The low income housing policy of local government in greater Johannesburg : an assessment

M A.Local government and housing policy have undergone fundamental change in the last ten years. Local authorities have had to deal with the challenges of internal transformation as well as the new mandate of low-income housing provision. With the ending of apartheid, the expectation occurred within low income communities that there would be free land and housing for all. This perception was strengthened by election promises of the ANC, which undertook to deliver no less than one-million new housing units by 1999. To assess the nature and scope of low-income housing policy, the policy cycle approach is followed in this study. The first and second phases, namely the identification of policy issues and formulation of responses have occurred at national level. 'National role-players have determined housing policy content in the third phase of the policy cycle and a number of mechanisms and institutions has been established to deal with the economic and social pressures that housing represents. The fourth phase of the policy cycle consists of policy implementation which occurs at a local level. Here the approach to implementation is significant. A lack of local resources has necessitated a developmental approach to implementation. Reconstructing the apartheid city, generating local employment, providing a range of housing options and involving the private sector, improving living environments and stimulating social cohesion are requirements that underlie policy implementation initiatives of the Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council. The last phase of the policy cycle, namely the evaluation and re-direction of policy is still under-developed in Greater Johannesburg and issues that could surface in low-income housing policy evaluation are highlighted in this study. The overall conclusion is reached that despite well-developed policy processes at national level, local government's role in housing policy implementation is underdeveloped, albeit the approach to implementation is fundamentally well considered