Gauteng’s housing plan echoes sentiments of the past
Settlements have been adopted, seemingly without any interrogation by the provincial department of human settlements, if they fit into the National Development Plan’s framework which says “by 2050, South Africa will no longer have poverty traps in rural areas and urban townships...”
These projects will sentence the most vulnerable in our society to unemployment without prospects and, in fact, continue to perpetuate the apartheid plan of separate development and further entrench spatial segregation.
The whole concept of mega human settlements was crafted by the less-than-honourable architect of one of the greatest crimes against humanity, Hendrik Verwoerd, and he, like Gauteng premier David Makhura, motivated that housing the black population in specific, purpose-built mega-townships, was the government’s most affordable mechanism to provide a basic level of service to those who could not afford to pay for services.
Makhura’s government echoes this idea with its housing plan.
They say history repeats itself, or more succinctly put, former liberation movements begin to mirror the behaviour and policies of the former oppressor.
This is a project that is being spearheaded by a government that does not care about the poor, except when it comes to elections.
Yet, the placement of these mega settlements must, by definition, be done on large pieces of land. Now we all know that land close to economic opportunities is in short supply. Therefore, these mega developments will naturally happen on the outer borders of our towns and cities, further burdening the poor who must travel far to access economic and social opportunities.
There is no integration of communities. RDP houses are built in pockets where they are isolated. Branded as RDP areas and so left to languish with sub-standard services far from job opportunities, commercial outlets, schools, clinics and government amenities.
Where is the budget to build a school in a mega-project? Ask the provincial department and they will say they will look for funding sometime after 2023, as the allocations have already been finalised to catch up with backlogs in other areas.
Mind you, these backlogs were created by a government that failed to invest in mass infrastructure projects.
The Democratic Alliance in the cities of Tshwane and Johannesburg is working to ensure that residents are provided with housing and services closer to economic hubs. For example, the Tshwane mayoral mansion will be sold in order to fund integrated housing projects for the poor. In Johannesburg, the DA-led coalition government has increased funding to the Johannesburg Social Housing Company amounting to R219-million. This increase will be dedicated to the purpose of purchasing buildings that will be refurbished within the inner city. These buildings will be converted into low-cost rental stock that will house 1 164 families.
Ask any of the already too-full schools near a mega-project if they have the capacity to accommodate the influx of scholars from the proposed new development, the answer will not surprise you, considering the reports of overcrowding at schools, high inward migration, and the slow pace of construction of new schools.
Makhura will pose for a photograph as he cuts the ribbon at the launch of one of these projects, but is never seen in that community again as the residents struggle on a daily basis to break free from the shackles of poverty with no real help from the government, and no inter-departmental plan to ensure a viable and thriving community.