilant. It is. more a question of attiludes than money and malenals Too much money and matenals from external sources can easily prevent the e, ,'ergence of self-. .4. L. t, t.

(16) reliance People must feel and bel,e, J that It IS their own efforts that are driving the development process They must feel that they themselves are contributing the maximum of their own human. finanCial and malenal resources and that. aSsistance from outside IS only for what they cannot manage themselves·. There should no longer be doubt Ihat ,ne ·we know what they need approach M. has reIgned In thIS c')untry and that It does not yletd successful results More Imponantly, the approach has resulted In a paucIty of Information regardIng cllcumstances of, and processes to be employed In urbani sing communities Such InformatIon IS rtecessary for developing urban poliCies to manage growing. clt,es. effectively. Informalion. IS. urgenlly. reQuiled. If. the. South. African. Government is to come even close to lIs commitment of a minimum of ·onemillIon low-cost housIng units to be constructed Over five years" (RDP, 1994'22-. 25). One way of overcomIng thiS knowledge delicil IS 10 give urbanlsll,g. communIties a chance to speak about thell CIrcumstances ThiS IS Inter alia the aim of thiS study. T; Ie author, however. IS of the opInIon that the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole. 51111 unfortunately rely on unsuitable methods of housing provIsion that do not adequately Involve communIties In deCISions relallng to poliCies and services In thiS study It IS assumed that the eXisting housing poliCIes can be remodelled to promote RDP prrnclples of partiCipation of CIVil SOCIE"'y and human development. 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. ThiS stUdy also assumes '''at an understanding of human atiliudes. values and needs of IJrbanislng communliles Will lead to more effiCient urban housing policies. This means that a process of developing and reviewing housing policies should be a consultative one. taking into conslderallon the indiVidual and collectIve needs of urban communities Despite the new era of democracy. urbanisation and housing will continue to be major ('!1C'.f1enges facing South.

(17) Afflca. Policy-makers. local authofltles. planners and developers. as stated.. urgently re<lUJre sound Information on which to make Informed decIsions regarding the Improvement and evaluation of housing and programmes and. prOjects In such communities. This needs to happen wlthm the broader. framework. of sustainable urban development. II IS hoped Ihal this study and ItS case study application. Will lead to better understanding of processes aimed at prOVIsIon of hOUSIng 10 newly urbanised. Afflcans ,n ,nfonmal settlements The author IS of the op,nlon that the study IS Justified and, ndC8ssary In that It attempts 10 ,dentlfy problem areas and provide gUidelines for solutions In. t~llS. regard. Finally. the study Will hopefully stimulate further research on Issues relallng to the Involvement of CIVil society In hous1n9 prOVIsion and other services In the. Western Cape and South Afflca as a whole. 1.4. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY. 1 4 1 OVERALL AIM. To determine the Involvement of communities In low-cost hOUSing. programmes and projects In the Cape Metropole speCifically In the Mfulent case study and larger Cape Metropole. 1.4.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES. The specific objectives of the study are as follows.. I.. To review selected and applicable literature central to hOUSing and community participation..

(18) II. To determine experiences of newly accommodated residents regarding commumty participatIon In hOuSing projects In the case study and related areas. III. To determine the process of housing p,ov'Slon preferred by newlyure>anlsed Afncans. IV. To suggest practical recommendations wIth a practical . ./lew of improvmg the level of community particIpation In the provISion of housing 10 urbanlSlng African communities In the case study and larger Cape. Metropole. 1.5. THE RESEARCH DOMAIN: MFULENI. Mfulen. 'S a small community of about 390 hectares. w,th an estimated. population of 35,000 This commun,ty IS situated ,n the Tygerberg Sub· Structure, approXimately 35km from Cape Town and 15 km from SlellenbOsch. The community was established In 1974 as a dormitory, I e a transit area for migrant labourers to the Western Cape In,tlally this community consisted of nostels for s,ngle male workers The first resloent,al plots were made available in 1976 The community's dlv,ded ,nto four smaller areas the old localion. hostel area, shacks or informal settlements and the privately owned houses. The area infrastructurally IS extremely poorly developed, lacks basIc fac,lIties such as public transport and has only one community hall with occupat,on capacity for about 800 people As the only facility besides a comb,ned school (pnmary and high school together). this hall IS utilised as a multipurpose centre where activities such as school concerts, po Iilica I meelings and church services are held The school itself 's small for the number of children In the community and is inadequate to meet the fast-growlng needs of the community. (For. example, due to shortage of classrooms. the platoon system 's slill being used. Hi. .A. .Ii.

(19) 7 There are two sessions of Schoof each day. with one group of children attendlr:g. from 8hoo 10 13hOO and another group from 12hoo 10 18hooj. 1.6. METHODOLOGY. 161. RESEARCH DESIGN. According 10 Bless & Hlgson-Smlth (1995 631. the research design -can be underslood as the planning of any sCientific research from Ihe flfsl 10 the last slep·. Research deSigns provide the answer to the quasllan of ·what are the. means which I shall use to oblarn 'he InformatIon. J. need?" (Moulon & MaraIS.. 1986 38) II IS also an overall strategy by which quesllons are answered or hypothesIs are tested (Bless & Hlgson-Smith 1995 67) A closer look dl the literature on research Indicates that vanous authors give emphasIs on different. typologies of research deSign. depending on lhelf field of research For example Leedy (1989) does not Classify but rather Idenl,f,es purposes of research as explorallon descflpllon and explanation wtllle Grlnell's (1990) Iypology consists of exploratory. descriptive and explanatory deSigns based on the knowledge level which each provides On the other hand. Bless and Hlgson-Smlth, who lake on a more expenmental approach. distingUish among three categories of resea:-ch design, classified according to the level of. SCientIfiC. ngour Involved in. proving the cause-etfect relallonship.. The question amidst thiS array of deSigns and never-ending search for suitable research deSigns IS how does one make a selecllon? Collins (1987 emphaSIZes flexlbllily. 256). as the universal characlerlstlc of research planning She. maintains that ·research designs are guidelines for Invesllgative activity. not. hard-and-fasl rules that cannot be broken" The chOice of research deSign was based on Bless & Hlgson-Smlth's (199567) statement that "every project requIres a research deSIgn that IS carefully tailored to the exact needs of the. researcher as well as the problem" In view of the limited knowledge level on Ihe current study and the lime constraints of the student for completing the study, the deSCriptive survey method was considered to be appropriate.

(20) The descnptlve survey method ThiS IS employed to process data derived from. simple observational sItuations. which may be physically observed or may be observed through the benefll of questlonnatres or poll techmques (Babble. 1990). It IS a research method thai looks with Inlense accuracy at the. phenomena of the moment and then descnbes precisely what the researcher sees (Leedy. 1969 140) The pnnc,pal objective of descriptive data IS to reveal potential relationships between van abies (Collins. 1987 257). Although this method of research IS sImple In deSign It IS not wltnout problems, nor IS II any less demanding In Its requirements or any easier for ~he researcher. to conduct than other methods of research On the contrary. the descnpllve survey design makes specIfIC demands upon the researcher whiCh, If not carefully conSidered. may place the enttre research eflo" In leopardy These demands may be understood In terms of the followIng sail en! characteristics of. thIS method use of the technique of observation as the principal means of observation. careful and clear definition of the study population. safeguarding of data from the Influence of bias. and systematic organisation and presentation of data. 1 62. STUDY SITE AND STUDY POPULA TlON. The study IS descriptive and Issue-<lflented, Ilmltmg Itself to understanding circumstances surrounding hOUSing provISIon to newly·urbanlsed Afncans. The. study was conducted in or,e study sIte - a new development of about 540 erv"n In Mfulenl in the Tygerberg Sub-structure of the Cape Metropole. The. descnption of the stUdy site is presented under ·research domain" above. j@. lilea.

(21) ., 163. SAMPLING AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES. Consldeflng tIme limitations. a sample 01. 100 respondents. was. selected. accord1f"lg to the princIples of stratified random sampling 35 follows. With Ihe aid of a localIty plan secured from tt"le Local Aulhorl'y the sampling. frame was determined The area was desIgnated Into two s\r'Jla 01 50 houses /the primary sampling frame) and then prOP0r1l0nately an,J by random means the contact houses were determined from ench straIn every house an equal opportunIty 01 being. chos~n. thus giving each 3nd. lor the snrllple A proportional. stratifIed sample of the households was choson by detertnlnlr"lg Ihe first house ~USln9. the accepted random numbers) and then taking the house on the left and. the one opposIte and from each hOusehold eIther the male Of 'emale head of the hou5.ehold was mtef't'lewed. f 64. THE INSTRUMENT. Data was collected uSlnO a. seml·slructur~d. Interview scnoc:Ju1e/questlonnalre As. Ihe study lS exploratory a pIlot study was II(st conducted to reline the Interview. schedule The IntervIew schedule conSists 01 four sections demograpt'llc and S0Clo-ecc~om,c. ,nformallon. urbarusal,on ,nformallon. questions rela1lng to. hOUSing needs of respondents and lastly Information rAlallng to mvolvement of Individuals. and. communities. schedule/quesl,onnalfe. \r>. rvriAt. to. rn,nlfTlI1A. was. In. the. pre-coded. ,nIAI'\I1AWAf. ~10us,ng. to. \It:trl~lll:-'n. prl)]ect. ensure. (tnd. e.:isy. bla~. lh~. The. interview. processing. See. QUestionnaIre was. translated Into Xhosa and Its content and relevance were testee In a pII01 stuey. as stated The questions were also explained to the ,nterViewees. Personal Interviews were preferred to mail questionnaires because of the. contextual. realities of the. problem under study. the. SUbjects. and. their. Circumstances The question under study IS a senSitive and fairly emotl',e one.

(22) In the bulk of the people In the sample are not hterate and sophisticated enough to read and Interpret mailed Queshonnalres. moreover. ttlC. postal system IS not. sophisticated enough to facilitate such a process In ,lIew of lhese faclors the personal presonce of the Interviewer served two main purposes. provIded. structure to the IntervIew through probes and claflftcatlors where necessary and. secured a t1lgh response rale. 165. ANALYSIS OF DATA. The SAS (StatIstical AnalySIs System) was used to capture check and correct data for formal and structural errors This programme ·...·as also used to analyse. data. Data. collected. was. used. 10. advance. recommendations. for. the. Improvement of housing provISion and services In the Western Cape. 1.7.. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. PermiSSion and consent was obtained trom the partIcipants for. l~le. InlerVI€fW wIth. an explanation that the study was for study purposes only and not for the provISion or Improvement of housing serVices Arrangements were made wIth. eaCh Individual as to a time convenient to h,mlher (Bless and Higson-Smith. 1995101-102). 1.6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY. The most obvIous limitations relate to. flrslly. the small sample size. and. secondly. {he fact that Ihe study did not cover all Sub-Structures. In. {he Cape. Metropole Becausa of these two factors Inferences about the population from the sample data cannot be made for other communities.

(23) 1.9. DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS. In order to facilitate clarrty and understanding, the author has made a concerted. effort to explain terms/concepts In the text The followmg concepts were defined. leXIcally and oper alionally as thus. Community:. as. a cl)ncept. In. development. thoory. fofers. to. a. specifiC.. functionally related poplJlallOn sellled In a par11cular geograpt1lc area at a given. time (Burkey 199340-43). Development: For the purpose of thiS study deveiopmeni IS seen In Ihe con!".1 of the Reconstruction and DeyelOpment Program".,a an Integrated approaCh by nil role-players. I. (RDP) Yls,on II refers to. e government rJepaltments and civil. SOCIOly 11 IS alfTled at promo:lng the welfare of the previously marginail5fKl. communities by fOCUSing or people's needs and their abilily to manage. problems successfully (RDP 1994). Community development: ThiS term has been an eYolYlng concept. n,roug~. the years It has been termed 'communlty par1lclpatlon" "people's pan,c,pat,on" ·popular partlclpatlon-. ·oeople-centred development". etc. The UN World. SummIt lor Social Developme!nt see rl as a process of empowering people 10. strengthen therr own capacities Swanepoel whereby people. ar~. fed by ,nformat,on knowledge and expeflence. that bflngs. lt10rn confidence In theIr own. Informal. (1997 26) sees It as a p. :>cess. settlements:. Ibllltl9S. IrJormal. settlements. are. spontaneous. settlements. usually localed on Jnvadeej land on the pertphery of major Cities and In the backyards of formal houses. These communIties are often charactertzed by low soclo-economlC conditions and cramped. overcrowded housing conditions wllh Inadequat~. ,;:;nllallon and .>oor water supply as well as lack of health and other. baSIC servIces prevaIling.

(24) I, Africans:. In II1,s sludy Afncans refer only \0 Soulh Afncan 110rn cllizens of. N"grOid d~scenl. Poverty:. absolute pover1y can be defined as the H'labtllty of an. lndl'vldual, a community or a natton 10 satisfactorily moot lIs basIc needs. reI alive povert)o' (can be dehr:ed) 8'S a condItion In whIch baSIc needs are mel, out where there IS an Inability to meet pQrC6Ived needs and desires In additIOn to b~slc. needs- (Bur1<ey, 1993 3-4). S"If-reliance:. -doing Ihlngs for one's. self. mSlnlslnlng o~e's own. self·. confIdence, milking Independent dOClslons . ellher as IndiVidual or Within the. context of 8 collective group to 'NtHch each member has ... oluntardy allIed i .1m self or Ilerself. ,ellance. IS. Self·rellance comes Irom 't\lthtn but. IS. dlreclod outwards. Self-. based on SOCial relallonshlps· (Burl<ey 1993 50). Plirtlclpatlon:. also known as 'praxIs' "IS a contInuous educa\lve process· a. process of progressive consclont,satlOn. Through collective self·reflectlon on. their expenences and problems. people become mare I::tWNe of the dlm9nslons of their realIty and of what can be done by themselves to transfo,m It. Parllclpatlon Involves organised efforts to Increase control OVer resources and regulallve Instllullons In gIven SOCial InstItutIons, on the pan of. groups and. movements of those hitherto excluded frorn such COnlrol· (Burkey 1993 58-59). Community participation: . S process Ihrough which people are engaged to exercIse varyIng degrees of Influenct:! the,; lives' (Kutze (ed), 19975). '. or development achvilies that affect.

(25) 1.1. 2.0. PRESENTATION OF CONTENTS. The study IS dIvided Into four chapters. Ct1aplcl , IS iln Introductory chapter. whICh outlines the purpose and methodology of the study. The !Iler.ture review IS covered In Chapter 2 theorelrcsi perspectIves of. This ,/)aptor reviews the. housing prO .... ls'on i1nd proce3scs. An DvmVlew of. global Issues In hOUSing and the role 01 communIty partiCIpation IS discussed WIth emphaSIS. on the. Soulh African Slluat1or'. anrj PH' \Yeslern Cape. In. partIcular Tt1e appropriateness of rnelt'Q<ls lila! art! \.,.rrer1I,) t.JClIly urnpfoyeC In. housing prOVISIon and how such melt10ds cCrulO be <1tl,lplPrj 10 meet ttle SOCIal. ronlltJ8S of marglnaltsed communIties In Soum AfrIca arc oxamlnod. Cnapter 3 presents Ihe analySIS of data folJow~d t>y tt1e dISCUSSion ()f !t"le major. findings. conclus~on5 and. recommend8110ns in CnaplCI .1.

(26) 14. CHAPTER 2. 2.1. INTRODUCTION. The purpose of !t"'lIS chapter IS :0 review literature thai r1as Irnplrcalrons for HIe topIC under study. Such a reView will assIst. underlYing housing prOVISion. H~. ,..;nd(~rSlan\jlng ltw 111aJor Issues. The study will highlight Issues of communlly. par11Clpatlon as well as successes and problems experIenced globally nallonally and. lo~ally. ,n deSIgning and Implementing such. t)arlrClp810ry Inleryentlons. The. major Issues reviewed are. GIObai Issues In hOUSing. NatIonal and local developments. In. hOUSing. prQ'irSIOn. Dlfferenl rerspecttves and definitions of community partiCipation In 110usrng. 2.2. GLOBAL ISSUES IN HOUSING. At the begrrmlng 01 the' 9th century only three percent of the world'S oopulallon lived In lawns. By 2030 more Ihan half of Ihe world S populal,on of aboul 10 000. million people WIlt be Irylng 10 survive In CItIes It IS eStirnaled !tlat of ttllS 10000. mIllion. people. more than 8,000 mIllion WIll be IlvlrlG. developing counlnes (Stambouli. 1991 ~OL:ntrles. ,rban fringes of. 28·29) Urban probl 'Os ,n developing. have become more acute HI recent years as more people have. migrated to c,t.es. putting pressure Of' the urban Iflfrastructure and phySical. environment The direct result of thiS urban expansion has been a tremendous 1r'1CreaSe In shanty' towns or 'squatter' settlements Or Informal settlements (as they are commonly known In South Africa), where lIVing condItIons and hygiene are appalling Tt1e most Widely observed and aculely fell urban problem In.

(27) developing countries IS the large number of poor and unemployed people In the c,tles These countnes account for two-thIrds of the total world population and well over three-fourths of the populallon lI ....u)(] In poverty II IS forecast that by the end of the 20th century the urban poor may represent a quarter of humanity (Gdber1 & Gugler 1991 5). These I3stlmates are too slgnlflcan~ !iJ Ignore and pOint 10 the fact that unless dramatic and determined measures are taken ImmedIately the Situation 1$ likely to deteriorate further particularly In those countries wnose economies are currently performing below r('QUlred levels of In.... estment production and trade The QuestIon that comes up; !lpealedly 1$ wtlelher hOUSing for all [or" adequate shelter lor al1" as defined and calltJd for by the Global Strategy for Shetter to the Year 2000 (the GSS) 1$ strll ilttarnable under suct"l conditions ImpreSSion IS that unless dra5ilc measures are ta".t]n tt"le. The general hOUSing for all. strategy" a'3 a development goal of nahons of International cooperatIon and of non-governmental oryanls.:J:l·ons [NGOs]IS doomed to fall iErguden. '995 15-. 16). There are various Cleoates around the Global Shelter Strategy aim of arrrvlng al n( action p~an fOI coLontrles' hOUSing poliCIes One of those debates relates to the fact thai the Glooal Shelter Strategy slates that adequacy natlona! concept. Adequate povacy. adequate space. IS. essentially a. adequate secuflty. adequate lIghtIng and ventilation. adequate location With regard to places of work ilnJ ba,SIC faClllltes can only be defined In the speCIfiC conle:-:! of a country S cultural, economiC. SOCIal and envIronmental condItIons reasonable. Hur~da,z. (1995 1A) IS of Ihe opinion that It places the burden of. sl.. archlng for a workable. I. e. measurable. gover'lmenls and a coun!ry 5 hOUSIng polley. tllat. the. While thiS sounds. emphaSIS on. natIonal. definitions. definItIons for lack of comparable data. definll,()I~ o(. <:ldequate shelter on. At the same time hIS ImpreSSion IS largely. precludes. International. ThiS fact only underlines the notion thaI. the pursuit of adequate shelter for all IS maInly a nallonal development goal. albeit shared by all countries as a global concern. _..... --_._---------------.

(28) The second conceptual dlHlculty In perceIVing sheller for all as a 'ealist,c development goal siems from the wIdely-held mIsunderstanding that :l1ere may be a state of humankind If only In the very distant future. In whIch all housIng problems are mel and everyone enjOys a condItIon of adequate shelter. ThIs. notion appears unrealistic for as natronal development leajs to human and material progress nallonal concepts of adequacy 00 not remain static. appears adequate now. 1$. subJeCI to change as a consequence of changing I: forlow~. standards for human development. nl8refore thaI adequate sheHer. for all cannot be understOOd Iller ally as a slale phYSically. satisfied. What. Instead. and. In. III. which all housing needs are. compliance. With. the. meanIng. of. "enllblemen!" as the only realistIC ~1rate9Y adequate shelter for all denotes a state of developrnent. OPpOrlunlty 10. In. \8t1sfy. whICh eVE'ry household and every person. IndiVIdual. sheller. diversified market which can address Intervent,ons 10 ensure. needs. eve'y. ThiS. offered the. IS. Situation. requires. a. need combined With targeled slale. and facdrte:tte access by the poor the -.'ulner able and the. disadvantaged (UNCHS 1984 Sheng t 989 56-€S McAunhur 1993 305-3101 Working towards such a condItion of the naltonai hOUSing sector. IS. the foremost. cllallenge of the universal development goal of adequate Sheller for all. The dlHlculty In defining nalional shelter adequacy In measurable terms IS also largely responsible for Ihe Inconclusive resulls of measuring the -hOUSing baCklog" or "hOUSIng deflc,t" Wt1lCh a number of countries 1(led to undertake In the COnlexl of lt16 Interndtlonal Year of Shelter for !t1€ Homeless (IYSH) (1987) fhese countries. found lhat the a_lent 01 their deflCd depended mainly on the. r-,ouslng slandarQs lt1ey were wriling to accepl. ObViOusly. r1auslng for all. appears more allalnable as a national goal If standards recognize the efforts of. the Informal sector and of self-help groups and a country s hOUSing poliCY actively supports such Inl!latlves (Donnlson. 1993. 293-298. Edlto(l;;ll. NGO. News On Human Settlements 1990 1-5). However. the mosl senous constralnl for Implementing tI"'Ie 8nablJl"'lg approach. called for by the Global Strategy for Shelter has been found to be the frequent. absence of suHlclent political will to carry out dlHlcull but needed poliCy.

(29) measures. such as the provIsion of secure land tenure lor all. the recognillon of Informal settlements. the laxation of vacanlland and proftts, i'tnd the allocatIon of targeted SubsIdies to Iha most vulnerable and dIsadvantaged groups. Sud1. fundamental measures are hampered and distorted by the realIty of politiCians. Civil servanls, the private busIness seclor and community groups. Uillmalely the. chance of adoptIng and Implemenllng technical recornrnendatlons depends on the social and pollhcal reality of each Counlry. It 1$ Important Ihat those Involved. In houSing polICies engage In endless seminars workshops, expert meetings and conferences aimed at forrnulallng lechnlC.a1 adVIce on Ihe best strategies In. pursu,t of Musing tor all (Hunda,z 1995 1-41. Case studies have shO..",.., that real progress was only made In 1hose countrieS whose pollllcal leadership and local government structures recognized hOUSing for all as a powerful strategy to achieve SOCIal and economiC development (Oonnlson. 1993) Expeflence In lOW-Income hOUSing prOjects In ThIrd World. countoes has shown that prOOJISlon 01 Securll)' of tenure InCludlny secure rental agreements and land leases IS the sIngle most Importanl slep for governments In. pursu'l of hOUSing lor all {Donn,son 1993 293-298 Foranam 1993 299-304) ThIS slep alone cornple~ and politIcally conlrQverSI(J1 as II may be nas the most. Significant Impact on making formal as well as Informal hOUSing markets wc-rk. However an Issue 01 concern for most NGOs 's Ihal Ihe HaD,tal Agenda and most countries seem 10 be getting further away frem It'e Vancouver DeclaratIon s statement of -right to hous.ng-(UNCHS. NGO News for Human Settlements. 1995 1-4). Most assessments a! global progress towards the goal of adequate hOUSing for. all stan With a reView of the evolution of hOUSing poliCies dUring the lasl decade or s,nce the adoption of the GSS. Most oDservers agree that the adopt,on 01. progressIve and enabling poliCies by many countries which support the markel and the Informal sector IS C' very encouraging factor (Donnlson 1993 293·298 Fordham, 1993 299·304) However there appears to be a serious and Widening gap between poliCies and aC"!OJai ptL:grammes, between the wrrtten word and the practIce on the ground. bf;ltween rhetoflc and reality Also most ··strategles" are.

(30) I~. vlg~orously followed up by plans of action wIth tImetables resource allocallo. not. and. monItoring. procedures. Governments. need. to. Initiate. n. broad-based. programmes 01 reduCing standards allocating land provIding secure forms uf tenure. and making Cledlt available on af10rdable terms to It'lose previously. excluded. the most promIsing actIons as thelf contllbutlon to crcallng an. enabltng enVIronment (Hundalz 1995 '.4 Fordham 1993 299-304). Beginning at the HabItat Conference In Vancou . . er nearly 20 years ago. and. forrr,ulaled by both the lnternahonal Year of Shelter and HOuSlngl,IYSH) and ltle. Global Slralegy Shel\er (GSS) the process of raiSing awareness and polltlcai will for the creation of effICient and eHectlve Slrateg1es Of. ~'Ol.JS1l1g for. all was. agaIn brought Into focus by the Second UnIted Nations Conference on Human. Settlements [Habitat IIJ In June 1996 In IstanblJl. The Global Plan 01 Action was. yet another olueprlnt for setting the standards reqt.wed for natIonal 'leI Ion and International cooperation towards hOUSing for all as a gl.:>bal rje'Jeloprnent goal The big question IS lNhethef the deciaratlons of Intent and comrrlllmenl whIch. were passed unanimously al Ihls recent conference ·8,11 secure tile requlied political will to sustain them. critical question for all. dU(l'~~,l '.",n.. countrl':~s.. ,\',. June 1996 SOuHl Africa IS Or"i(' \ ' ". 2.3. fcars follOWing !rHo: conforence Tf":ls IS a. :"',ame signatories to the Hablt.?\ lIon 14 '-'':>1' . .')\/n\rles. THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT. During the last two decades more and more families In South Africa as 1f1 the resl of the developIng world have experienced Increasing deterioration. In. thelf. physical II-ling conditions Although the RDP (1994 23i states that ·houslng IS a human rIght" and that everyone has a right to adequate shelter the number 01 faITlll1es WIthout homes has been on the Increase (Naldoo 1995) Much cntlClsm has come from Ideologically hostile quarters Ihat the RDP IS failing to deliver But some has come from With the ANC Itself, and, more broadly from the African communIties that suffer most from the InadequaCies of the pas! apartheid poliCies The most VISible of these failures IS In hoUSing ThiS was confllrned by HOUSing MInister Sankle Mthembu·Mahc.nyele when she admitted that less than. ....

(31) I" 11000 tlomes had been bu~lt by the end of OCI-Jber 1995 a tar cry from !t,e 300. 000 a year spoken of In the ANC Basel,ne (Star October 1995 3). Lack of adequate shelter, absence of clean waler Inadequate sarlilalton and a. dear1:h of facIlItIes for waste disposal IS the norm for H1e rnaJorl\y of South Afrlcans About farly-ftve percent of the populalton of million are r:rllidron Itve In pOverty (Barometer. are largely unseen and unheard. WtliCtl. etpprOXlIllalely 35. 199 1 1.H31 Yel lila urban poor. Thesf' oeople live. Hl. wtlal Hardo~'. (1990351 term 'life· and healltl. threatening ~10mes and nClgt,tJourhoods. far back as 1988 Van der Merwe. 11988. el al As. 513-515' '''ghh'lhled the rap,d. urt'anlsa:ton of South Africa and quantIfied the le',ci 01 Urbanisation of :t,e var~ous. populations af1d H,e expected level 01 urtH1ntSalion 0'. ',r\i2 year 2000. TIle analyStS slateo 1t1al ltle proportIon 01 Alrlcan~. urban areas NDUld. 11'01[19 Ir',. double frop.', abOut 40% at presenl 10 nearly 80% b)' ttle. :ur~1. 01 the century. SIgns of Such rapId urbanIsatIon afoC! clearly '/lslble ,n ttle Western Cape p,. QV!f1ce. Yaeh (1988 479-480). In. me Saultl A!rlcans Medical .loulna: Ed:tonal. slated lhal urbanIsation can create opportunItIes lor rap;d rnO'"emenl In It ,e. soc.'al economiC and health status of populations He harned nowe"er Ihat a orereCJlsile for SuCh a POSitive scenario would be an accep:;,Hi("C t:y government of urbanisation as a deSirable and Ine't'llable dynamiC process. ThiS can Only t'lappen when the felt needs o! lhe when It')e people themselves are Involved In. \a~,lrig. peopll~. are ad(jr(~ssed and. aCllon 10 rr,eet lhose needs. ProfeSSionals workIng With thIS model should be Willing to .... or~. Win) and not JUS!. on behalf 01 communities' (Jones & Macdonald 1993. ~99·20(),. Tn,s suggests. programmes In wtllch there IS a genuine recognll10n :Jf If)e ;JeC'SIOrHn<3kHlg role and actr"e participation of IndiViduals and communilies. 24. THE WESTERN CAPE CONTEXT. The hOUSing context In the Western Cape as a whole and. In. 1$. no dlHerent from thai In the country. the rest of the developing countries. The current hOUSing.

(32) CfISIS IS a legacy of South Africa's, and par1lcularly tM Weslern Cape's, past political dlspensahon, with Its grossly unjust laws anel regulations that excluded the majOrity of blacks. par1lcularly Africans. from entering 1I1e formal housing market. As a resutt It IS by and large the maJonly ot blacks that are struggling. With hOUSing problems, and most of these people are found squatting In the backyards and Informal settlements. wtllie others have no shelter over the If heads. Stretches of Informal settlements and the enVIronmentally unhealthy. situation of backyard sQuatler accommodation allasllo this hOUSing CriSIS. The IndiSCriminate construcllon of mass t10lJslng schemes as witnessed In the Ills of the Cape Flats has also proved 10 be Inet1ecll'o'e. Similarly tt1e site and. toilet scheme of the Independent Development Trust did 110t secure community approval or credibility lead Pro/ect. In. The Integraled SerViced Land PrOlect a PresldE'nt'al·. the Western Cape has also been. CfI{ICISed a5. being a mockery of. the Reconstruct'on and Development Programme agenda. Until recenlly. common practIce was to attempt to deal Wlttl liouSlng for the poor Without consultation and Involvement and the. the Western Cape speaks for Itself. hl~to(y. of removals and resettlement In. Commenting on the SituatIon Van Devenler. (1996 3) points out that long after the bulldozers have moved In and houses have been constructed the people would exclaim that It IS not what they wanted The author concludes thaI the real problem IS the way In which ·commul1lly· IS seen and def,ned ,n n,ost hoUSing prOjects. There are fears that hOUSing prO'o'lslon In ttle Weslern Cape IS follOWing the same tradItional trend of hOUSing prOVISion. consultat,on and commuf1lly. ~art,clpa\lon. proViding only. 'lip-serVice" 10. (Spiegel and Menlwana. 1996 8.. and Gelderbloem, 1996 14. Van Deventer 19943). Kok. For example Spiegel and. Mehlwana (1996 B) 's of the opinion that hoUSing for the Afrtcall population I, beIng provIded Without a clear understand'ng of the ":Tllgratory pattern" ot thiS populatIon, which. tn. thelf opinion has maJor Implications for the type of tlou51ng. that would truly meet the needs and cultural preferences of Ih,s group. These. authors argue that In View of thiS phenomenon a poliCy that del,vers only formal urban. hOUSing Units. for purchase and occupation by nuclear families. IS. clearly.

(33) 21 Ineffective on lIS own, and they suggest Ihat a demand -drIVen urban housing pOlicy would be more appropriate. This, they advocale, would be in line with the. RDP. which advocales for a Wide range of lenure options as well as affordable rental hOUSing stock provIsion to lOW-Income earners who choose thiS option Kok and Gelderbloem (1996 12) also confirm that It IS not enough to look only at affordability when addreSSing hOUSing provIsion. These authors feel very. strongly that thiS shOuld be comb.ned wIth Issues such as society, life cycle, IL 1tlon and broader CIty planning, and that consultation with the community should happen at all levels. ThiS assessment. though not conclUSive Implications for urban. pl8nnl~. clearly pOints to malor negative. and management. The solution requIres a. pOlitical approach at the highest government levels 10 ensure that community panlc,palton becomes 'everybody's bUSiness. As Burkey (199356) argues. 'panlCipatlDn must be more than a pOliCy statement. It should reflect a. genuine commitment to encourage partiCipation In all aspects and at all IAvels of. development wort<'. ThiS type of panlCipalion according 10 Burkey (1993 56). 'IS. the essence of development". A recent anlcle In the Cape Times (19976) called on government departr. lis.. 10edl authorrtles development workers, NGOs and other practitioners 10 Change theIr attitudes, methods and ted"'lnlQues 10 hi In WIth the new paradIgm In service. delivery. ThiS new paradigm shill IS demonstrated In a case study wherein. IndiViduals, mainly women from squaller camps engaged In the V,ctorra Mxenge HOUSing Project based ,n Khayelttsha and Phlillpi deCided to take the future Into. thelf. own. hands and build their own houses In less Ihan two years these women. succeeded In bUilding 41. houses With 57 more now under construction. AccordIng to this article. these novIce builders took two weeks to construct each. house Now they are down to four days per house presenting to all South Afrrcans, panicularly the Western Cape a truo Insprratlon and heroiC example of resourcefulness, harclwork, self·dlSClplrne and self-reliance. It. 4;;.

(34) E),amples such as these confIrm that development In a broad sense has come to. mean a process of socIal learning, leadIng to empowerrnent through people's. pa,1,crpatlon towards self·relrance Self·relrant parlrc,palory development creates a potential paradox 10 Ihose wishing to faclillate 111e process of development This paradox eXIst when people develop themselves and In so dOing undermine the very 81m of development namely. self·rellant people and sustainable. developmenl (Burkey 1993 35.00. Konen and Klauss 1984189-(94). 2.5. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: POTENTIAL OR PARADOX?. In the paSl few years the concept of community partICIpatIOn has repeatedly appeared In literature as an approach whIch empowers people to assume control over their lives. The phrase 'communIty particIpatIon has been used. Interchangeably wllh the term 'empowerment (Jones & MaCdonald. 1993. or. communIty empowermenf. 199) The Importance of communIty participation. was ftrsl hlghlrgtlted by Itle WHO al Itla Alma Ala Conference ,n 1978 SInce Ihen there has been a number of WHO Inltlallves commending the benef,ts of community panlclpallon and empowermenl Included In tl1ese a'e the Onawa Charter on Heallh Promotion (WHO 1966) as well as Ihe Healthy C,lleS Prolect (Tsouros. 1990, WHO, (995) which Ms generated Involvement of over 400 CIties since 1987 Involvement. In. The recent WHO Technical Report Serres on communlly development. empowerment as a. mean~. directly. IInkod. communIty. partICIpatIon. 10. of promotrrlg healthier IndlYlduals and communities. (WHO 1991, WHO, (991) The 1992 Repon of Ihe WHO CommISSIon on Health and EnVironment emphcsls's clhzen Involvement communIty. particIpation. because. It. Implies. (the term It prefers to. aCllve. ralher. than. passive. engagement In development programmes) as an essential element In promoting. enVIronmental qual,ty (WHO (992). The dISCUSSion below revIews lhe current SItuation relating to 'community partIcipatIon" and assesses the pressures, contrad,cllons and opportunitIes.

(35) which community development faces at the present lime It addresses questions. such as What IS the meaning and definition of communlly participation? What are the prospects for community partlclpalton In low-Income housing In the 1990s and beyond? And what strategies should governments be adopting In the prOVISion of low·,ncome hOUSIng?. 2.6. DEFINING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. There are often contradictory assumptIons about the meaning of partiCipatIon. For example practlC8. the meanings may vary a=rdlng to the actor s Interests. In. the vanous actors InVOlved In community partIcipation oHen have. different and often contradIctory Interests thus giving a dlHerenl meanIng to the terrn community partiCipation These contradictIons In lne;:H1H1gs and definItion of community partiCIpation have IItd to a '\t1lft 10 concepts. SU01. as those used by. the WHO as shown above (See Burkey 1993 Rahman 1993 Kotze. ~9_1997). If Ne accept the common usage of Ihe term ·communlty partlclpalton- as being Ihe panlclpahon by the communltv the question Inal con.es up In peoples minds IS parllClpalton In what? The diSCUSSIon below does not attempt to answer thiS questIOn but merely prOVides the framework for understanding community partlclpallon In urban lOW-Income hOUSing proJects ThlJ definItion 01 communIty oartlclpatlon In hOUSing prOjects or urban regeneratIOn tends to take a different. meaning to that of other development pro/ects. For example. soclologlcaily. -community" IS generally defined as a group of people With face-Io-face contact. a sense of belongllig together and common Interests and values In the context of urban lOW-Income hOUSing, people who are Itvlng In a delImIted area Ijent'fy WIth thaI area and share an Inlerest In Its development form a communIty Thus In squatter settlements communItIes do already eXist whrle In sites-and-services. schemes they have to be developed (See Kotze (ed) 1997 61-62 1993 40-45). Burkey.

(36) Participation assumes an activity In which Ihe community takas part and Ihe Involvement of at least one other party. usually a government agency or a non· governmental organisation (NGO). There seems 10 be a tacil assumption Ihal. Ihe 'other party' IS the iMialor of the actlvlly. Even If Ihe communlly Inlhales Ihe. activity and the government come. to &15151 the communIty one does not speak of governmenVpubllc sector partietpallon but of communlly partlclpallon. ·Communlty participahon~. II ;~~.o~ i:!'!C. used 10 Indicate community self·. rehance or self-/1elp or what IS olten known as 'spontaneous hOUSing' In such proJects an activity which IS usually undertaken by a government agency IS undertaKen by the commuMy on Its own However In urban hOUSing projects self-reliance l!l nOI feasible as l80al tenure and !he provISIon of Infrastructure requires government InvOlvement. ThiS e(planalton IS ,n line with lhe Sheng's (1989 57) defllllllon of community development as ·the plOceues by whiCh Ihe efforts of the people themselves are united with those of governmental authorltu!s to Improve Ihe economiC, social and cultural conditions of communilies 10 Inlegrale Ihese communlhu Into the life of the nal,on and 10 enable them 10 contrlbule fully 10 national progress' 111 Ih,s respect community development has Iwo assantlal elements. the partiCipation by the pec>ple ,n efforts to Improve Ihelr level of hVlng ",Ith as much ••If-nthanee 8S possible on thelf. own. Inlhallves. Ihe provIsion of techn,cal and olher services In ways which encourage Initiative, self·help and mutual help and make these rnora effective. Sheng. (198957). rals"s. concern. with. Ihe. faci. Ihal. community. developmenUpartlclpation became associated Wllh . soft" Intervenllons hk... women's groups and day-care centres, and was d,ssoclaled from 'hardware' pro/ecls like housing and infrastructure Improvemenl Sheng (1989 57) IS also or the. opinion IS thai Ihe erstwhile prevailing belief Ihat purely lectlnologlcal. Interventions can improve housing condrtlC'""ls may well have caused the decline. of urban community developmltnl (Sheng 1989 57). ...._.... _-----------_.......----.

(37) ...7-----------,·_..-. _-----..t~5. Somellmes community partlclpalrOn IS Idenllf'ed wllh Ihe [mulual] self-help conslructlon of hO\Jse~, I e the construction of h""ses by [groups of] families. as In. mosl. HABITAT prOjects. In. develo~lng. coul1lnes. However.. self-help. construction IS a much narrower concepf than communIty partiCipatIOn. It IS. often restricted to the prOVISIon of unskilled labour for wt11Ch payment IS received. ,n kind (sweat equity). If people are expecled 10 prOVide labour [and money) for. lhe construction of Ihelr hOuses. lhey muSI also have a deSign of their hOuses and Ihe ntllghbourhood. say In the ,,:annlng and. In IhlS rega'-d. communlly. partiCIpatiOn 1$ the Involvement of the community In plannrr,g and declslonmaking rather than In merely contrlbulrng labour land/or r'noneyJ. Paul (1987 2). 0eftnes community par1lc.pallon 85 -an active process by which beneflclary/clrent groups Influence the dIrection and execution of a development project With a. View 10 enhancing Ihelr well-being ,n lelms of Income personal groWlh selfreliance or other values Ihey chensh -. II IS clear from thiS deflnilion tllat rf people participate In planning and declslonmaking With regard to their house and rls direct envrronment. they can also deCide rf and If so how much they can and wanl 10 conlnbute 10 Ihe prOJecl In lerms of lAbour and money. and what Ihey expeci to receive for Ihelr contrrbutlon. Once people have been Involved In the planning and Cecl5lon·. making tor lhelr houses and therr neighbourhood they are more likely 10 be Interesled ,n Ihe. mal~tenance. Infrastructure and servIces. and mallagemenl of Ihelr nerghbourhood. nlls. Its. k,nd of Involvement would hopefully lead. towards ellmmatlon of the culture of non-payment for serVIces whIch the local authorities at6 currently experiencIng In South p..rrlca. Consequently. the central element of community partlclpallon IS partlclpallon by the communIty In deciSIons that directly affect thelf liVing condHlons. Implies the sharrng of power. betwe~n. Ihe aulhorrlles and Ihe commurtlly. ThiS. Four. arguments have been advanced to explain the need for community participatIon. ..•.. _-_. " <:;AI. ....... u. IT!'!!.

(38) 26 Community partl~ipalion IS a right. People have a right to participate In. declslon-mak,ng which directly affects their living condllions. Community. participation IS a form of grassroots democracy. Community participation ,s a nghl, but participation In housing prOjects IS. not the most Important form of participation It must be extended to alt spheres of hfe and must Include the sharing of the development. benefits of. Partl(;'pat,on on hOUSing IS a learnong process whereby the. urban poor become aware of their sltuatlo:1.. ~ulld. up self-confidence and. understand thelf power If they act In a concerted manner. Con.;nunrly par1tCrpatlon IS a means to achieve better project results and consequent:y better hOUSing conditions for the community. SInce pecole. themselves know best what they need. what th'!y want and what they can afford, only close cooperatIon helween authorrlres and community can result In proJect~ whiCh satisfy both the community and the aulhorrlles. The objective of community participation IS prOject effecliveness. Community participation IS a means to facilitate project execution. If the. authonlles prepare the communlly for the project and educate the people about ItS means and ob/ectlves, the community Will more easily comply With the project and Ih,s Will faCilitate Its Implementation. The objective of. community partIcipation IS project effiCiency. Experience. WIth. programmes. and. projects. has. shown. that. community. partlclpallon of disadvantaged people/communllies. particularly In the lowIncome section, can be a difficul. and tlme-ccnsumlng process and that It often Involves intervention with commun,tles in a state of political turmoll and severe. conflict (Mafcrah, at ai, 1993. Saayman, 1996 9·13, Ha,". 1996. ~'2-,5). Examples such as these pose major ethIcal and role Issues lor service prOViders. and planners. While there are no clear guidelines for these dilem,;1as, there IS no longer any doubt that people must be Involved In making deCISionS about. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _........._.:1.. ' ... . . ........'".,"',...._ ....._ -_~ ~""'.

(39) programmes that are Intended to affect the" Ilyes rather than be considered simply obJects of housing and development programmes No amount of money or matenal resources can guarant'38 significant self·sustained Impact in a community unless ,Is members support and actlyely contnbute to It In one of the recent NGO News on Human Settlements. Ihe non·goyernmental organlsalions argue that 'housi"ll policies should recognise Ihat the market IS not only the houslng-dellvery mechanism wtlo.. Indlvld~ally. thai they should encourage and support people. or colleclively, acl as the main producers of housing'. (UNCHS, 1995: '-5) The RDP states th3t 'dellyery systems will depend upon community participation' It goes on to slate that 'organs of clYl1 society should playa support lye role In relalian to local government to enhance the dellyery process' (RDP, 1994 27) As Donnlson ('993 293·298) puts It, we must adopt a comMunlty·based approach slyle of operalion. wtllch glyes people wtlo actually experience and suffer Ihe problems e YOlce In wtlat happens. we 2.7. 1/ we Iatl to do that. shali lall them yet again. SUMMARY. In thiS chapter an attempt was made to highlight deyelopments relating to community partiCipation In hOUSing prOYISIOn. The reYlew covered global,. national and local Issues An effort was made to define community partlclpalion In terms of wtlat It IS and wtlat It IS not, as well as the major obstacles confronted In ItS Implemenlalion While,the reYlew Indicates that commuolty partlclpallon IS an effectlye means for housing prOYISIOn, It alSO Indicates thaI. because of. the. dJl/ersity of target groups and the dl .... erse needs of IndIVIduals In South Africa.. there can be no Single approach and no Simple methud. ThIS sl!ualian. necessitates creatlyity and fleXibility on the part of serYlce prOYlders as they assume a new role of empowering communIties to become equal partners in. doyelopmentln line with Ihe RDP principles,.

(40) CHAPTER 3. 3.1. INTRODUCTION. In this chapter presentation of data obtained from the study has been effected by means of tables and fIgures The tables refleCl the responses to specIfIc Items In. the questlonn8lre. while figures have been used to simplify dala that would otherwise have resulted In rather complicated tables The Important themes have been captured and linked to the cenlral Issues of the research as a whole Because of the small sample size of the study populallon (N = 100), Simple statistical Interpretation has been employed, uSing mainly bl·vanate tables Figures have been examined for emerging patterns, and measures which determine levels of Significance have been applied In statistical data reported, unless otherwise indicated. the follOWing relahonsh,ps have been maintained. In the figures, numbers of cases are shown In parentheses and corresponding percentages are rounded to one declma I. Percentage totals may not add up to exactly 100 due to rounding However, they are shown as 100 It dIfferences due 10 rounding only affect the numencal. total. ConSiderahon of the findings have been made with regard 10 the follOWing key aspects. Demographic and SOCto-economlc data of the respondents, which Include sexJage distribution, marital status. educational level and occupation,.

(41) 29 • Urbanisation information of the respondents:. • Information on housing needs of the respondents. and. • Informallon on the respondents' perceplions and experiences of the level of community pan,c,pallon. In. housing programmes and projects. 3.2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIO·ECONOMIC DATA. 3.2.1. Demographic Dlta. Altogether 104 respondents were interviewed The age distribution of the study population as shown in table 1 Indicates that females appear to be In the majority i.e 83.7% to 16% males. This figure concurs With the preliminary population census. wI1ich Indicated a hlghar proponlon of females to males In all aga categories (Preliminary Census Report, 1997). Furthermore, the large representation of females might be attributed to the fact that sampling was based on households and most visits were made dUring the day wI1en most me.., \Yll;.!ld be at work. rne age categories of females were. evenly spread. with a slightly higher percentage (26.2 %) In the age category 30 - 49 years. This lack of representation of males ,n the study has implications for development planning and intervention In this community and needs fun her invesligation.. ------------------------_.......,........---. ----.

(42) 30. TABLE 1:. AGE/SEX DISTRIBUTION. N. %. N. ',I,. 24·2i. 1. 1.0. H;. 14.4. 16. 15.4. 30·3i. 8. 7.7. 28. 26.5. 36. 36.4. 4O-4i. 6. 4.8. 20. 20.2. 25. 25.0. 50·5i. 1. 1.0. 16. 14.9. 17. 15.9. 60-a3. 2. 1.8. 8. 7.7. 10. 9.5. As Table 2 Indicates the level of aducahon of respond'3nts IS very low About a Quarter of the sample (269%) had never attended school. The maJoflly of. respondents (53%), had SChoOling between standard 4 to 8. For simple. Interpretation of thiS data. educatoon '5 analysed In terms of the categofles as provided In the Queshonnalfe. TABLE 2: EDUCAnON LEVEL. •. ". ,,',. 269 Sub A·a. 6. 58. Std '·3. 4. 38. Std 4·5 27 26 1 t-"'t--:d-=6--:.S:---------t----"'8:----1----::-::-::----S 269 2 Sid 9-10. 11. 96. Total. 104. 100.0.

(43) .11. Figure 1 below indicates that only 29.8 (N=31) of the respondents are employed. A vast majority (70.2%) of the sample IS unemployed. Of those who are. employed, a substantial percentage of respondentl (20.2%) earn between RSOO and R1000 per month; about 7% (N=8) ea:. <RSOO per month and an. Insignificant percentaga of 2% earn between R 1000 and R2000 per month. FIGURE 1: EMPLOYMENT STATUS. '__UnenykJyed E,,",,",.. I •. II. . . ... Unl!rnployed.. 70,~. Employed. 2V,8' (n-31). II. II. 71. ••. (n-73). As Indicated in Figure 2 below, of those who are employed and living with partners. 4,8% have e ,oint income of <RSOO, per month while Ihe JOlnl Income of the remaining 5 8% IS between RSOO and R1000 per month. _______...-. --------------.""'.II,:",\lIl-'"£.

(44) 32. FIGURE 2: JOINT INCOME. JOU~T. INCOIoIE. .o.~. • Fe(X). R1000. ..... o·1eO). As can be seen from Table 3. tha maJonty of respondents ,n the sample. mainly females (692°4). live alono. In line WIth International and national trends ,n female-headed households and the fact. that women form the poorest of lhe. poor group In soclaty, thiS finding would need 10 be further explored for possible ,nlervanhon with anh-povar1y and capacity building programmes for thiS community. TABLE 3: LMNG WITH PARTNER. Partner. 11. No Partner. 93. 87,4.

(45) .1.1. 3.2.2 Other Soclo..conomlc Data. The number o( persons living in a household. and whether a household possess a TV or not, is usually an indicator of the SOClo·econom,c stalus o( that household, In this study even these vanables could not be associated with socio-<lCOnomic status From the number of people liVing In the hcusehold II could be deduced that most (amilies were nuclear families. The number or. people living in the household ranged between 4 and 6, and most families. even the ones w'"o were not employed end had no Income, owned a televIsion.. The findings on demographic and SOClo-econom,c data were expected as the community waS an in(ormal settlement. which onglnated from hoslels and shacks (or migrant workers in the Mluleni area Such communities are known for poor soclo-economic conditions and lack o( baSIC faCilities This IS well documented (Harpham. el al.. 198616: Yach. 1989479. Gllben dnd Gugler. 199123:. Hardoy el ai, 1990 37) Therefore (,ndlngs on high unemployment rates, low salanes, poor education and Increasing (emale·headed households who constitute the poorest of the poor In society were not surprising. II IS also nOI surprising In View of the fact that. as previously stated, most Interviews were conducted during the day when most men would be at work or searching for employment. SimIlarly, the low education. level. and high. unemployment rate of respondents was 10 be expected In a de·..'eloplng community. 3.3. URBANISATION DATA. The majonty o( respondents (81.3',{,) were born In a rural area A significant proponion o( the respondents (31%) have lived in the urban area for more than 15 years hut Indicated that they had property in the rural areas and only came to Ihe city (or employment. Although the Instrument used to measure urbanisalion IS not comprehensive enough to give raliable results, the findings gave an.

(46) )4. Indication that most respondents had rural Origins and thai most of Ihem still had rural homes Ihat lhey regarded as their ·homes· ThiS finding IS also In line WIth inlemalional urbanisallon Irends of. more and more families and Individuals. leaving the rural areas 10 sellle on the urban fringes In Ihe hope thaI towns and cities will providot need. end facililies thai the rural areas have failed to provide. (Harpham. el al .. 1988: 16; Gilbert end Gugler, 1991 33 ). 3.4. In. DATA ON HOUSING NEEDS. Vlaw. of the nature. or the hOUSing scheme. all the respondents indicated Ihal. they owned thelf current home How",ver, some 22 3% said they were not sallsf,ed Wllh thelf current home When reasons for dissatisfaction were probed, a substantial percentage (31%) fell that If Ihey could have. been allowed to. make an input at lhe iniliallplannlng slage. of the proJect. lhelf homes would have been more appropriate 10 their needs ThiS finding IS conSistent With the literature. on. community. partlClpallon. In. hOUSing. provIsion. (Kok. and. Gelderbloem.1996:12).. 3.5 DATA ON INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION. Responses to Ihe queslion. "At what sta(le were you Involved?· are reflected in Figure 3. ThIS finding indicates Ihet 31.7',(, said they had been Involved at the planning slage, whilst 19,2% said they hed not been Involved unlil the second stage/construction stage.. and 20.2% indicated that they had only become Involved in the project once it was completed. ThiS finding raises cflllcsi Issues. regarding what researchers and service prOViders often regard as community partiCipation. The challenge lies in being able to reach the broader community as well as ensuring that. individuals as benefiCiaries of. services are not. excluded from processes and crilical decisions Ihat have a strong Influence on the quality of their lives.. .........-----. --------------_. ...

(47) J~. FIGURE 3: PHASE OF INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT. PHASE OF INVOLVEMENT. ........... ...... ~A' .... 3l"4 ~ :)J'I,. PM!. ~lruetCl". Cot-.tr\oC1lOt't. -tao-. t". '.~ .... • eor.truetlOll"\. ·,i •. .lao-. o Pbtl (;ot,.tr...nll)l'\ ia~". 1h. As Indicated In Table 4 below. only. '83~. said they were "fully Involved". whilst. 25% were "partly Involved" and 28% were "minimally Involved". About 29% of. the sample said they "not involved".. TABLE 4: LEVEL OF INDMDUAL INVOLVEMENT. Sallsfled. 32.7. Not ullsfled. 60. 57.7. Unsure. 10. 9.6. Table 5 beloVi depicts the level of satisfaction with the level of Involvement The vast majority. abou1 57.7'110. said they were not satisfied. while 327% Indicated that they were satisfied and 9.6% were unsure The dissatisfaction With the level of Involvement further challenges traditional ways of practising community Involvement and calls for much more intensive methods that are aimed at empowering and building the capacity of communities, colleclrvely and as Individuals The literature is clear on these issues (Burkey. 1993:56.. (ed). 19975).. KOlZe,.

(48) TABLE 5:. SATISFACTION WITH LEVEL OF INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT. Fully Involved. 19. P.rtly 'nvolved. 26. 1--::---,----,--,-----+--------=-.--.-.---. --_... 25 (). I-M""'n-'-m-.-,,-,y-,-n·-vo-'-,V-.-d--+------,2'"'9:------ --------27=-=9---~. 30. Nollnvolved. 28.9. To question "wIlat would you have regarded as daslrable Inyolyement In this proJect?".. the. response. Indicates that. the. respondents. expected. more. ,nvolvemenl at IndivIdual level than at communtty struc..1ure level For the vast. majority. of. the. sample "desirable Inyolvement". means. Ihal. Individual. beneflC;,arres should have a "VOice" In critical decisions relating 10 the proJect, nol only communrty leaders. TABLE 6: SATISFACTION WITH COMMUNlrf INVOLVE/t.ENT. Minimally Involved. 6. NOl Involved. 3. As indicated ,n. Tabl~. 6 above.. ~mphasls. 4.1. ---~ on lilvolvement of Individuals In. development projects wIlere suei' people are affected as Individuals IS further confirmed by responses to the que·;tion on whether community involven,enl was satisfactory or not (see Table 5) Most respondents. about 76% (N=79), fellihat the leyel of community involYement was salisfactory The Significance of this findIng lies in the level of satisfaction for inolvldual and communtty Involvement. ... _._.--,~--_. _-_._-- ----_.-.

(49) I'. •. .... .... ... ,.. '. .. .. .. . . ' . . ' w..... • .,:' ". .. •. •. 'II:". •. .n The finding has imphcahons fo< cvmmunlty participation. both at ,ndlY,dual and community level. Furth~rmore.. liS can be seen ,n Figure 4. a significant maJonty. ot the sample. nearly haif (42 3%) said that community Involvement. ~appened. at. the planning phase. FIGURE 4, PHASE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. ,,,.H.,,,·:w.')""'M. • contotrvdklt\. .p&ennnnrg pNM("...w:"-42.:J1. The responses to the queshon. "What would you consider a good process?" and "Whet IS your opinion on good community ,nvolvement?". were m",e or less similar Th:J vast majorlly of the sample gave responses such es "People should be allowed 10 drive Iha process·, ·The clhzons and the government mlJst meet each olher half way"; "We should be trealed ....,th respecr, "We must come together and sl,are and diSCUSS our needs Wlth those wt10 provide the service", "People should be involved In planning reSOurces and solutions to their problems". Again, 10 the question on the definihon and understanding of community 'Involvement. an overwhelming majority of the. ~arnp:tI. :"lnderstood It and could. define 'I correctly, bringing ,n the essential concepts such a., participation, people-dnven, people-centred; consultalion, capacity. bu"dln~. ano. ..

No results found