SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND SPATIAL INEQUALITIES IN THE PROVISIONING OF SUSTAINABLE HOUSING IN SOUTH AFRICA

The provision of housing has remained a major challenge in South Africa given the inherited inequalities and injustices of the past. In this democratic dispensation, the goal of the African National Congress (ANC)-led government is to ensure that the dispossessed citizens own properties by land developments and by creating sustainable housing through the promulgation of legislation to redress land ownership of the dispossessed. Since 1994, the government managed to deliver over one million subsidised units and redistributed land to those who qualify according to the set criteria. Despite such positive developments, the disparities between the poor and the affluent in home and land ownership still continue unabated. While the poor, disadvantaged citizens still encounter challenges to access housing and land due to pecuniary difficulties, the previously advantaged communities and the present affluent continue to enjoy the acquisition of houses, land, and monetary assistance from the financial institutions.Â