July 27, 2004
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE violent protests that erupted in Diepsloot early in July - after rumours spread that families were to be moved to Brits, 45km away in the North West province - have thrown a spotlight on housing.
One complaint of Diepsloot township residents was that they had been waiting for Reconstruction and Development Programme housing from the Johannesburg City Council since 2001. Some allege that they had been promised subsidised housing.
Diepsloot township - a sprawling, densely populated settlement of formal and informal dwellings to the north of Johannesburg - is one of many areas around the city where housing is needed as a matter of urgency.
The formal townships of Diepsloot West and Diepsloot West Extensions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 comprise about 7 139 households.
However, it is in the informal settlements dotted around Diepsloot - in Diepsloot West, Diepsloot West Extension 3, 5, 6 and the Reception Area in Extension 8 - that the largest number of people live: about 15 900 families. Many live in backyard shacks on formal stands.
Diepsloot West township, not far from the wealthy suburbs of Dainfern and Chartwell, was established in 1995 as a transit camp for people who had been removed from Zevenfontein, to the west of Diepsloot. Here 1 124 plots were made available. People were to stay in the transit camp until land became available.
For many this camp became a permanent home.
The Transvaal Provincial Administration, which was then the local authority, developed the plots into formal housing stands.
In 1999 the former Northern Municipality Local Council began to initiate development. There were about 4 000 families living in backyard shacks and 6 035 families in the reception area, a transit zone established by the city council, says Alan Kitchin, the special projects assistant director in the City of Johannesburg's housing department.
And, to compound the congestion, in 2001 the Gauteng government moved about 5 000 families to Diepsloot from the banks of the Jukskei River in Alexandra.
The move, part of the Alexandra Renewal Project, was intended "to decongest and address the need to create a healthy and clean living environment" in Alexandra, one of South Africa's oldest townships. The aim was also to prevent shacks being washed away when the river flooded - something that happened year after year.
The influx of people from Alexandra placed further strain on the already stretched resources in Diepsloot. The relocated families did not qualify for housing benefits.
The settlement is now home to about 150 000 people; many of them live in 3m-by-2m shacks assembled from scrap metal, wood, plastic and cardboard.
Some families lack access to basic services such as running water, sewage and rubbish removal. Residents use paraffin stoves and coal for cooking, and candles for light.
City officials estimate that half the population in the settlement is unemployed.
The City of Johannesburg's multi-pronged approach to the critical issue of housing involves supporting provincial RDP projects, carefully planning settlements and providing infrastructure, building low-cost housing and implementing the national policy on subsidised housing.
According to Kitchin, about 4 900 RDP houses have been constructed in Diepsloot; another 737 housing stands with water and sanitation facilities have been allocated.
The City is busy screening 17 000 people who are still living in scrap metal and wood structures to see if they qualify for subsidies.
The national housing policy has moved away from the mass provision of standard RDP houses: it now follows the People's Housing Process model, a project being implemented in Diepsloot West.
RDP houses are still being constructed, but the new process has the state provide a subsidy that covers the cost of building a house. The prospective homeowner is expected to pay a portion of the costs.
People are supplied with serviced stands where they can develop houses of their choice at their own pace.
The government, through the provincial and local authorities, provides a subsidy to people who are unemployed or who earn less than R3 500 a month.
To households that earn less than R1 500 a month, the government gives subsidies of between R25 800 and R28 279. People earning between R1 501 and R2 500 are provided with a R15 700 grant. Those who earn between R2 501 and R3 500 get R8 600. Beneficiaries have to contribute R2 479 of their own.
Gauteng began implementing this model in 2002.
To qualify for the housing subsidy one must: be 21 years or older; be married, single with dependants or have a long-term partner; be a South African citizen or a foreigner with a permanent residence permit; be a first-time home owner; and not have received any other government housing assistance.
There are more than 300 000 people across Johannesburg on the provincial housing list.
The Gauteng government is working with the City of Johannesburg to speed up the provision of affordable housing to people in informal settlements, Kitchin says.
In Diepsloot, the influx of people since 2001 has compounded the problem. More than 15 900 households are in dire need of accommodation. One problem is that many do not qualify for subsidies.
In December 2003, 85 RDP houses were invaded by non-qualifying families.
According to Gauteng's MEC for housing, Nomvula Mokonyane, the provincial government and the City of Johannesburg are trying to discover whether the people who took over the houses had, in fact, qualified for subsidised housing.
A unit has been set up to deal with corruption in the provincial housing sector, says Mokonyane. The unit will also investigate the sale of low-cost houses to people who did not qualify for subsidies or who had circumvented the council waiting list.
Housing in Gauteng, regarded as the economic mecca of Africa, has been a major problem since 1994: thousands of people from KwaZulu-Natal, the North West, the Free State, the Eastern Cape and beyond South Africa's borders stream into the province, occupying land and creating new settlements.
According to the 2001 national census figures, the population of greater Johannesburg and Pretoria - Gauteng's urban metropolis - is more than eight million. Local government statistics peg the number at 11 million; a large number are in informal settlements.
The City of Johannesburg has about 89 informal settlements that are home to more than 170 000 households, according to its statistics.
The province and the City have built RDP houses in Braamfischerville in Soweto, Doornkop near Dobsonville, Orange Farm, Ivory Park, Vlakfontein Extension and Vlakfontein West, among other areas.
A recent statement from the minister of housing, Lindiwe Sisulu, said the ministry would establish information hubs throughout the country. Here people would be able to get information about housing, subsidies and waiting lists.
People can get housing information on 0800 1 HOUSE (46873), which is available from 8am to 5pm every weekday.
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