Abstract
A shallow synopsis of the current South Africa housing backlog crisis points
straight at corrupt practices, the inefficiency and lack of capacity of the present and
previous post-apartheid government to adequately address the maddening housing
problem in the country. But a sincere overview will reveal that the present housing crisis
has its origin in the 1913 Natives’ Land Act that severely limited the land that those
previously classified as natives in South Africa could own. The Native’s Land Act, though
now abolished, entrenched a land tenure system and limited the alienability of land to
13% for the natives who are the majority of the South Africa population. Today, millions
of South African households live in slum housing patterns, hostels and crowded houses in
marginalised townships and informal settlements awaiting access to government-availed
land and houses because of consequences of the formerly enacted Natives’ Land Act of
1913. Though the South African government and other stakeholders, since the attainment
of democratic governance in 1994, have been creating and implementing various housing
delivery programmes to speedily meet demand. This study is conducted with reference to
existing theoretical literature, published and unpublished research. It is mainly a
literature review on the role of the colonial edicts that fostered a culture of housing
under-development and eventually an enormous housing shortage that the present
government is battling to eradicate. Findings from the study reveals that since 1910 to the
end of the segregation rule in 1994, various approaches were used to advance the
inhumane idea to restrict a majority of South Africans from owning properties. With a
particular emphasis to the Native Land Act 27 of 1913; this Act was concerned with land
issues, and since land and housing issues are inextricably linked, this affected the
provision of housing for Blacks and other disadvantaged ethnic groups. Further findings
revealed that the enactment of the Native Land Act 27 of 1913, cemented housing policy
issues in the apartheid era, which created the divide in housing issues which have not be
completely reversed till date. However, apartheid policies alone cannot be held
responsible for the housing backlog in South Africa, but equally no account of housing
backlog and conditions can be credible if we do not take into account the history of South
Africa and its colonial policies.