CONTENTS

• Principles
• Policy
• Implementation Options
• Tenure
• Density
• Beneficiary Identification
• Threats to the Project

PRINCIPLES
All of the housing created within the iSLP has conformed to the rules and requirements of the National Housing Policy of South Africa. In particular, the terms of the Housing Subsidy Policy have been strictly adhered to, and no beneficiaries have received more than that stipulated.

Two types of subsidy are used in the iSLP : the "project-linked" subsidy, which provides for the provision of a serviced site and a dwelling; and a "consolidation" subsidy, which provides for a dwelling in an area where serviced sites were previously provided. The subsidy benefits have changed from time to time, but at January 2001 they are as follows, in Rands (US$1 = R7,8 in Jan. 2001):

The primary objective is the creation of a secure, serviced site and a simple but small, formal "starter" structure. Improvements will thereafter take place incrementally as resources permit. The development process is participative to the extent that community representatives are fully involved in choosing layout and servicing options in the design process, and in choosing the extent to which the civil engineering construction should be labour or plant intensive.

Availability of choice is an important principle, and wherever possible beneficiaries may choose whether or not to relocate, what type of house to acquire and who should build it. A choice of site has proved to be impractical, particularly when managing the development of 20 000 or more sites.

The employment of local tradesmen and labour is a requirement of all infrastructure and housing contracts, linked to an appropriate skills training programme.

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POLICY
The policy with regard to infrastructure delivery has been to employ consultants to plan, survey and design a serviced township and to then call for public tenders for its construction. On occasions project committees have requested that tenders be required for a labour-intensive or conventional construction process. However, the latter has generally been chosen because the costs have been significantly less.

The policy regarding housing construction has changed and evolved over time, and has differed from project to project. Options used are:

a. A standard house design put out to tender;
b. A price for a standard house negotiated with a diverse group of builders;
c. A call for proposals from builders on the basis of a certain price;
d. Builders canvassing beneficiaries for individual contracts to build approved structures;
e. Self-building initiatives by community groups (termed "Peoples Housing").

The people catered for by the iSLP are almost all in the lowest income group, and thus may access the maximum subsidy, which would afford them a site plus a formal dwelling. The tiny minority who earn more than R1 500 per household per month require additional funds to afford both a site and a dwelling. Institutional finance is only available to individuals who have secure permanent employment, and who are earning in the region of R2 500 per month and above. The required funding must therefor be drawn from personal savings or from loans from employers. Some might live in a shack on their site until the funds are available.

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IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS
Wherever possible a show village is built to enable beneficiaries to view the housing options available from different builders. These houses also set a quality benchmark for the builders' future production. The builder is only paid after the home owner and local authority and/or project manager have certified that the building is complete - 90% on hand-over and 10% after a 3 month retention period.

The conventional and most common housing option in the iSLP is a free standing, single-storey concrete block structure of 18 - 25 square metres, on a serviced site of 120 - 160 square metres. However, since September 2000 double-storeyed, party walled structures have been introduced, and have become popular. Although their site sizes are limited to 80 square metres they provide about 30 square metres of accommodation within the subsidy limits.

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TENURE
Full ownership is made available on all properties. That is a condition of the subsidy scheme.

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DENSITY
The gross density of the "single residential" component of the iSLP townships is 35-45 dwelling units per hectare. The double-storey properties described above have a density of 100 du/ha - which complies with the metropolitan objective of increasing densities.

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BENEFICIARY IDENTIFICATION
For greenfields projects this begins with the allocation of quotas of sites to particular communities. At an early stage in the implementation of the iSLP needy communities within the iSLP project area were given the opportunity to select greenfields projects to which their members would like to be relocated. These, together with a schedule of the numbers requiring housing within each community (that was prepared by the iSLP Project Coordinator) were submitted to the iSLP Consultative Forum, on which all communities were represented. The forum then decided how many sites within each project would be allocated to each community. Prior to that the iSLP Consultative Forum resolved that its quota allocations would not favour those communities which were in most marginal terrain, but would reflect an equitable allocation to all communities.

Once the quotas had been agreed the beneficiary identification process could begin within each community. The community leadership, monitored by representatives of the local authority and of the iSLP Project Coordinator, then propose a basis for prioritising applicants, which they submit to the community in general meeting for consideration. Usually, it benefits those who have been within the community the longest, and the process is aided by a register of residents kept by the community leadership. Applications are then invited and a list compiled which is posted in a public place. Claims and objections may be made within a specified period, which are dealt with before the final list is resolved and publicised.

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THREATS TO THE PROJECT

• Hi-jacks
• Invasion
• Violence
• Corruption
• Deceit

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