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IT’S WIDELY
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT
ADDRESSING HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
IS CRITICAL TO
SOUTH AFRICA’S
DEVELOPMENT PATH,
BUT IT’S NOT AN EASY
PROBLEM TO SOLVE.
ccording to the World
Economic Forum (WEF)
Global Competitiveness
Report 2014/15, South
Africa is ranked 20th out
of 144 countries for its
property rights. Yet, despite the delivery of
more than three million housing units to the
poor over the last two decades, the country
continues to face a severe housing backlog,
currently estimated at 2.1 million units.
It’s widely acknowledged that addressing
human settlements is critical to South
Africa’s development path, but it’s not an
easy problem to solve. Too often, the various
stakeholders turn to finger-pointing, with the
public sector blamed for red tape bureaucracy
and the private sector chastised for lack of
involvement and investment.
The recent signing of the Social Contract
for the Development of Human Settlements
in October 2014 proved, however, that
there is willingness and commitment to
address human settlements throughout the
value chain. The Social Contract commits
signatories to the delivery of 1.5 million
housing opportunities by 2019.
A further step was taken at the 2014
Banking Summit – hosted by The Banking
Association South Africa and titled “A
Partnership for Housing Delivery” – where
decision makers from all stakeholder groups
came together to thrash out a way forward.
In this issue’s special focus, we examine the
themes of the Banking Summit, the current
state of the housing “gap market”, renewable
energy in affordable housing, as well as the
concept of state housing banks.
There is a long path to travel before South
Africa can say it’s got a handle on human
settlements, but honest debate between all
players is a good place to start in developing
trust and creating effective partnerships.
Tamara Oberholster
Copyright: Pic