An investigation on the implementation of human settlements policy: the case of Umzimvubu Local Municipality

Since the dawn of South African democracy, the African National Congress (ANC) has been in power. This means that, since 1994, the ANC has had to remedy a lot of socio-economic challenges brought about by the apartheid regime, to ensure equal opportunities and resources allocation and also, enjoyment of these resources. Most black South Africans were marginalised and left to live in poor conditions, with no proper sanitation and other basic services. Twenty-two years later the government is still faced with the challenge of providing adequate housing to the citizens of South Africa. The attempt to transition housing into human-settlements that allow social interaction and economic activity to ensure that human-settlements are habitable is commendable. The qualitative study’s objective was to investigate the implementation of low cost human-settlements policy, and determine contributors of poor policy implementation in Umzimvubu Local Municipality. The study found that housing backlog and deplorable housing conditions exist in Umzimvubu Local Municipality and that corruption is one of the major contributors of the backlog. Poor management of financial resources has been found to be another contributing factor. It is therefore recommended that the municipality invests in programmes that can assist employees and stakeholders to improve their project and financial management skills. Consultation with other municipalities who have had successful remedies to housing backlog is highly recommended. Umzimvubu Local Municipality was the reference point of the study