Abstract
Housing delivery remains one of South Africa's biggest challenges. Although many South Africans have benefitted from government housing, there remains a contentious problem of housing backlogs, especially in Kliptown. This research explored stakeholder perspectives from housing officials and housing applicants to address the housing backlogs in Kliptown, Johannesburg. A qualitative research design was used and interviews were conducted with 13 participants, comprising five housing officials and eight housing applicants. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Barriers to housing were found to be caused by the following; first, there is not enough available, open space for new developments. Second, the constant influx of migrants into the area puts a strain on existing infrastructure and housing officials are unable to keep up with the growing demand for housing. Third, the slow delivery of housing for those on the waiting list has caused many to invade newly built vacant houses also known as ‘RDP’ houses, which are assigned to other applicants. Fourth, unqualified employees without the requisite capabilities to perform tasks in the Department of Housing adds to the slow delivery of houses. And lastly, community organizations representing different constituencies are unable to share a unified voice in terms of their needs and priorities when communicating with government officials - this is also perceived to result in delayed housing allocation. Recommendations are that serviced stands should be allocated to housing applicants, on which they will take responsibility for building their own houses. Community constituencies need to work towards having a unified voice in their dealings with government. Government should ensure that they strengthen management structures, ensure greater senior staff retention to see projects through to completion and ensure that they engage with credible community representatives. This research hopes to highlight the barriers to housing delivery in Kliptown, as well as solutions to addressing this through enhanced stakeholder engagement and improved government capacity.
M.Phil. (Social Policy and Development)