Gauteng has most shack dwellers in SA

GAUTENG has the highest number of urban people living in makeshift homes, that include shacks, set up in sprawling informal settlements.

The Centre of Housing Rights and Eviction said most of the 7.5 million people who lacked adequate housing live in Gauteng. Stakeholders from a variety of sectors, gathered at an indaba to discuss issues pertaining to housing, such as provision of shelter for migrants in Gauteng cities.

SA Human Rights Commission provincial manager, Buang Jones, said the main aim of the indaba was to share strategies, proposals and solutions to the housing headache. Among the organisations present were the African Diaspora Forum, the Human Settlements Department and Statistics SA.

They hope that a multi-sectoral approach would accelerate the realisation of the right to adequate housing. Jones noted that many people relocated from their home towns to pursue financial gain or a better life in the “City of Gold”.

He said some of the issues to be tackled were those of implementing fair housing policies, curbing corruption in the housing sector and adequate budget planning to better the lives of those in need. “In most cases, the right to housing is limited by the availability of resources due to the prevailing economic meltdown in the country.

“The national housing code clearly states that even foreign nationals have the right to citizenship and these are some of the prevalent matters to be discussed,” said Jones.

Some of the key objectives of the provincial indaba are:

To review the current policy and legislation pertaining to housing.

Allow for an assessment of socio-economic realities to understand constraints at municipal level.

To work towards the recognition of migrants, especially legal immigrants and refugees, as stakeholders in the inner city.

To work towards the inclusion of migrants in city regeneration schemes.

To create sustainable communities and infrastructure that will actively include migrants.

To create dynamic interplay between public and private sectors to realise rights.

Jones said the indaba was only the beginning, there were many matters to unpack in terms of housing.