Backyard homes present economic opportunity

South African municipalities are too reactionary and are not at the forefront when it comes to township spatial planning.

This was the assessment Professor Ivan Turok of the Human Sciences Research Council presented to delegates at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation’s Inclusive Growth Forum.

The theme was local government and their economies.

Turok said effective planning was a vital part of local government and he criticised municipalities for focusing on already developed suburbs, instead of townships where backyard dwellings have presented various new opportunities and challenges.

“Housing and human development tend to be seen in a pigeon hole of social development, as a sphere of consumption, not part of the economy,” he said.

He said key lessons from the international community showed a strong plan was not merely preparing technically and forcing implementation through regulations and system.

It was about building commitment to action, engaging stakeholders, flexibility and learning from experience.

Highlighting the phenomenon of backyard dwellings, he said: “This phenomenon has obvious negative effects of crowding, overburdened infrastructure, of fire hazards [and] no revenue generated for the city.”

But positives included creating an affordable rental housing market which served as an entry point for people moving from rural areas to the city, which allowed a bottom-up approach to building the economy.

However, the crisis management approach adopted by municipalities resulted in wasteful spending.

“They need to ... build the skills rather than putting out fires,” he said. – News24 Wire