the struggle for integrated sustainable settlements.

DELIVERY MECHANISMS TO GENERATE
SUSTAINABLE AFFORDABLE AND
SOCIAL HOUSING
There are at least six housing delivery mechanisms that have emerged in South Africa since the early
1990s, and which are more or less aligned with, or can be used within the context of national and provincial
housing policies. This section examines how these mechanisms might address the prevalent housing
shortage. Linked to and underpinning the sustainability of housing delivery mechanisms is the crucial factor
of housing fi nance. This necessitates a short overview of the funds and fi nance available for various forms of
housing delivery, as well as the public private relationships involved in implementing housing projects.
The foregoing lays the basis for thinking about new ways to deliver subsidized and affordable housing. The
current fl exible and open-ended public housing framework should be exploited to maximize the provision
of the most appropriate housing to the poor, and housing which is affordable for them. Too often, however,
housing authorities think strictly in terms of the penalties if they should fall foul of the Municipal Finance
Management Act (MFMA) and its regulations, and this leads to a bureaucratic approach to housing delivery
where offi cials strive to avoid risk rather than explore opportunities opened up by the MFMA.
Incremental Formal Housing
There are many poor people in South Africa who have constructed their own informal dwellings. These
structures are typically referred to as shacks, and the response of the authorities has often been to engage in
shack clearance. However a different, incremental approach to informal structures should be adopted which
acknowledges that the poor currently settled illegally, have invested in housing and this housing represents
a locator that can be built on. Incremental building facilitates the transformation of informal structures into
acceptable formal houses over time. The location of the shacks is critical in determining the success of this
mechanism, for if these structures are erected in fl ood plains, for example, they would not be sustainable.
Likewise, the extent of community coherence is also critical in determining the active involvement of the
shack dwellers in improving their housing – in this regard older, more established settlements could be
expected to provide a more facilitative environment.
A critical starting point is the provision of handing title of stands over to individuals – usually heads of
households. Providing proper infrastructure is also critical. Notwithstanding the legal and regularization
process required, in-situ upgrading is possible through public fi nanced and procured infrastructure, and this
is already happening at scale in certain cities.
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