Policy Aspects for Informal Settlements in South Africa

Abstract

No doubt this conference will draw much attention to the important moment we’re approaching in South Africa, of having spent one decade building a new democracy. Indeed, various spheres of government are reviewing their achievements and evaluating the effects of their policies. While honoured on 6 October 2003 with a World Habitat award for its phenomenal housing delivery over this decade, national Department of Housing is also concerned about shortcomings in the delivery, which have come to the fore. The Department speaks of an emphasis on quality, which will mark the second decade of South African democracy, with a shift to a “demand-driven, supply-negotiated” policy (Vawda, 2003). In this paper I ask what this may mean in terms of a policy response to the informal settlement situation.