The right to decent housing in South Africa

This is the text of a talk given by Mqapheli Bonono to an audience of Canadian students on Thursday last week.

Thursday, 05 October 2023

The right to decent housing in South Africa

Thank you, programme director, for this wonderful opportunity to share Abahlali’s perspective on this important topic of the right to decent housing in South Africa. Greeting to students and all participants.

According to the official statistics, there are about 2700 informal settlements in South Africa. We are also told that about 12 000 people live in substandard housing conditions. Clearly there is a high rate of homelessness in our country.

Background as to what caused homelessness in South Africa.

South Africa has a history of colonialism and apartheid that only ended in 1994, just 29 years ago. During apartheid most black people were not allowed to travel and to have homes in cities. The apartheid laws and government made it almost impossible for black people to have a place called home in towns and cities. If you were to come to cities black people needed to obtain a permit. Remember those days black townships that were underdeveloped, meaning there were no jobs, there were infrastructure, etc., for black people. Thanks to the struggle against apartheid led by the United Democratic Front, ordinary South Africans with the help of international communities, defeated apartheid.

Homelessness is caused by a wide range of reasons. These reasons include the economic policy and trajectory government has chosen. It includes austerity measures. It includes government priorities. It includes the high rate of unemployment. State corruption is a pandemic that has taken over our governance systems and structures. State housing is now benefiting those who do not qualify just because there are aligned to the ruling party the African National Congress. And yes, it includes the of land and housing. It is for this reason that Abahlali is calling for the social value of land to be placed before its commercial value.

Housing policy

South Africa has a good constitution that guarantees all the rights that are embodied by international standards and norms. South Africa’s housing policy is very progressive on paper. It calls for the upgrading of informal settlements. It sees a house as a tool for poverty alleviation. It sees the house as a skill development tool and a skill’s transfer mechanism. After all, a house is supposed to provide security and comfort. However, the policy has its own gaps opened to abuse by the state itself. For instance, there are no democratic housing allocation committees. That is why politicians abuse the housing scheme for politicking purposes and to benefit its family members and close comrades.

Reality on the ground.

On the ground people are neglected, people are stuck in deep poverty and are living in extremely dangerous housing conditions. On the ground there is hardly any access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity. There is often no road access, no refuse collection. As a result, people use self-connected electricity, they use candles as a source of light and they use paraffin stoves that explode. All of this results to shack fires and lives are lost.

The reality on the ground is that vast amount of agriculture land remains in the hands of the few mostly white commercial farmers. 87% of land is owned by these few farmers while only 13% of the land is in the hands of the majority. This is happening under the watch of the black majority government. While race and apartheid were big challenges today we learn of something deeper than that. That black people cannot liberate their own black people who slaves of the apartheid regime together with them.

These are the reasons that compelled Abahlali to come together and form this movement to resist indignity and exclusion.

I thank you.