Gauteng Department of Housing Conference 6-8 October 2003

GAUTENG DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING CONFERENCE 6-8 OCTOBER 2003

RAPPORTEUR’S REPORT - GROUP1: POVERTY, INSECURITY, VULNERABILITY AND DISPLACEMENT

DISCUSSED ON 7 OCTOBER 2003

Rapporteur: Sarah Charlton

This group dealt with the theme Poverty, Insecurity, Vulnerability and Displacement.

1. CHANGES TO THE PROGRAMME

There were two papers which were not presented at all due to the unavailability of the speakers. These were Housing and Service Delivery in a context of civil strife, by Julian Baskin of Care International, Angola, and Orange Farm Case Study, by Sibongile Mazibuko, Chief Operating Officer, City of Johannesburg. In addition, Mario Adauta de Sousa from Angola was unable to attend the conference, so his paper Poverty, Housing and Services in Luanda was presented by Prof Richard Tomlinson.

2. PAPERS PRESENTED

Seven papers are discussed in the order in which they were presented at the conference.

2.1 BENEFICIARY PERCEPTIONS OF SUBSIDIZED HOUSING

Sarah Charlton, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand

(based on a paper by Tanya Zack and Sarah Charlton)

2.1.1 SUMMARY OF PAPER

This paper analyses the experiences of people who have benefited from the South African governments’ subsidised housing programme. The study, undertaken for the National Department of Housing, looks at the impact of subsidized housing on the lives of beneficiaries. The research involved 28 focus group discussions held between December 2002 and March 2003, in urban locations across South Africa. While those interviewed have had very different experiences and circumstances, a number of common themes can be extracted.

Key findings include the fact that most respondents indicate that they are generally better off than before they received a subsidy house. However, there is widespread dissatisfaction with a range of issues related to their new housing circumstances. Most respondents consider their houses to be shoddily built and few settlements have access to a range of facilities and amenities. There are very few indications of economic empowerment, with little evidence of linkages to further jobs after the housing project. Projects are poorly located with respect to work opportunities, and where there is economic activity within the settlements this appears to be largely survivalist. Many respondents doubt whether their settlements have anything to offer their children in the future. There is a clear message of widespread and severe poverty and many respondents unable to pay for services. Crime and lack of safety are major issues in settlements.

Nevertheless, there is an overwhelming sense that home ownership has brought dignity to many people. The sense of security, independence and pride expressed by people in relation to owning their houses is highly significant in a country where so many were denied access to land and security of tenure in the past. A number of respondents spontaneously express their gratitude to the government for the gift they have received.

The study concludes by suggesting that the implementation of the housing scheme rates relatively poorly as perceived by beneficiaries. There is very limited evidence of a platform being created for the ongoing socio-economic development of communities. However the government has clearly shown the ability to deliver to the poor, and delivery has in the most part met the basic needs of shelter and access to services. In addition, the delivery has fulfilled a psychological need by fostering a sense of dignity and a strong sense of pride in many people.

The study highlights a range of issues which need further investigation and research. However the study is also mindful of the limitations of the methodology used, and the dangers of generalizing across diverse experiences.

2.1.2 RESPONSE TO PAPER BY DELEGATES

There were various questions of clarity about how the South African subsidy system works and how much it is worth. It was felt that issue raised in the presentation needed to be brought to the attention of the Department of Housing, which needs to interrogate how the subsidy is spent.

The role of the Environment Department in monitoring the implementation of housing projects was raised as a concern. Delegates also raised the issue of whose responsibility employment generation is, and what the role of the city is with respect to self empowerment of beneficiaries. A participant queried whether government handouts are perhaps destroying private initiatives.

In response to a query on peoples’ involvement in the design of houses, it was noted that the research included 4 Peoples’ Housing Process projects, and of these 4 projects beneficiaries were satisfied with 2 of them – ie a PHP project did not guarantee beneficiary satisfaction.

An issue was raised with respect to who pays for services now, how debt collection works, and whether services are switched off due to non-payment.

There was discussion on the asset value of the house received – its use value, its financial value – and what the opportunity cost for the government was in spending money on housing rather than other forms of wealth redistribution eg: the basic income grant

There was discussion on the profile of participants of the focus groups and the limitations of this methodology.

2.2 POVERTY, HOUSING AND SERVICES IN LUANDA

Mario Adauta de Sousa, Angolan Institute for Social and Economic Research (paper presented by Richard Tomlinson)

2.2.1 SUMMARY OF PAPER

(This summary is taken both from the powerpoint presentation and the text paper made available. As the author was unable to attend the conference the paper was presented by Richard Tomlinson)

This paper makes a “contribution towards a characterization of urban poverty in Angola”. The paper identifies the dimensions of urban poverty as income and consumption, the security of land - habitation and possession, - health, education and civic and social participation (empowerment). However it notes the limitations associated with the poor availability of data, and the need for more study on the main determinants of the urban poverty problem.

With regard to urbanisation, there has been a massive increase in the urban population in Angola, in 4 main time periods related to war (1961-1974), (1975-1992) (1992-1994) (1998-2001). This flow from rural to urban areas has been extended over a very long period of time – there has been a massive permanent and accelerated inflow of people to towns and cities. The paper notes that almost 40% of the Angolan population has been displaced at some point in recent decades.

There are a number of consequences of this migration. With respect to poverty, there has been a long term process of sudden and systematic pauperism of the displaced population. Social disruption has occurred, as is evidenced by the many street children for example. There has been a disruption of the mechanisms of support amongst the family. There has been an increase in the informal sector of the economy. There is growing inequality and increased unemployment. There is enormous pressure on the urban social equipment, which is saturated.

This paper also comments on the ‘ruralisation’ or ‘de-urbanisation’ of attitudes, behaviour and the urban style of life. The newly arrived are exposed to a monetary economy for which they are not prepared, and due to the sheer numbers involved, in fact exert an influence on the urban that may contribute to the rapid destruction of physical assets.

The urban concentration is in the provincial towns and in Luanda, rather than in the small towns, mainly because of military instability in these smaller areas. Luanda exhibits the highest concentration of poverty, informality and war displaced. Within municipalities of the capital Luanda there are deep intra-urban differentials in terms of the localization of extreme poverty. In the capital, only 18% of family aggregates had mains water to their houses in 2001.

Provincial capitals in the interior of the country are characterized by intermittent supply of electricity and water, destruction of public assets, de-industrialisation and a loss of technical and business elite.

In addition there has been an intellectual flight of the elite and capital flight towards the coastal areas and mainly towards Luanda. This has major implications for inhibiting development processes.

The percentage of people in extreme poverty has doubled since 1995. There is a stark and widening gap between rich and poor. Access to education and health services is very uneven. Education levels are generally very low .The likelihood of social mobility for the very poor is highly restricted, due to a lack of access to education. The ability to reduce inequality is increasingly reduced. The creation of human and social capital in the poorer sector is not increasing at the rate needed. Clearly there is little prospect of social mobility out of poverty.

Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, and the urban areas are as bad as rural in this regard – this indicates that there is a structural problem of public health which is independent of rural/ urban issues. However, the differentials between the poor and the non-poor in this regard are very striking.

The markets of employment have become informal. The capacity of supply of formal employment has been very low. Poor urban people have difficulty in finding a job via the mechanism of the formal economy. There are high rates of urban unemployment, estimated at around 46%. There is extensive child labour - in Luanda about a fifth of children between the ages of 5 and 14 are working. There are high levels of inflation.

Post 1992, public allocations of expenditure to the social sectors (health, education and social assistance) dropped dramatically. Private health and education systems, inaccessible to the poor, have emerged. The elite access health care and schooling in neighbouring countries such as South Africa.

The majority of social assistance and humanitarian development programs during the last few years were largely directed at rural displaced populations, and rather than tackling urban social exclusion and marginalization. Currently however, four large international NGOs are implementing the 3-year Poverty Programe of Luanda (LUPP), financed by DFID. This programme targets improvements in, amongst others, basic infrastructure, the informal sector, and service delivery by local institutions. Challenges to overcome include very weak administration (the ‘rupture of public institutions’) as well as spatial variations in the severity of problems faced

In the case of Angola, the city does not constitute an opportunity to improve personal well-being but the basic mechanism of physical security. A range of factors are contributing to the loss of the opportunity to transform cities in to market places where industry could have functioned as a motive for progress. The design of urban public policies has an increasing importance on the reproduction of urban poverty.

2.2.2 RESPONSE TO PAPER BY DELEGATES

(Some of the discussion on this paper was hampered by the fact that the speaker was not present, and those delegates who were familiar with Angola were asked to share their knowledge where possible.)

Some people questioned the accuracy of the figures presented, in relation to similar figures for South Africa – for example the figure quoted of 23% in extreme poverty. It was reiterated that accurate data from Angola is very limited or lacking.

It was noted that Luanda has grown phenomenally, from a population of about 450 000 to approximately 2.2m within 10 years – in other words it has quadrupled within a decade. This was compared with the growth of Maputo, which had a population of about 200 000 in 1976, about 1,9m at the height of the war, and is currently around 900 000. It was noted that in Angola the war has been more extreme and has resulted unbelievable poverty.

There has been a decline in health and education expenditure post election, and the growth of some private clinics. However it was noted that the wealthy get health care, and education in South Africa when they can – there is a flight to private schools outside Angola. The Angolan economy is dollar based.

The notion of ‘de-urbanisation’ was discussed, meaning that the ‘character’ of these urban areas is relatively ‘rural’ in nature.

It was noted that poverty is in some case worse in larger urban areas – people in the smaller towns have better access to agricultural production if they are in a relatively militarily secure area.

One delegate suggested the notion of building a city for people to live off the surrounding land, and said she was approaching the Angolan and SA governments in this regard.

2.3 HIV/AIDS AND SHELTER: ADDRESSING A CRITICAL DETERMINANT OF ORPHAN CARE AND SUPPORT

Florence Muli-Musiime, UN Habitat

(I have not had access to a hard copy of the presentation or an associated paper so have relied on my notes for this discussion)

2.3.1 SUMMARY OF PAPER

This paper considers why UN-Habitat is looking at the issue of shelter and Aids, and notes that HIV/ Aids has an affect on the likelihood of achieving Millenium Development Goals (which include for example ‘to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers….’).

There are 13m Aids orphans in the African continent. The pattern with respect to HIV/ Aids status is geographically and socially variable, with the central, eastern and southern parts of Africa experiencing the most concentrated distribution of HIV/ Aids.

Africa has very little capacity to deal economically with HIV/ Aids. In all countries in eastern and southern Africa, the prevalence of HIV/ Aids, deaths and the number of orphans are all increasing. Aids in Africa is in ‘free fall’ in terms of life expectancy.

The impacts of this phenomenon are increased orphan-hood, increased poverty, reduced food consumption, role-reversal in which the elderly and children become primary care-givers, and the phenomenon of ‘triple orphans’, where a mother, father and then the next care-giver to a child all succumb to Aids.

The phenomenon of orphan-hood hits the lower social classes hardest. In the urban slums there is increased vulnerability, with inadequate shelter and related services. There are high dependency ratios in slums (eg 1/3 of children below the age of 15 are HIV/ Aids orphans in some Nairobi slums). 2/3 of these orphans are boys – apparently because girl-orphans are sent out to rural areas because they are perceived to be more difficult to look after in urban areas. Girl-orphans too are expected to be domestic workers, and are often treated as themselves care-givers, rather than children to be care for in their own right. This emphasizes the gender dimension of HIV/Aids – females are often more vulnerable to infection in the first place, and then are largely expected to be care-givers rather than in need of care. Maternal relatives are very important in caring for orphans.

In Uganda it has been demonstrated that water, sanitation and solid waste, if dealt with, can dramatically improve the prevalence of ailments including those affecting children. For example high rates of TB can be related to poor living conditions – infection spread through too many people living in one room.

There are other consequences of poor living conditions – for example the sexual corruption of children (through intense exposure of children to sex at a young age). Also transmission of other diseases (such as skin diseases) picked up through shared mattresses.

With respect to the role of local authorities, they have a mandate for the provision of shelter and services but very little capacity for implementation in this regard. There are very few policies on HIV/ Aids orphans.

HIV/ Aids is a growing epidemic which wipes out the ‘middle band’ of providers, care-givers etc, and it is necessary to think ‘outside the box’ with respect to housing.

2.3.2 RESPONSE TO PAPER BY DELEGATES

(Note: Discussion on all three papers dealing with HIV/ Aids has been consolidated below)

2.4 AN EXPLORATION OF THE SHELTER AND SERVICES NEEDS ARISING FROM HIV/AIDS

Prof Richard Tomlinson, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand

2.4.1 SUMMARY OF PAPER

This paper notes that little attention has been paid to the shelter and services needs of families with members who have an Aids-related illness, AIDS or who recently have died from such an illness. Where there has been consideration of shelter issues this has usually been for orphans. Very few sources of information look at an integrated response to HIV/ Aids.

The paper motivates why a consideration of HIV/ Aids should be different to other diseases such as malaria. It seeks to answer the question of what it is about Aids that generates shelter and service needs that are distinct from illness and death due to other causes. The paper argues there are a range of specific characteristics of the impact of HIV/ Aids – for example, the age at which death typically occurs (young adults, sometimes the main income earners), often leaving dependents to support. This may cause a shift in the family budget away from shelter and services due to a shortage of money to pay for accommodation or infrastructure. In addition, the dependents may range from young children to the elderly, with differing shelter and services needs. Furthermore, the gender of the person that dies is often female.