Gap Two: Capacity Development for Communities

According to the DHS (2016), capacity remains a serious constraint in the development of sustainable human settlements (housing), apart from financial resources. Under-expenditure of the human

settlements (housing) grant and poor quality of human settlements (housing) products have been attributed to lack of capacity to manage the human settlements (housing) programme. The South African government‘s capital subsidy approach to all citizens that resulted in the delivery of completed housing units for all is slowly falling short of producing the desired impact. Instead, although the government has delivered more than 4.3 million housing opportunities in the past 20 years, the majority of those beneficiaries are still trapped in some of the social vulnerabilities that are related to poverty and lack of economic opportunities in their communities. It has become critical that individuals and community members are empowered to become active subjects of their own development and not act as passive recipients of charity as they seek to realise their right to adequate housing. This is so important considering the obvious challenge of sustainability that accompanies the current housing delivery model (DHS, 2016).

3.2.2.1 Capacity development defined

There is now emerging agreement in the development community that capacity development is the engine of human development. In the face of the current economic, climate and food crises, developing state and societal capacities to design and implement strategies that minimise the impact posed by these crises will remain critical for sustaining progress towards achieving development objectives (UNDP, 2009). Capacity development starts from the principle that people are best empowered to realise their full potential when the means of development are sustainable – home-grown, long-term, and generated and managed collectively by those who stand to benefit.

Confusion around the term capacity development seems to have grown along with its popularity. For some, it can be any effort to teach someone to do something or to do it better. For others, it may be about creating new institutions or strengthening old ones. Some see capacity development as a focus on education and training, while others take a broad view of it as improving individual rights, access or freedoms (Morgan, 2006; UNDP, 2009).

Despite this lack of a universal definition, Morgan (2006) posits that capacity is about empowerment and identity, properties that allow an organisation or system to survive, to grow, diversify and become more complex. To evolve in such a way, systems need power, control and space. Capacity has to do with people acting together to take control over their own lives in some fashion. Capacity has to do with collective ability, that is, that combination of attributes that enables a system to perform, deliver value, establish relationships and to renew itself. Or put another way, the abilities that allow systems – individuals, groups, organisations, groups of organisations – to be able to do something with some sort of intention, with some sort of effectiveness and at some sort of scale over time. It is a systematic and integrated approach to develop and continually improve governmental, organisational and

individual competences and capabilities necessary for achieving safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programme (Morgan, 2006).

Capacity development is the process of developing the abilities of individuals, organisations and societies to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve objectives in a sustainable manner (DHS, 2012).

As indicated above, to ensure the meaningful participation of individuals and communities in the housing delivery chain, they need to have the ability to do so. Professionals and officials from the state and the private sector perform functions in the housing delivery value chain because of, inter alia, the capabilities that they acquired during their professional training, experiences and knowledge-sharing sessions. There is therefore a need for capacity development programmes for communities to empower them to participate in the realisation of their right to adequate housing, and for them to be weaned from the effects of housing delivery models that have relegated them to passive beneficiaries of housing.

It is only when households and community members have the requisite capacities that Craine‘s (1948) aided self-help housing delivery model and Turner‘s dweller control model can be meaningful.

Communities can only utilise effectively serviced sites for housing development when they have the technical know-how to do so. Equally, dwellers can only control the major decisions regarding the design, construction or management of their housing when they have the relevant capacities.

3.2.2.2 Framework for housing capacity development for communities in South Africa

During the past two decades (since the dawn of democracy in 1994) capacity development within the human settlements sector derived its mandate from the Constitution of South Africa (1996), the White Paper: A new Housing Policy and Strategy for South Africa (1994) and the Housing Act (1997), amongst other legislation.

In terms of Part 1, section 2(1)(d) of the Housing Act (1997) of the Republic of South Africa, national, provincial and local spheres of government must encourage and support individuals and communities, including, but not limited to, co-operatives, associations and other bodies that are community-based, in their efforts to fulfil their own housing needs by assisting them in accessing land, services and technical assistance in a way that leads to the transfer of skills to, and empowerment of, the community.

In terms of Part 1, section 2(1) (e) of the Housing Act 107 of 1997, the national, provincial and local government must promote education and consumer protection in respect of housing development.

Furthermore, in terms of the Housing Policy and Strategy for South Africa (1994), the following were areas of concern that required attention to enhance the effective delivery of housing:

(i) The housing construction sector

The White Paper acknowledged that the building material supply, building and civil sector faced significant constraints, and that significant capacity will have to be built to ensure the delivery of required numbers of housing, and directed that it would be necessary for future housing policies and strategies to be adopted by government, to initiate ‗the necessary sustained capacity growth and mobilisation, and to release the job creation potential latent within the housing sector‘.

(ii) Housing and economic empowerment

Acknowledging the need for maximum involvement of communities in the housing delivery process, the White Paper directed that future housing strategies shall place specific emphasis on the following:

 Promoting the participation of affected communities in the planning and implementation of new developments

 Maximising job creation in the construction and allied sectors, in particular, the role of labour-based construction and the use of local labour in housing development

 Improving economic linkages, particularly with the national electrification programme

 The role of small and intermediate enterprises in housing construction, as well as in backwardly linked (material supply), forward-linked (household businesses) and sideways-linked (school construction) economic sectors

 Programmes for skills transfer, capacity building, and upward mobility for both skilled and unskilled labour in the housing field

 Mechanisms to stimulate entrepreneurial development in creating new housing environments and maximise the participation of historically disadvantaged , emerging entrepreneurs

 Constantly evaluating and supporting the role of women in the housing delivery.

(iii) Consumer protection and education

The White Paper directed that adequate measures to protect the rights of housing consumers and inform them of the technical, legal and financial aspects of housing was a critical priority and should support the regulatory and delivery framework for housing.

As indicated above, capacity remains a serious constraint in the development of sustainable human settlements, apart from financial resources despite the above legislative framework regarding capacity development for communities (DHS, 2015). More than two decades since this framework was provided, the following are some of the areas that continue to require serious attention to avoid continuing to ‗produce a dependent and inactive citizenry‘ (RSA NDP, 2012) through the human settlements programme:

 Building the capacity of communities to empower them to fulfil their housing needs

 Building the capacity to leverage the economic effects of housing investment on job creation

 Enhancing the capacity of local emerging contractors within the construction sector

 Building the capacity to strengthen the implementation of the Enhanced People‘s Housing Programme

 Establishing housing co-operatives.