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In search of land and housing in the New South Africa: The case of Ethembalethu
11 July 2007
A just-released World Bank case study outlines the difficulties poor communities face in accessing peri-urban land in South Africa that could have implications and lessons for similar communities in other countries facing spatial segregation issues. The study goes further and suggests policy and program reform aimed at improving the situation.
The study focused on one community, composed largely of laid-off farm workers, that a decade ago wanted to buy their own farm in a peri-urban area west of Johannesburg. Their dream was to establish a mixed-use settlement. They wanted to call the village Ethembalethu – “Our Hope”. About 250 families started their own association and savings scheme to make their dream a reality. By 1997, they had saved enough money -- R125,000 (about US$18,000) -- to make their first purchase offer.
Now, a decade later, the community’s dream is still not a reality. The families have faced numerous obstacles: two cancelled sale agreements, wrongful arrest, being sued in court, an out-of-court settlement for which community members were paid R250,000 (about $36, 000) to not move into the white neighborhood, and large sums of their own money spent on consultants and environmental impact studies. In an agreement with the Mogale City Municipality, where the land is located, the community now has at least a confirmed right to occupy the land. But it does not yet legally own the land, and is still trying to get permission to build on and work the land.
The peri-urban areas are formerly “rural” localities that are now directly in the path of urbanization due to the rapid expansion of South Africa’s metropolitan areas and major towns. They lie officially outside of the “urban edge”. In the land market in the peri-urban areas, the rich and the poor compete directly with each other, because both prefer to live close to where they work. The preference for some of the rich is to live in gated housing communities, created by the redevelopment of farms. The preference of the poor is to live in mixed-use settlements. They want to establish modest houses, raise their children in safety, benefit from having relatively close access to urban schools and health facilities, as well as work opportunities, while having space to venture into farming and small business activities should such opportunities arise.
The case of Ethembalethu is not unique. Millions of black South Africans live in the peri-urban areas. But even if they have the financial means, government programs, development planning and environmental regulations, and the current land and housing markets do not support realization of their aspirations to become homeowners on sites of their choice.
The case study suggests a number of areas for policy and program reform:
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overcoming reluctance and resistance by municipalities and prospective neighbors to low-income settlements
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making land use planning in municipalities explicitly pro-poor
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restructuring the land market
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realigning planning processes
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designing a land and housing program targeted to peri-urban areas
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reengineering program implementations
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freeing up and building capacity
The Department of Land Affairs has agreed to spearhead the establishment of a national task force to ensure appropriate follow up as suggested in the study.
The World Bank team has been directly involved with the community through its established association since early 2005. It has participated in meetings, in the negotiation of agreements between the association and officials of the Mogale City Municipality. It has assisted the community association in its efforts and provided resource materials to the various stakeholders. It welcomed the cooperation and involvement of all stakeholders, as well as government officials and others who provided valuable input into the report. The study also gave the team an opportunity to learn from an extraordinary story and share insights.
The team strongly commended the hard work, professionalism and dedication of the various officials involved. The report notes, however, that the capacity of officials to deliver is seriously undermined, not by a lack of training or education, but by the highly complicated and fragmented framework within which they operate. The report finds bureaucracy is exhausting the capacity of communities and local governments to ensure that low-income South Africans of all backgrounds can acquire and develop land and shelter in South Africa’s peri-urban areas.
The study, at the request of Mogale City for World Bank technical assistance on the design and implementation of integrated housing and agriculture projects, is just the beginning. The team has pledged to follow this story and to update the public about subsequent developments on the South African country office website.
See also: www.worldbank.org/southafrica
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