Housing Code

Part 1

Chapter 2: Overall Approach to Housing in South Africa

This Chapter sets out the overall approach to our housing policy. It includes our national housing vision, our housing goal, our basic points of departure and our fundamental principles. These dimensions set the tone for our understanding of existing policies and the development of new ones. Everything we do in policy development and by way of implementation must respond to and accommodate the concepts contained in our vision, points of departure and principles. They are the basis for all housing activity in South Africa.

Index

Overall Approach to Housing In South Africa

A Vision for Housing in South Africa
The National Housing Goal
Framework for a National Housing Policy: Basic Points Of Departure
Fundamental Principles for Housing Policy & Implementation

Our overall approach to housing in South Africa is defined by four dimensions:

Our vision, defines a future point to which we wish to work.
Our goal clarifies this vision in terms of real outcomes.
Our basic points of departure define the framework or environment in which we work, and the ideas, policies and legislation on which all of our operations must be based.
Our principles define our values in pursuing the vision and achieving the goal. They frame how we wish to work.

These four dimensions are now discussed in detail.

2.1 A Vision for Housing in South Africa

Our vision defines a future point to which we wish to work. While it takes into account our current constraints, it is not limited by them. The expression of our vision also sets out important values that then underpin the rest of the work we do. The housing vision includes the values of sustainability, viability, integration, equality, reconstruction, holistic development, and good governance.

Despite the constraints in the environment and the limitations on the fiscus, the national housing vision must remain paramount in the minds of all role players in the housing sector. This requires that we think broadly in terms of our approach to fulfilling our housing role, and also acknowledge and accommodate the need for general economic growth and employment, and support the efforts and contributions of individuals in seeking to meet their housing needs themselves.

Our housing vision is confirmed in the Housing Act, 1997 (No. 107 of 1997). Within the Housing Act, “housing development” is defined as:

1(vi) “… the establishment and maintenance of habitable, stable and sustainable public and private residential environments to ensure viable households and communities in areas allowing convenient access to economic opportunities, and to health, educational and social amenities in which all citizens and permanent residents of the Republic will, on a progressive basis, have access to:

(a) permanent residential structures with secure tenure, ensuring internal and external privacy and providing adequate protection against the elements; and

(b) potable water, adequate sanitary facilities and domestic energy supply.”

This is our National Housing Vision.

Our vision is further reiterated in both the Urban and Rural Development frameworks. In each of these documents, the environment within which a house is situated is recognised as being equally as important as the house itself in satisfying the needs and requirements of the occupants. Ultimately, the housing process must make a positive contribution to a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and integrated society.

The goal within both urban and rural areas is to improve the quality of living of all South Africans. The emphasis of our efforts must be on the poor and those who have been previously disadvantaged. To meet this goal in a manner that is viable and sustainable, we understand that we need to undertake a range of interventions. These interventions then underpin our policy and strategy, and are set out in the next chapter. Table 1, below, sets out the urban and rural visions, as contained in the Urban and Rural Development Frameworks.

Table 1. Urban and Rural Visions

Urban Vision Rural Vision

Urban settlements that by 2020 will be:

Spatially and socio-economically integrated, non-segregated, free of racial and gender discrimination, enabling people to make residential and employment choices to pursue their ideals.

Centres of economic, environmental and social opportunity where people can live and work in safety and peace.

Centres of vibrant urban governance, managed by democratic, efficient, sustainable and accountable metropolitan and local governments in close co-operation with civil society and geared towards innovative community-led development.

Environmentally sustainable, marked by a balance between quality built environment and open space; and between consumption needs and renewable and non-renewable resources. Sustainable development meets the needs of the present while not compromising the needs of future generations.

Planned for in a highly participative fashion that promotes the integration and sustainability of urban environments.

Marked by housing, infrastructure and effective services for households and business as the basis for an equitable standard of living.

Integrated industrial, commercial, residential, information and educational centres, which provide easy access to a range of urban resources.

Financed by government subsidies and by mobilising additional resources through partnership, more forceful tapping of capital markets, and via off-budget methods.

Rural settlements that by 2020 will ensure:

Much greater access for rural people to government support and information and to commercial services, with a more logical spatial network of towns, services, roads and transport systems serving both market traders and customers;

Close availability of water, sanitation and fuel sources, giving everyone more time for economic productivity and better health;

Dignity, safety and security of access for all, especially women, to useful employment, housing, and land, with people able to exercise control over their society, community and personal lives, and to invest in the future.

2.2 The National Housing Goal

Section 3(2)(b) of the Housing Act states that the Minister must set broad national housing delivery goals. In support of these national goals, the Minister must also facilitate the setting of provincial and, where appropriate, local government housing delivery goals.

Government’s goal is, subject to fiscal affordability, to increase housing delivery on a sustainable basis to a peak level of 350 000 units per annum until the housing backlog is overcome. It is expected that this process may take several years. Realisation of the goal relies on government ensuring that its implementation systems in all three spheres of government can accommodate the budget allocation and delivery programme.

2.3 Framework for a National Housing Policy:

Basic Points Of Departure

Our housing policy must operate within a framework, set by a hierarchy of policy. At a broad level, the most significant of these policies is the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. With regard to housing, the Housing Act is critical. All housing policy must at least operate within the framework set by these two pieces of legislation. Our basic points of departure are set by this framework as well as other pertinent policies of Government. The following therefore underlie our points of departure:

the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996)
the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997)
the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)
the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy
the Housing White Paper
the Urban Development Framework
White Papers and policy frameworks pertaining to local government and the Public Service

The programmes and provisions contained in each of these documents, as well as the principles behind them, are fundamental to both policy development and its implementation. Figure 1 shows how these contribute to our housing policy.

Figure 1. RDP

HOUSING POLICY

Urban & Rural Development Frameworks

GEAR

Housing White Paper

Other Policy

The Housing Policy and Strategy in Context: Basic points of departure for South Africa that influence and inform Housing Policy and Strategy

These contributors to the framework in which housing policy operates form our basic points of departure, and are summarised briefly below.

Sovereignty of the Constitution

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is the supreme law of the country. It is the basis of all activity in the Republic of South Africa. This means that any law or conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid, and that the obligations that it imposes must be fulfilled. All we do must conform to what is contained within that document. In the context of post-apartheid South Africa, it is significant that on the basis of the Constitution, national housing policy as contained within this Code applies equally to the total geographic area of the Republic of South Africa.

At a most basic level, the constitution defines the fundamental values, such as equality, human dignity, and freedom of movement and residence, to which our housing policy must subscribe – these notions are contained broadly in the Bill of Rights, which is chapter two of the Constitution;

Two components of the constitution are especially relevant to housing. These are:

the specific right to have access to adequate housing, as enshrined in section 26 of the Constitution; and
the powers of national, provincial and local governments with respect to housing activities are framed by the concept of “concurrent competence” and developmental local government.

These two areas of relevance are now discussed in detail.

1. Access to Adequate Housing as a Basic Human Right

Section 26 of the Constitution states that:

Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.
The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.
No one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.

Section 25 of the Constitution is also important in that it relates to property rights. Specifically, section 25(5) states that government “must take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.”

Section 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996,[1] states that everyone has the right to have “access to adequate housing”. It is the government’s duty to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.
What does “adequate” mean? The wording of the housing right provision corresponds with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). In that context, “adequate housing” is measured by certain core factors: legal security of tenure; the availability of services; materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location and cultural adequacy[2]. South Africa’s housing policy concurs with this concept of housing.
In responding to the constitutional right to “access to adequate housing” for all South Africans, government is under an obligation to not only pass enabling legislation, but also to apply other measures of an administrative, financial, educational or social nature to fulfill its housing obligations.

To the extent that the right to adequate housing cannot be achieved immediately, the Constitution creates some leeway for the state in allowing for the progressive realisation of the right.

2. Concurrent Competence

A provincial legislature has concurrent competence with Parliament for making laws for the province with regard to all matters that fall within the functional areas defined in Schedule 4 of the Constitution. These include housing, as well as areas relevant to housing, such as consumer protection, public transport, regional planning and development, and urban and rural development.

A provincial law will prevail over the national law except where:

The national law deals with a matter that cannot be regulated effectively by provincial legislation;
The national law deals with a matter that, to be performed effectively, requires to be regulated or co-ordinated by uniform norms or standards, frameworks or policies, that apply generally throughout South Africa;
The national law is necessary for the maintenance of national security; economic unity; the protection of the common market in respect of the mobility of goods, services, capital and labour; the promotion of economic activities across provincial boundaries; the promotion of equal opportunity or equal access to government services; or the protection of the environment.
The provincial law materially prejudices the economic, health, or security interests of another province or the country as a whole, or impedes the implementation of national economic policy.

At the local level, the Constitution provides that national and provincial governments must assign to a municipality, by agreement and subject to any conditions, the administration of matters such as housing if:

a matter would be administered most effectively locally; and
the municipality has the capacity to administer it.

Furthermore, a municipality has executive authority in respect of, and has the right to administer a range of matters that fall within the functional areas defined in Part B of Schedule 4 and Part B of Schedule 5 of the Constitution. These include building regulations, municipal planning, electricity and gas reticulation, and water and sanitation services.

Provincial governments are constitutionally responsible for supporting municipalities in the carrying out of their housing responsibility. National and provincial governments have the legislative and executive authority to ensure that municipalities carry out their functions effectively. It is the responsibility of national and provincial governments to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions.

A critical policy challenge for the governance of housing is to facilitate the maximum devolution of functions and powers to provincial and local government spheres, while at the same time, ensuring that national processes and policies essential to a sustainable national housing development process are in place. The Housing Act, No. 107 of 1997, determines roles in respect of such devolution, and defines key national and provincial responsibilities with respect to empowerment at the provincial and local spheres of government.

Clear Roles and Relationships as Defined in the Housing Act

The Constitution clearly states that government broadly, has a fundamental role and responsibility to implement policies and strategies that will ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate housing on a progressive basis. The Constitution does not, however, define the specific roles of the three spheres of government in meeting this directive. In response to this need, the Housing Act, No. 107 of 1997 was promulgated, reflecting consensus among national government, the nine provincial governments and organised local government at national level, on their respective roles in respect of housing development. The principle behind the allocation of roles as defined in the Act is that government functions should be performed at the lowest possible sphere, closest to the people.

Given this, the broad roles for each sphere of government are as follows:

National government must establish and facilitate a sustainable national housing development process.
Provincial government must create an enabling environment, by doing everything in its power to promote and facilitate the provision of adequate housing in its province within the framework of national housing policy.
Municipalities must pursue the delivery of housing. Every municipality must take all reasonable and necessary steps within the framework of national and provincial housing legislation and policy to ensure that the housing right as set out in Section 26 of the Constitution is realised. It will do this by actively pursuing the development of housing, by addressing issues of land, services and infrastructure provision, and by creating an enabling environment for housing development in its area of jurisdiction.

Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth Employment and Redistribution Programme (GEAR)

Since the democratic elections in April 1994, government has adopted two developmental programmes: the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme. Both programmes seek to co-ordinate government’s developmental efforts into a broad framework of interventions, in pursuit of a common vision of reconstruction, development, growth, employment and redistribution.

Reconstruction and Development Programme

The RDP sets out a clear vision for housing, based on the following four programmes:

meeting basic needs
developing human resources
building the economy
democratising the State and society

While the housing programme as defined by the RDP is conceptualised within the context of meeting basic needs, the success of the other three programmes have a significant bearing on our housing programme.

Growth, Employment and Redistribution

The GEAR policy has the following specific goals:

economic growth of 6% in the year 2000
inflation limited to less than 10 percent
employment growth above the increase in economically active population; an average 2.9 percent
deficit on current account and balance of payments between 2 and 3 percent
ratio of gross domestic savings to GDP to a level of 21.5 percent in the year 2000
improvement in income distribution
relaxation of exchange controls
reduction of the budget deficit to below 4 percent of GDP

GEAR is a macro-economic strategy published by the Minister of Finance in June 1996, to strengthen economic growth until the year 2000, along with a broadening of employment, and the redistribution of economic opportunities. The GEAR framework sets the broad parameters within which a stronger economy and sound fiscal structure will make the attainment of RDP goals possible.

The policy choices made in GEAR give poverty relief and social development a high priority and underpin job creation through investment in infrastructure and human resource development.

GEAR also places a strong emphasis on a systemic reduction of the budget deficit, the elimination of government dis-saving and promotion of investment, and the relaxation of exchange controls. Broadly, therefore, government’s macro-economic strategy, as reflected in the GEAR programme, aims to achieve:

a competitive, faster growing economy which creates sufficient jobs for all workers
a redistribution of income and socio-economic opportunities in favour of the poor
a society in which sound health, education and other services are available to all
an environment in which homes are secure and places of work are productive

The most significant goals of GEAR in respect of our capacity to implement the housing programme are those that have to do with availability of funds for housing. GEAR is clear about promising tighter fiscal policy measures, which are being brought about by a cut in government expenditure and a more cost-effective civil service. The overall theme which runs through the GEAR policy is that “large-scale increases in government spending as a macro-economic strategy will create major macro-economic imbalances in the form of high inflation, serious balance of payments difficulties and poor long term growth and employment prospects.” While the GEAR policy does not prohibit increased public expenditure to address certain backlogs, it seeks to minimise the demands placed on the national fiscus. Consequently, it is unlikely that government will have the capacity to expand the scope of subsidies or grants, beyond those already accepted as housing policy. If government believes that additional public investment in a certain process or scheme is necessary, the GEAR response under current unfavourable economic circumstances is likely to require that “new” investment be funded from existing allocations, thereby requiring the reprioritisation of the amount available for existing programmes.

A consequence of more stringent fiscal policy, therefore, is an increased awareness of the need for alternative, additional resources. Housing policy must promote efficient and cost-effective delivery programmes that achieve maximum gearing of public investment with other resources, be they financial or in terms of sweat equity.

Chapter 4 of this Part of the Code sets out broadly how the national housing programmes contribute towards realising the goals of GEAR.

Housing policy and implementation must accommodate the parameters set by both the RDP and GEAR, while responding to their challenges.

Housing White Paper and the Urban and Rural Development Frameworks

The Housing White Paper, published in December 1994, sets out government’s broad housing policy and strategy. On the basis of its seven key strategies, housing policy since 1994 has evolved and implementation has proceeded. All current policy exists within the context of the Housing White Paper. Similarly, the Urban and Rural Development frameworks, both published in 1996, set the framework for urban and rural housing policy and development.

All three policy documents must be seen as fundamental points of departure for any subsequent housing strategy set out in this Code or developed in the future. On the basis of these three documents, housing policy and strategy must be structured so that South Africa’s housing process:

Is economically, fiscally, socially and financially sustainable;
Effectively balances the need for increased housing delivery so as to achieve short-term impact and the requirement that approaches adopted must be broadly supported and capable of being sustained in at least the medium term;
Recognises and reinforces the wider economic impact and benefits derived from effective and adequate housing provision in the domestic economy, while stimulating the effective functioning of a sustainable housing market with vigorous and open competition between suppliers of goods and services;
Maximises social and economic benefits to the local community;
Ensures security of tenure and provides for the widest feasible range of tenure options, whether individually or collectively;
Maximises the freedom of the individual to exercise choice in the satisfaction of his/her housing needs, providing access for all people to as many housing options and opportunities as is reasonably possible;
Facilitates co-ordination between various sectors so as to minimise conflict over demands on scarce resources, and creates an environment in which all role players meet their respective obligations;
Generates broad based support and involvement on the part of all key actors in order to maximise the mobilisation of resources;
Promotes the establishment and development of socially and economically viable communities, with particular focus on members of historically and other disadvantaged communities. In particular, however, the most critical need is to ensure, through State intervention, affordable access for the poor to a minimum acceptable standard of housing and necessary services, within the context of both fiscal and other resource constraints;
Upholds the principles of vertical and horizontal equity in respect of the subsidisation of end-users. This implies that only people in real need of subsidisation should benefit (vertical equity) while comparable value must be received by beneficiaries with the same eligibility profiles (horizontal equity);
Maximises the involvement of the community and leads to transfer of skills to and empowerment of the community to ensure higher levels of appropriateness and acceptability of such projects as well as the development of skills and capacities within these communities to pursue other development objectives;
Promotes the process of social, economic and physical integration in urban and rural areas;
Ensures that housing is dealt with on a basis which is non-sexist, not discriminatory in terms of religious conviction or race, non party political;
Establishes and ensures equity, transparency and accountability by the public sector in its administration of housing. It is imperative that the housing sector is led and supported by a single national policy and administration which is accountable in a tangible, measurable manner, to achieve broadly based targets which are properly quantified, through the applicable governmental structures at central, provincial and local sphere;
Leads to effective State intervention and maximises sustained non-state involvement in housing provision; and
Deals sensitively and responsibly with the impact of housing development upon the environment.

The above points of departure set the backdrop against which detailed housing policy and strategy is developed. At the detailed and housing specific level, they are direct principles with which our policy complies. These fundamental principles are outlined in the following section.

2.4 Fundamental Principles for Housing Policy & Implementation

The following diagram demonstrates what principles form the basis of our approach to the housing challenge.

Figure 2. HOUSING

CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE HOUSING ACT

Principles Governing Housing Policy and Implementation

As with the points of departure above, these principles are integral to both policy development and implementation and should be maintained by all housing sector role players – not only those in government.

Eight Broad Principles for Housing Sector Activity

The following eight broad principles for housing sector activity apply to all role players in the housing sector. They are drawn from the Housing Act, 1997, from the Development Facilitation Act, 1995, and from the Housing White Paper. The specific principles included in the Housing Act and Development Facilitation Act are set out in detail in Part 2 of this Code.

1. People Centred Development and Partnerships

Government is committed to a housing process built on the foundations of people centred development and partnerships. Certainly, government cannot meet the housing challenge alone. All housing role players, including the private sector, local communities, those inadequately housed, non-governmental organisations, development bodies, the international community, and others, must participate in meeting the housing challenge. This principle calls on all players to contribute their skills, labour, creativity, financial, and other resources to the housing process, in partnership with one another. This is the essence of Masakhane (“build together”).

In order to support the efforts of the various parties in the housing process, government housing policy is therefore primarily facilitative. Through legislation, the provision of subsidies, and through the creation of appropriate institutional frameworks and support structures, government seeks to create an enabling environment in which the housing process is people-centred and partnerships thrive.

The outcome of this enabling environment is that together, all parties to the housing process share the risk and rewards of that process. It is critical that communities are no longer required to shoulder the risk of bad housing alone, as they have done in the past. In the current socio-economic environment, government alone cannot afford to relieve them of this burden. The private sector and other parties must also come on board.

On the other hand, while the policy seeks to ensure equitable risk sharing, government is also committed to a housing process in which all parties share in the rewards. Housing beneficiaries, with their new access to improved housing opportunities, the private sector, with their enjoyment of a more vibrant market, and government, with its realisation of its housing vision, must all benefit from the housing process as set out in this Code.

2. Skills Transfer and Economic Empowerment

Housing as a process represents more than a simple economic activity. It also contributes towards ongoing growth and prosperity, and enhances the creation of stable and productive communities. Government housing policies and strategies therefore are directed at enabling and supporting communities in participating in the satisfaction of their own housing needs, so that they benefit also from skills transfer and economic empowerment processes that complement the physical housing development process.

Our policy emphasis is therefore placed on supporting the development of partnerships between local initiatives, including small or medium sized companies, with larger, established companies and service providers (such as financial institutions) that are committed to providing appropriate support and training.

Economic empowerment also applies to the beneficiary. This refers not only to the transfer of property to an individual, but also to his or her empowerment that arises as a result of participating in the housing process. Within this context, adequate measures to also protect the rights of, and inform and educate housing consumers on the technical, legal and financial aspects of housing is a critical priority. Policy must include a focus on housing consumer protection and education. Government must not let beneficiaries of its programmes fall prey to unscrupulous operators in the market.

Our activities in this regard focus on:

maximising job creation in the construction and allied sectors;
improving economic and social linkages, particularly with poverty relief, employment creation, education and training and the national electrification programme;
supporting programmes for skills transfer, capacity building and upward mobility for both skilled and unskilled men and women in the housing field;
emphasising the role of small and intermediate enterprises in housing construction, as well as in backwardly linked (materials supply), forwardly linked (household businesses) and sideways linked (school construction) economic sectors;
seeking mechanisms to stimulate entrepreneurial development;
enhancing access to finance for housing development;
developing consumer protection and education mechanisms so that all may know their rights and responsibilities in the housing process;
recognising that women and children are the most affected by poor housing and that women play a key role in the housing process; and
meeting special needs, such as, those of the disabled.

3. Fairness and equity

Given our history of regulatory and statutory discrimination in South Africa, it is essential that new policies, strategies and legislative actions by the State should be particularly sensitive to the removal of entrenched discriminatory mechanisms and conventions and ensuring equality in respect of gender, race, religion and creed. Policy must promote fairness and equity among all South Africans, and achieve equal and equitable access to housing opportunities, goods and services. Government has particularly identified the need to support the role of women in the housing delivery process. In addition to its positive individual and social consequences, such an approach is internationally recognised as being essential to the success of any housing programme, and entrenched within the Bill of Rights in our Constitution.

Within the framework of fairness and equity, government must also acknowledge the existing diversity of our society, and respond accordingly. All functional policies and strategies should accommodate the complexities of the upgrading and redevelopment of human settlements in order to create sustainable humane living conditions for residents within the context of a broader community. State housing policies and subsidies programmes should accommodate the needs of the youth, the disabled, of single parent families, of rural households without formal tenure rights, of hostel inhabitants, and of other persons with special needs. This must occur within a framework that gives appropriate attention to these needs in both their urban and rural contexts to ensure balanced development.

4. Choice

The right of the individual to freedom of choice in the process of satisfying his or her own housing needs is recognised. At the same time, it is recognised that people should be able to access and leverage resources on a collective basis. The State should promote both the right of the individual to choose and encourage collective efforts (where appropriate) by people to improve their housing circumstances.

5. Quality and Affordability

Housing must be built to quality standards at a price that homeseekers can afford. Our housing programme cannot afford to build dwellings that last only in the short term, and which soon become cracked and uninhabitable. Not only does this undermine the benefit received by the beneficiary, it also undermines government’s plan for a normalised, vibrant housing market in which dwelling units are bought and sold among subsidised beneficiaries. Government investment must be in a quality product that meets the objectives of the broad housing programme for a sustainable housing market. Our housing products must have a market value. Similarly, housing products must be affordable to the beneficiary in the long term. Affordability is significant in a number of areas, including the cost of the unit upon purchase, access to and payment of long term home finance charges, municipal rates and services payments, and long term maintenance and other costs.

6. Innovation

The complexity of our housing crisis requires much more than a straightforward approach to building houses. Our crisis is not just about an enormous backlog, but also about a dysfunctional market, torn communities and a strained social fabric, spatial as well as social segregation, and a host of other problems. Our response to this crisis must be innovative and diverse. If we respond only to the numbers that must be built, we risk replicating the distorted apartheid geography of the past. If we respond only to the dysfunctional market, we risk alienating households so impoverished that they are unable to access any market. And if we develop our houses as though the housing crisis is only about bricks and mortar, we risk wasting the enormous potential for gearing the massive reconstruction and development effort happening in our country.

The need for innovation is not only in respect of the policy we develop – that it be flexible enough to respond to varied situations and varied inputs – but also in respect of how we implement the policy that exists. This Code demonstrates the breadth of opportunity that exists within our housing policy. It is up to housing practitioners, housing beneficiaries and housing developers, as well as government, to utilise the opportunity provided by policy with as much innovation as possible.

7. Transparency, Accountability and Monitoring

No system will be fair and just and equitable if it is not transparent. Transparency is our insurance against inequitable systems in which segments of the population benefit more than others. Specifically, our subsidy policy must ensure a transparent flow of funds.

Coupled with transparency, systems that monitor our progress and ensure accountability are equally important. It is vital that appropriate monitoring mechanisms are implemented for all interventions, and in all spheres of government, that risk and responsibilities are not separated among decision-makers and that responsible authorities are fully accountable for performance against agreed standards and targets. While attention to “non-delivery” activity may seem frivolous in an era of extreme backlogs, our attention to such details in the short term will ensure our ability to respond effectively to the housing crisis and its resolution, over the long term. Without good government and effective systems, we risk wasting scarce resources through inefficiency and loopholes being exploited by dishonest and corrupt forces within our society.

8. Sustainability and Fiscal Affordability

It is critical that housing delivery as a process be initiated at scale on a sustainable basis. It is therefore important that opportunistic short term action does not undermine the viability of medium to longer term interventions.

The State has insufficient resources to meet the needs of the homeless on its own. Sustained, substantial investment in housing from sources outside the national fiscus is therefore required. Thus, our housing policy recognises the fundamental pre-condition for attracting such investment: housing must be provided within a normalised market in order to attract maximum private investment. The challenge is achieving a balance between State intervention (with a focus on the poorest who operate on the fringes of the formal market) and the effective functioning of the housing market as a whole with vigorous and open competition between suppliers of goods and services to end users.

The housing process must be economically, fiscally, socially, financially and politically sustainable in the long term. This implies balancing end-user affordability, the standard of housing, the number of housing units required, and the fiscal allocations to housing.

[1] Act 108 of 1996

[2]The UN Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, General Comment No 4 (Sixth Session 1991)
UN Doc E/1992/23)