Revisiting the Self-Help Housing debate: Perception of Self-Help Housing by the beneficiaries of South African low-cost housing

2.4.3 Inequalities at the local level (in South Africa)

It may be said that inequality is a serious matter as it affects the life of people in reducing their chance of living in better environment or of having access to adequate shelter (Hurst, 1985). At the local level, Hurst enumerates five kinds of inequality which are: economic; status; gender; racial; and political. South Africa, as Huchzermeyer (2002b) notes, is a developing country which displays a high degree of inequality. The most remarkable among five forms of inequalities enumerated above is racial inequality instituted by the apartheid regime. How did apartheid operate in South Africa and what were the main consequences related to housing?

2.4.3.1 South Africa and racial inequality

Racial inequality or difference may be objectively considered as a biological or natural phenomenon which explains that some people are black and some others are white or yellow, etc. In this sense, racial difference can be acknowledged and cannot be removed. What is deplorable is that one race considers itself as superior to another race or races. This is the case of South Africa in the past. Apartheid which is the legislated form of racial inequality was adopted as political system in 1948. It was understood as:

«a system of segregation which keeps blacks and whites separate. Blacks were required to live in certain areas and be deprived of formal political rights. As earlier in the American South with Jim Crow laws, Blacks and whites have their own facilities so that contact between the races can be minimized. On the job, Whites typically earn more than 15 times what Blacks earn» (Schaefer, 1988 quoted in Hurst, 1995: 151).

This is an example of income inequalities. In this sense, apartheid may be considered as the fundamental or the main cause of other forms of inequalities observed in South Africa such as social class, status, etc.

In addition, during apartheid time, there was legislation preventing black people from becoming artisans in urban areas. Indeed, Bantu Building Workers Act^15(*), Act no 27 of 1951, although allowing black people to be trained as artisans in the building trade, it did not however permit black people to perform any skilled work in urban areas except in those designated for black occupation. To perform in urban areas was considered by apartheid regime as a criminal offence. As a result of this act related to housing, black people could not have access to decent housing in urban areas. Furthermore, as urban areas are seen as centres of politic, economic, social and cultural opportunities, skilled Black people were unlikely to properly develop their skills.

On ethical grounds, apartheid is unjustifiable as it is based on the superiority of white over black, the creation of structure or ideology which aims at supporting White to the detriment of Black. In addition, it does not support the argument of the defenders of inequalities as it does not allow the progress or the advancement of the whole society. It however favoured the White minority and created unhappiness and poverty among the black majority. As Huchzermeyer (2002b) argues, apartheid in South Africa was created and maintained for the purpose of domination or racial control. Although formally ended in 1994 with the election of the African National Congress (ANC) and the establishment of democracy, the consequences of Apartheid are still visible. For the government of the ANC, challenges that currently South Africa faces such as poverty, unemployment, lack of education, high rate of HIV, issue of housing are merely the relics of apartheid (see Baumann, 2003).

Among the consequences which are still visible: high poverty among black people living in townships and lack of education, I will emphasize those related to housing. There are several factors which do not allow the access to adequate housing for all South African citizens, especially Black South Africans: Difficult access to housing finance, lack of capacity at the level of housing delivery, difficult access to urban land, etc. Are all those factors connected to the consequences of apartheid? This issue will not be discussed in this research. However, it may be argued from data that the access to urban land for poor is one of the consequences of apartheid regime. Chapter Four which is the case study will analyze the issue of accessing to urban land for poor in South Africa.

How does inequality link to the issue of SHH? The last part related to the issue of inequality seeks to establish a relationship between inequality and the rise of SHH practice.

* ¹⁵ For the main act of Apartheid , see African History, Apartheid Legislation in South Africa, in http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm