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Partner: Governments: Governments of South Africa and the United States of America (USAID)
International Organizations: UNDP, UN-HABITAT |
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Cost: US$2,750,000 |
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Prior to the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, there was no housing market for all South Africans and no coherent national housing policy. During the struggle for liberation and majority rule, housing became a political rallying point and a top priority of the new Government. The Department of Housing in the new government was, therefore, and still continues to be, one of the most important nodes of development. The Department set out to produce one of the first policy documents in the new government and within one year outlined a National Housing Strategy. UN-HABITAT began engaging with the Department immediately after the elections and participated in the historical Botshabelo Housing Summit. The engagement resulted in the Capacitation Programme to Support People's Housing Process to assist people who are poor, homeless or inadequately housed and not provided for in policy and practice. The programme, which has funding from UNDP and USAID and is executed by UN-HABITAT, aims to develop support mechanisms for building capacity at all levels to enable people to address their own housing needs. It has now been mainstreamed in all provinces and several local authorities.
The following activities were undertaken: - Establishing linkages between national policies and sub-national and community-level structures;
- Establishing facilities and operating procedures, including the creation of a People's Housing Partnership Trust;
- Contributing to the national policy on housing in general
- Carrying out of an advocacy campaign to inform officials of public and private institutions and communities about the People's Housing Process and to commit them to supporting the process;
- Developing supportive skills for the process at all levels, including mobilization of savings, development of organizational skills and actual planning;
- Engaging in housing activities, such as mobilization of savings, with officials and communities and developing skills in planning, design and construction of houses;
- Developing community networks of NGOs, locally and internationally, and community-based organizations for the exchange of experience and ideas on mobilizing communities to produce their own housing.
- The National Policy on housing to support the People's Housing Process (PHP) has been enacted.
- People's Housing Process Units in Provincial Departments of Housing have been established.
- Skills in community organization and training in house modelling have been developed.
- Savings schemes and linkage with uTshani Fund have been established.
- Exchange programmes to share information and experience have been facilitated.
- People's Housing Process activities through which people access subsidies and produce their housing have been developed.
- The People's Housing Process is accepted as the means of meeting housing needs of the majority, thus achieving the status of a national mass movement. Provincial People's Housing Process units have been established in all provinces. Communities have developed housing through the process. Provincial and local governments have committed subsidies to the People's Housing Process, with the result that housing subsidies have spread out to more poor communities than they would have otherwise reached. Local and international networking for the homeless and inadequately housed has been established.
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