UPGRADING GAUTENG’S INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
Volume 2 : Baseline study of Soshanguve South Ext. 4 and Johandeo
RESEARCHED FOR
The Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs
BY
Lucy Stevens and Stephen Rule
COMMUNITY AGENCY FOR SOCIAL ENQUIRY
August 1998
Published by: The Community Agency for Social Enquiry (C A S E)
PO Box 32882 Braamfontein 2017 Telephone: +27 (11) 403 4204 Fax: +27 (11) 403 1005 e-mail: [email protected] Web site address: http://www.case.org.za
Researched for: Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs © Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs
ISBN: 1-919776-09-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... III
LIST OF TABLES ...... IV
LIST OF FIGURES ...... IV
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... VI
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
OBJECTIVES ...... 3 METHODOLOGY ...... 4 Selecting respondents for the survey ...... 5 Note on statistical techniques used ...... 7
SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXTENSION 4 ...... 8
1. BACKGROUND TO SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXT. 4 ...... 8 2. GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF RESIDENTS ...... 10 Home language ...... 10 Migration histories ...... 10 Length of time in Soshanguve South Ext. 4 and Gauteng ...... 11 Cities are better places to live than rural areas ...... 12 Reason for coming to Soshanguve South Ext. 4...... 13 3. COMMUNITY AND HOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 14 Household structure ...... 14 Community age-sex distribution ...... 16 Characteristics of heads of household ...... 17 Employment, dependence and poverty in the community ...... 21 4. HOUSING ...... 26 Subsidies ...... 26 Tenure ...... 28 Type of dwelling ...... 28 Upgrading ...... 31 5. FACILITIES, PRIORITIES AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES ...... 33 What services exist at the moment? ...... 33 Priorities for services ...... 34 Developments ...... 35 Payment for services ...... 36 6. PROBLEMS IN THE COMMUNITY ...... 37 Crime ...... 37 7. COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS AND DYNAMICS ...... 38 Organisations and membership ...... 38 Settling conflicts ...... 39 Community meetings ...... 40 Relationship between the community and local government ...... 40 8. INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY ...... 40 How well established are individuals? ...... 40 Powerlessness and isolation ...... 42 C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. ii
JOHANDEO ...... 45
1. BACKGROUND TO JOHANDEO ...... 45 2. GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF RESIDENTS ...... 47 Home language ...... 47 Migration histories ...... 48 Length of time in Johandeo and Gauteng ...... 49 Cities are better places to live than rural areas ...... 50 Reason for coming to Johandeo ...... 51 3. COMMUNITY AND HOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 53 Household structure ...... 53 Community age-sex distribution ...... 56 Characteristics of heads of household ...... 57 Employment, dependence and poverty in the community ...... 61 4. HOUSING ...... 66 Subsidies ...... 66 Tenure ...... 67 Type of dwelling ...... 68 Upgrading ...... 71 5. SERVICES, PRIORITIES AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES ...... 72 What services exist at the moment? ...... 72 Priorities for services ...... 73 Developments ...... 75 Payment for services ...... 76 6. PROBLEMS IN THE COMMUNITY ...... 77 Crime ...... 77 7. COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS AND DYNAMICS ...... 77 Organisations and membership ...... 77 Settling conflicts ...... 78 Community meetings ...... 79 Relationship between the community and local government ...... 79 8. INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY ...... 80 How well established are individuals? ...... 80 Powerlessness and isolation ...... 82
CONCLUSIONS ...... 84
C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The co-operation of the residents of Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo in providing information to our fieldworkers and researchers has made the task of compiling this report enjoyable. The assistance of staff of the Department of Land Affairs, especially Dumisa Dlamini, George van Rensburg and Director, Carien Engelbrecht is also gratefully acknowledged. Our thanks to the fieldwork department, particularly Steve Motlatla, Nobayeti Dube, Thuli Khanye, and the interviewers and focus group monitors and to Debbie Budlender for her editorial comments. Pan African Surveys took the aerial photographs.
C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. iv
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: LUMP SUM HOUSING SUBSIDIES AVAILABLE FROM DHLA TO LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ...... 2 TABLE 2: COMPOSITION OF FOCUS GROUPS ...... 4 TABLE 3: WHEN DID YOU MOVE TO SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXTENSION 4? ...... 12 TABLE 4: CITIES ARE BETTER PLACES TO LIVE THAN RURAL AREAS ...... 12 TABLE 5: QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN THE SCORE FOR HOW SETTLED RESPONDENTS ARE ...... 41 TABLE 6: RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN SCORE FOR FEELINGS OF POWERLESSNESS ...... 43 TABLE 7: ESTIMATE OF POPULATION SIZE OF JOHANDEO, AT TIME OF THE SURVEY (JANUARY 1998)...... 47 TABLE 8: WHEN DID YOU MOVE TO JOHANDEO? ...... 49 TABLE 9: CITIES ARE BETTER PLACES TO LIVE THAN RURAL AREAS...... 50 TABLE 10: HOUSEHOLD FORM, MAYIBUYE SECTION OF JOHANDEO ...... 54 TABLE 11: INCOME OF HOUSEHOLDS IN MAYIBUYE SECTION OF JOHANDEO ACCORDING TO SUBSIDY CATEGORIES...... 66 TABLE 12: QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN THE SCORE FOR HOW SETTLED RESPONDENTS ARE IN THE MAYIBUYE SECTION OF JOHANDEO ...... 80 TABLE 13: RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN SCORE FOR FEELINGS OF POWERLESSNESS, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO ...... 82
LIST OF FIGURES
SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXTENSION 4
FIGURE 1: BIRTHPLACE OF SOSHANGUVE EXT. 4 RESPONDENTS ...... 10 FIGURE 2: PREVIOUS PLACE OF RESIDENCE OF SOSHANGUVE EXT. 4 RESPONDENTS ...... 11 FIGURE 3: HOUSEHOLD SIZE ...... 14 FIGURE 4: HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ...... 15 FIGURE 5: AGE-SEX PYRAMID FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF SAMPLED HOUSEHOLDS ...... 16 FIGURE 6: AGE OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ...... 17 FIGURE 7: EDUCATION LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ..... 18 FIGURE 8: OCCUPATION OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ...... 19 FIGURE 9: TYPE OF WORK DONE (ALL RESPONDENTS, BY SEX) ...... 20 FIGURE 10: TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME PER MONTH ...... 22 FIGURE 11: TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME PER MONTH BY SEX OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD ...... 23 FIGURE 12: IF YOU ARE EVER DESPERATE FOR MONEY, HOW CAN YOU GET SOME? ...... 25 FIGURE 13: ITEMS ON WHICH „SOME‟ OR „MOST‟ OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS SPENT ...... 26 FIGURE 14: NUMBER OF ROOMS (DIVIDED BY A SOLID STRUCTURE) IN DWELLING ...... 29 FIGURE 15: ESTIMATED COST OF CONSTRUCTING THE DWELLING ...... 30 FIGURE 16: WHO BUILT THE DWELLING, BY SEX OF RESPONDENT...... 30 FIGURE 17: HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPGRADE YOUR DWELLING? ...... 32 FIGURE 18: HAVE YOU UPGRADED YOUR DWELLING IN THE PAST, AND IF SO, WHERE DID YOU GET THE MONEY? . 32 FIGURE 19: SERVICES MOST URGENTLY NEEDED IN SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXTENSION 4 ...... 35 FIGURE 20: HOW MUCH CAN YOU AFFORD TO PAY, AND HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR SERVICES? ... 37 FIGURE 21: ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERSHIP OF SOSHANGUVE EXT. 4 HOUSEHOLDS ...... 39 FIGURE 22: COMPOSITE SCORE FOR HOW WELL SETTLED RESPONDENTS ARE ...... 41 FIGURE 23: COMPOSITE SCORE FOR HOW POWERLESS AND ISOLATED RESPONDENTS FEEL ...... 43 C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. v
JOHANDEO
FIGURE 24: BIRTHPLACES OF HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN JOHANDEO (MAYIBUYE SECTION) ...... 48 FIGURE 25: WHERE DID YOU LIVE BEFORE COMING TO JOHANDEO? ...... 49 FIGURE 26: HOUSEHOLD SIZE, MAYIBUYE SECTION OF JOHANDEO ...... 53 FIGURE 27: HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, MAYIBUYE SECTION OF JOHANDEO...... 55 FIGURE 28: AGE-SEX DISTRIBUTION OF JOHANDEO (MAYIBUYE) RESIDENTS ...... 56 FIGURE 29: AGE OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 57 FIGURE 30: EDUCATION LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 58 FIGURE 31: OCCUPATION OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD FOR MALE-HEADED AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 59 FIGURE 32: TYPES OF WORK AVAILABLE IN JOHANDEO – ALL RESPONDENTS IN MAYIBUYE SECTION, BY SEX ...... 60 FIGURE 33: TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME PER MONTH, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 62 FIGURE 34: TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME PER MONTH, BY SEX OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 63 FIGURE 35: IF YOU ARE EVER DESPERATE FOR MONEY, HOW CAN YOU GET SOME? ...... 64 FIGURE 36: ITEMS ON WHICH „SOME‟ OR „MOST‟ HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS SPENT, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO...... 65 FIGURE 37: NUMBER OF ROOMS (DIVIDED BY A SOLID STRUCTURE) IN DWELLING ...... 69 FIGURE 38: ESTIMATED COST OF CONSTRUCTING THE DWELLING ...... 69 FIGURE 39: WHO BUILT THE DWELLING, BY SEX OF RESPONDENT...... 70 FIGURE 40: HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPGRADE YOUR DWELLING? ...... 71 FIGURE 41: HAVE YOU UPGRADED YOUR DWELLING IN THE PAST, AND IF SO, WHERE DID YOU GET THE MONEY? . 72 FIGURE 42: SERVICES MOST URGENTLY NEEDED IN THE MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO ...... 73 FIGURE 43: HOW MUCH CAN YOU AFFORD TO PAY, AND HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR SERVICES, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO ...... 76 FIGURE 44: ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERSHIP OF JOHANDEO (MAYIBUYE) HOUSEHOLDS...... 78 FIGURE 45: HOW WOULD YOU RESOLVE A CONFLICT WITH YOUR NEIGHBOUR, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO .. 78 FIGURE 46: COMPOSITE SCORE FOR HOW SETTLED RESPONDENTS ARE IN JOHANDEO ...... 81 FIGURE 47: COMPOSITE SCORE FOR HOW POWERLESS AND ISOLATED RESPONDENTS FEEL, MAYIBUYE SECTION, JOHANDEO ...... 83
Baseline report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Executive Summary. vi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background In November 1996 the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs embarked upon two programmes to address the issues of landlessness and tenure insecurity in the province. Twenty-two sites around Gauteng have been designated for the Mayibuye Programme (MP) which arranges the release of vacant land for settlement by identified communities. Sites are surveyed and pegged, and water is supplied. The second scheme involves the upgrading of existing informal settlements. C A S E was commissioned in June 1997 by the GDHLA to monitor these programmes over a four year period. Two settlements from each scheme were selected as part of the study. Volume 1 of this study reports the baseline for the two existing informal settlements. This report (Volume 2) constitutes the baseline report for the two MP sites (Johandeo and Soshanguve South Extension 4). The fieldwork for this study was conducted in January and April 1998.
Methodology A systematic random sample of two hundred households was selected from each of the two MP sites chosen for the time-series study. The sites are Johandeo, northeast of Vanderbijlpark and Soshanguve South Extension 4, northwest of Pretoria. Interviews of approximately forty- five minutes were conducted with the heads of households about their origins, reasons for coming to the settlement, economic circumstances, house upgrading plans and perceptions about the settlement. The household head was defined as “the person who makes the most important decisions about how money is spent”. In some cases, both partners may have an equal say in which case the fieldworker interviewed either partner. Separately, a series of three focus groups of residents from each settlement were held to explore their lives and views in greater depth. Interviews with local city councillors and other key members of the communities concerned were conducted to complement the grassroots perspectives.
Background to the sites Johandeo comprises 2009 residential stands. 608 of these were settled in 1994 and form an area called „Phase 1‟ or Polokong. The other 1 401 stands to the east of the original settlement form the Mayibuye section which was settled in March 1997. Most are now occupied and the estimated population is between 6 200 and 7 100 (a third in Phase 1 and two thirds in the Mayibuye section). This report focuses on the Mayibuye section of the settlement, but makes comparisons with the older section. Soshanguve South Extension 4 is the western section of a larger MP including Extension 5 which is still to be developed. It is situated northwest of Pretoria on the southern periphery of Soshanguve. The settlement layout for Extension 4 comprises about 2 800 residential stands. About 2 000 of these were occupied in January 1998, translating into an estimated population of between 7 000 and 8 100. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Executive Summary. vii
Origins of residents Most of the current household heads in both sites moved there from settlements relatively close by. Of those in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo, more than three-quarters (86%) moved from elsewhere in the Vaal region, especially the Golden Highway and Sebokeng areas. Fewer (39%) were born in Gauteng or the Vaal region however, with almost two out of five having been born in the Free State (37%). This is reflected in the languages spoken. The main language spoken in Johandeo (MP area) is Sesotho (71%), with smaller proportions of households speaking isiZulu (12%) or isiXhosa (11%). In the case of Soshanguve South Extension 4, almost two-thirds (62%) moved there from other parts of Soshanguve (especially Chris Hani settlement). Smaller proportions moved from elsewhere in Gauteng (17%), from North West (16%) or from other provinces (6%). In both the Mayibuye section of Johandeo and Soshanguve, most households had moved in during the few months following the establishment of the settlements in March and June 1997. Soshanguve South Extension 4 is more ethnically diverse than Johandeo. Four home languages account for four-fifths of households. These are Sepedi (28%), Xitsonga (21%), Setswana (19%) and isiZulu (14%). Soshanguve households appear to be considerably more settled than their counterparts in Johandeo. Almost half (46%) of the former settled there in order to achieve security of tenure as opposed to only 2% of the latter. One in five (19%) of Johandeo households see their current abode as only temporary. This raises the potential for large-scale movements out of Johandeo if new development occurs faster on land adjacent to the settlement. The other main reasons for coming to the Mayibuye section of Johandeo and to Soshanguve were simply to have somewhere to live (25% Soshanguve; 32% Johandeo) or to gain independence from one‟s family (13% Soshanguve; 14% Johandeo). In Johandeo, smaller numbers wanted to avoid paying rent (12%) or to escape the treatment they had been receiving from their former landlords.
Demographic characteristics The average size of households in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo is 3,4 as opposed to 3,8 in Soshanguve. The composition of households differed with more children aged 15 or under (1,5 on average) in Soshanguve compared with 1,2 in Johandeo. In both settlements the number of females exceeded the number of males and in both cases the proportion of the population aged 16 to 20 years was low in comparison with other age categories. Few heads of households in the two settlements had achieved an educational level of Standard 10 or more. In the Mayibuye section of Johandeo this was the case for only 5% of male heads (no females) and in Soshanguve, 6% of males and 5% of females had been educated to matric level or beyond. Overall, Soshanguve household heads were slightly better educated than those in Johandeo MP. In Soshanguve only 47% had received a primary education or none at all, as opposed to 57% in Johandeo.
Baseline report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Executive Summary. viii
Economic circumstances About one in five heads of households in both settlements can be classified as unemployed (Johandeo, MP 21%; Soshanguve 22%) as opposed to about half of all adults in each case (Johandeo, MP 51%; Soshanguve 47%). These statistics varied significantly by gender. In the Mayibuye section of Johandeo only 76% of women were unemployed and in Soshanguve, 65% were unemployed. The figures for males, in contrast, were 26% and 33% respectively. The highest proportion of households in each settlement earned between R401 and R600 per month. However, poverty levels in Johandeo were higher with half of the households earning R560 per month or less, compared with R925 or less in Soshanguve. Again, female-headed households were poorer in both cases. In Johandeo, half of the female- headed households had a total monthly income of R350 or less, compared with R680 for male-headed households. In Soshanguve, 50% of female-headed households had a total monthly income of R500 or less, compared with R1 025 for male-headed households. Also indicative of the slightly lower level of poverty in Soshanguve compared with that in Johandeo was that only 48% of households in Soshanguve said they were „never‟ able to save money compared with 61% in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo.
Housing characteristics More than nine out of ten dwellings in both settlements are made of corrugated iron, with a few constructed of wood, cardboard or brick. Most in Soshanguve (59%) had a single room, with relatively few (11%) divided into four or more rooms. Johandeo had on average more rooms, with only one-third (33%) being one-roomed and 28% two-roomed. Greater expense was incurred in the construction of the Soshanguve dwellings, however. Half of these cost more than R1 450 to construct, as opposed to the median cost of R800 in Johandeo. Most respondents said that they would like to upgrade their present dwellings (Johandeo 77%; Soshanguve 96%). One in eight (12%) of Johandeo households and one in five (18%) of Soshanguve households had already done this in the six months since coming to the settlements. The most common intention was to enlarge the size of the house (Johandeo 64%; Soshanguve 68%). Others in Johandeo said that they wanted to improve the walls and roof of their dwellings (46%), add windows (35%) or improve the internal fittings (32%). The next priorities in Soshanguve were to add windows (45%), improve internal fittings (35%) or improve the yard (23%). Almost all survey respondents in both settlements indicated that they owned the stands on which their homes were situated. Although fieldworkers were instructed not to probe this issue, several respondents mentioned that they did not yet have title deeds to the land, affecting their sense of security in the settlements. The processes for acquiring land seemed to differ in the two sites. One third of households in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo said they had paid someone for the site (between R10 and R250) in comparison with only 1% in Soshanguve. Lower levels of understanding of the subsidy system were apparent among focus group participants from Johandeo than those from Soshanguve, although both complained of a lack of activity from their local committees. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Executive Summary. ix
Developments and services In terms of bulk services, both sites were provided with a water supply only before they were settled. Each stand has a tap in the yard. Priorities for services were similar across both settlements. Top of the list was the need for electrification (Johandeo 42%; Soshanguve 46%), followed by sewerage (Johandeo 33%; Soshanguve 38%) and water provision inside the dwelling (Johandeo 23%; Soshanguve 30%).
Community dynamics Only 13% of Soshanguve households did not have at least one member who was affiliated to a community organisation. Organisations to which they were linked were mainly churches (63%), a women‟s organisation (44%), political organisations (36%), street committees (22%) and trade unions (20%). In the Mayibuye section of Johandeo household members tended to belong to fewer organisations. Church membership was high (81%) and only 8% belonged to no organisation. However, relatively few participated in other community organisations (women‟s 23%, political 17%). Most residents in both settlements (Johandeo 86%; Soshanguve 92%) said that they feel part of the communities in which they now live. There was more evidence in Johandeo, however, of people who might move elsewhere should the opportunity arise.
Conclusions Several factors differentiate the new Mayibuye settlements at Johandeo and Soshanguve South Extension 4: 1. Whereas residents from the Mayibuye section of Johandeo are largely a single linguistic group (Sesotho), in Soshanguve several groups comprise the population (Sepedi, Xitsonga, Setswana, and isiZulu). In both cases, the bulk of households had moved from places in close proximity to their new homes. 2. Soshanguve households are slightly larger than those in Johandeo and more committed to remaining and settling there in the long term. This is an interesting finding given the greater ethnic diversity of Soshanguve. Members of Soshanguve households tend to be members of more local organisations than their counterparts in Johandeo, even though both settlements came into existence in the first half of 1997. 3. Economic circumstances, although poor in both settlements, are considerably better in Soshanguve. There are more people employed and generally higher levels of household income in Soshanguve. Consequently larger capital investments have been made in constructing dwellings there than in Johandeo.
Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Introduction. 1
INTRODUCTION Almost one third (31%) of the 7 million residents of Gauteng were not born in the province and one in seven1 of these were born beyond the borders of South Africa. Many of those not born in Gauteng are thought to be recent immigrants. One estimate is that in the December/January period after the 1994 elections, 200 000 people entered Gauteng, and that currently 20 000 flood into the province every month.2 The consequent burden on existing housing stock, municipal services such as piped water, sewerage reticulation and electricity, and vacant land, is massive. Until the 1980s most South Africans were excluded from purchasing property in urban areas. The legacy of apartheid and racially restrictive settlement policies is overcrowded township houses, backyard shacks and mushrooming informal settlements to accommodate those who choose to move into less crowded shack settlements. Such is the demand for land that “land mafia” can charge R50 to sign individuals up on a „housing list‟ to help them settle on invaded land, plus up to R30 a month once they have moved in protection and legal fees.3 The White Paper on Housing4 states clearly the intention of the government to provide accommodation and basic services for all: Government strives for the establishment of viable, socially and economically integrated communities, situated in areas allowing convenient access to economic opportunities as well as health, educational and social amenities, within which all South Africa‟s people will have access on a progressive basis to: a permanent residential structure with secure tenure, ensuring privacy and providing adequate protection against the elements; and potable water, adequate sanitary facilities including waste disposal and domestic electricity supply. To this end, Provincial departments of Housing and Land Affairs have been empowered to grant a housing subsidy to qualifying households. The actual amount of the housing subsidy granted varies from R5 000 to R15 000, depending on the level of household income as indicated in Table 1. In the event of the land being difficult to build on, an additional amount of 15% may be accessed. The housing subsidy may only be used for purchasing housing, land, and fencing or for installing services. For example, the subsidy can be used for:5 installing bulk services in a community purchasing building materials
1 Extrapolated from migration statistics table (5.1) of the October 1995 Household Survey. Pretoria: Central Statistical Services, p.49. 2 The Saturday Star 21/2/98, p.9. 3 The Saturday Star 21/2/98, p.9. 4 Department of Housing White Paper: A new housing policy and strategy for South Africa (Pretoria: Department of Housing, 1994), p.21. 5 Department of Housing White Paper: A new housing policy and strategy for South Africa (Pretoria: Department of Housing, 1994), p.41. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 2
building a starter top structure (house) expanding an existing starter top structure off-setting, in part or in full, a housing loan paying a deposit in order to gain access to a housing loan improving security of tenure by purchasing land.
LEVEL MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF SUBSIDY AMOUNT BENEFICIARY 1 R0 to R800 R15 000 2 R801 to R1 500 R12 500 3 R1 501 to R2 500 R9 500 4 R2 501 to R3 500 R5 000 5 R3 501+ R0
Table 1: Lump sum housing subsidies available from DHLA to low income households6 In November 1996, the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs (GDHLA) embarked upon two programmes to address the issues of landlessness and tenure insecurity in the province. Both programmes are linked to the provision of housing subsidies. They are known as the Mayibuye Programme (MP) and the Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme (ISUP). The MP arranges the release of vacant land to facilitate security of tenure for residential settlements. Housing subsidies are used to survey and peg the land, purchase the sites, and install basic services, with the remainder used for building a basic house. Residents are able to move onto the land after it has been surveyed and deemed suitable. The aim of this programme is to release land to the landless quickly to pre-empt invasions, and to help avoid situations where people settle on land such as flood plains and rubbish dumps which would be unsafe for permanent structures. The ISUP involves the purchase of land, using money from housing subsidies, by individuals that are already occupying informal settlements, as the first step to the upgrading of the settlement. Both programmes envisage the sale of individually surveyed stands to occupants and the installation or upgrading of electricity, water, sewerage reticulation and roads in the settlements. The programmes rely on the access of individual low-income households to the national housing subsidy of R15 000. Providing security of tenure is seen as an impetus for the creation of viable, integrated and well-functioning communities. Since the commencement of the two programmes, significant progress has been made. By mid-June 1998, a total of 30 869 sites at 22 separate locations had been approved for settlement for the MP programme. Half (50%) of the provincial budgetary allocation amount of R39,25 million had been disbursed and work was in progress at all but three of the sites.
6 Matthew Nell, p.10. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Introduction. 3
The twenty-two MP sites are Commercia, Johandeo, Welgedacht Ext. 1, Kwa-Thema Ext. 3, Bekkersdal NDP, Reiger Park Ext. 5, Munsieville, Boipatong, Soshanguve Exts. 4 and 5, Atteridgeville Ext. 16, Simunye Ext. 2, Blaauwbank, Mamelodi Ext. 6, Kingsway, Tshepiso North, Soshanguve South Exts. 8 and 9, Ned Pillay, Windmill Park, Vlakfontein, Mamelodi Ext. 22, Heidelberg Ext. 23 and Zandspruit 1. The ISUP sites are listed in an earlier report.7
Objectives In June 1997, C A S E was commissioned to conduct research over a four year period in two ISUP sites (Eatonside and Albertina) and two MP sites (Soshanguve South Extension 4, and Johandeo). Figure 1 shows the location of the four selected sites.
Figure 1: Location of fieldwork sites
7 Stevens, L., & Rule, S.: Upgrading Gauteng‟s Informal Settlements. Volume 1: A baseline study of Eatonside and Albertina (Etwatwa Extension 30) (Braamfontein: C A S E, 1998) p.3. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 4
Overall, the research aims to assess the extent to which the programmes meet the vision and objectives of government housing policy as outlined on page 1 of this report. The specific objectives of the research are to: conduct comprehensive physical and socio-economic baseline surveys of the residents and environments at two ISUP sites and two MP sites. These surveys will be conducted using a range of quantitative and qualitative techniques; collect regular updates on the physical consolidation of sites, the impact of the settlements on the existing social environment, the urbanisation of households at the selected sites and the attitudinal changes which occur amongst residents in respect of their dwellings and future outlooks in relation to tenurial security, over a four-year period; utilise the data to assess the extent to which policies are achieving their goals and highlighting aspects and issues that need further attention by the GDHLA. This report constitutes the baseline study of the two selected MP sites. It is complemented by an earlier report on the baseline study of the two ISUP sites.8
Methodology Two sites in which the MP is operating were selected for this time series study. It was decided to select sites in different parts of Gauteng in order not to bias findings in favour of any particular region. The two sites chosen to represent the MP were (i) Soshanguve South Extension 4 and (ii) Johandeo. New data were obtained about the two settlements using a variety of methods: comprehensive new questionnaire baseline surveys of samples of 200 households in each settlement. Households were selected systematically using a random starting point in each site; new aerial photographs of each settlement; in-depth interviews with community leaders and municipal councillors three focus groups of residents selected randomly from each settlement, consisting of either men or women and a mixture of employed and unemployed groups:
1 Unemployed women, 18-25 years Soshanguve South Ext. 4 focus 2 Employed men, 25-40 years, groups household heads 3 Unemployed men, 40+ years 1 Unemployed men, 18-25 years Johandeo focus groups 2 Employed women, 25-40 years, household heads 3 Unemployed women, 40+ years
Table 2: Composition of focus groups
8 Stevens, L., & Rule, S.: Upgrading Gauteng‟s Informal Settlements. Volume 1: A baseline study of Eatonside and Albertina (Etwatwa Extension 30) (Braamfontein: C A S E, 1998) Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Introduction. 5
Additional data will be collected during subsequent years to monitor developments by means of: reports from the continuous monitoring of growth and development of each settlement by local residents (site monitors) employed for this purpose updates of physical and socio-economic data using smaller sample questionnaire interventions on a six-monthly basis monitoring of property market trends in adjacent formal settlements.
Selecting respondents for the survey For the purposes of this survey, fieldworkers were instructed to interview the head of the household defined as “the person who makes the most important decisions about how money is spent”. In some cases, both partners may have an equal say in which case the fieldworker interviewed either partner. There has been debate about the usefulness of the concept of „household head‟. For example, a World Bank publication argues that: The most serious problem with the use of the concept of headship … has to do with the assumptions it carries. The term assumes that a hierarchical relationship exists between household members and that the head is the most important member; that the head is a regular presence in the home; has overriding authority in important household decision matters; and, provides a consistent and central economic support… The common practice among survey researchers and analysts to impute the characteristics of the head to the household only serves to aggravate the problem. In doing this, researchers tacitly assume that the head‟s information is the most important…9
Whilst recognising these problems, it was considered important to attempt to identify, and to interview the household head for a number of reasons. In order to gain accurate information about, for example, household income and expenditure. A randomly selected household member may not have been able to provide this information. In order to record the opinions and perceptions of the (or at least of one of the) key decision-maker(s) in the household. In order to tie in with housing subsidies where the application is made by the head of household. This helps to justify a focus on the characteristics, opinions and perceptions of the household head.10
9 Rosenhouse, S.: Identifying the Poor: Is „Headship‟ a Useful Concept? LSMS Working Paper No.58, World Bank, Washington DC, 1989, p.4. 10 It should be noted that in this survey, respondents were not asked whether they had applied for a subsidy and whether the application was in their name. Making this a criterion for selecting respondents would have been too limiting given that not all households have applied for subsidies. Also, while in theory the „household head‟ would have filled in the subsidy application form, this may not always have been the case. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 6
In order to classify households on the basis of the sex of the household head. This is of interest because of the worldwide concern that woman-headed households are particularly disadvantaged. Three main ways of identifying household heads are used in most surveys.11 In this research, the identification of the household head mixed elements of all three. a) “Self-definition: that is classifying as the head of household the person who nominates himself or herself as the head.” At each dwelling, the fieldworker asked who the head of the household was, and interviewed that person. b) “Identification of the person in authority, that is, the person who controls the maintenance of the household and exercises the authority to run the household.” The question of authority to make decisions is included in the definition used in this research in terms of making decisions over money. c) “Identification of the economic supporter of the household, that is, the chief earner or the main supporter of the household‟s economy.” The specification in this research that the head should be the person who makes important decisions over money links the definition to economic factors. Report-backs from fieldworkers indicated that women may have been over-sampled. This was particularly the case when the husband was not at home at the time the interviewer first called. In these circumstances, the woman often identified herself as the „head of the household‟, or at least and „equal partner‟ with her husband. She may also have been curious about the survey, and interested to be interviewed herself. Finally, there may have been an element of convenience on the part of the fieldworkers. If the woman identified herself as either „head‟ or an „equal partner‟ they were unlikely to challenge this, as they had an interest in completing the interview rather than setting a time to return. For all these reasons the sex of respondents cannot be taken as an accurate reflection of the sex of the „head of the household‟ even under the definition specified. This is more a failing of the definition and methodology used than of the fieldworkers themselves. The survey respondent should be seen more as a „household reference person‟ than as necessarily the „head‟. In order to estimate more accurately which households were female-headed and which were male-headed for the purposes of analysis, a combination of three issues was taken into consideration. These were: a) self-identification by members of the household b) who the main contributor to the household income was, and c) any relevant comments recorded by the fieldworker (for example “I interviewed the wife because the husband comes home late from work”). In recognition of the criticisms of the concept of household headship, in this survey, household form is also considered. In addition to analysing data on the basis of whether the household head is a male or female, households where there are no adult men can be identified. It is important to single out this group because the number of adult men may have
11 Department of International Economic and Social Affairs: Improving Statistics and Indicators on Women using Household Surveys, Series F No.48, Statistical Office and International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, United Nations, New York, 1988, p.53. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4 and Johandeo: Introduction. 7 implications in terms of potential income, and in terms of the opportunities and constraints facing a household.12
Note on statistical techniques used In analysing the data from the questionnaire surveys a number of statistical tests were used to establish whether observed differences in the data could have simply occurred by chance, or whether they were significant. For example, the data may suggest that female household- heads are less educated on average than male household-heads. A statistical test can establish the probability of this difference having simply occurred by chance, as a result of some unforeseen bias in the sample of households selected. Where statistical tests have been carried out, reference has been made to the type of test used and its result in the form of a „P‟ (probability) value. If the value is 0,05 or smaller, this means there is a 95% chance that the difference did not occur by chance. The difference is significant at the 5% level. In other words, there is a 95% chance that the difference observed in our sample exists in the population of the site as a whole. If the value is 0,01 or smaller, there is a 99% chance that the difference did not occur by chance, in which case the difference is significant at the 1% level.
12 Budlender, D.: The debate about household headship, Central Statistical Service, 1997, p.16. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 8
SOSHANGUVE SOUTH EXTENSION 4
1. Background to Soshanguve South Ext. 4 The first of the two Mayibuye sites selected comprises Soshanguve South Extensions 4 and 5, of which only Extension 4 has been developed to date. Extension 4 has approximately 2 800 stands, and by January 1998 (when this survey was conducted), approximately 2 000 were occupied. An aerial photograph of the site is shown overleaf (Figure 2). The site is situated at the southern extremity of Soshanguve, about 30 kilometres north west of central Pretoria and adjacent to Mabopane. Originally, Soshanguve was established as a commuter township for Pretoria. It was located immediately east of the boundary of Bophuthatswana, designated as a settlement for non-Setswana-speaking inhabitants of the ethnic Tswana homeland to be established in terms of the grand apartheid policy. Soshanguve is an acronym for Sotho- Shangaan-Nguni-Venda. A total of R3 575 000 was budgeted for the development of the Mayibuye site. Residents who had been living in the Chris Hani and PP informal settlements of Soshanguve began to occupy Extension 4 in June 1997. Stand numbers were allocated to households by a local committee before people moved to the new area. By June 1998, 63% of the budget had been disbursed by the province and about half of the erfs in Extension 4 had been occupied. A degree of reluctance by some residents to move from Chris Hani settlement had arisen in response to a misconceived rumour that it too would be developed shortly.13 Understandably, residents were reluctant to move with this in mind. All development thus far has been in Extension 4, the idea being to allocate all the erfs there before beginning on Extension 5. The site is part of Ward 10 of the Northern Pretoria Metropolitan Council, which includes Soshanguve Extensions 1, 2, 3, 4, TT, WW, UU, XX, H, L, M, M extension, phase 3 and phase 4. In the November 1995 local council elections, three political parties (ANC, NP, and PAC) and an independent candidate contested the ward. The ANC won about three- quarters of the votes cast (5 700; one third of registered voters) and the elected councillor was Mr. Lesiba Thomas Matlou. This was prior to the establishment of Extension 4, however. Many current residents had voted for the ANC in their previous settlement (Chris Hani) and the elected councillor there is Mr. Mabusela. A committee formed by the Chris Hani community continues to hold office after facilitating the move to Extension 4. Members include Mr. Andries Kekae (chair), Mr. Mbambo, Mr. Simon Ngwasheng, Mr. Phineas Chauke, Mr. Joseph Shibambo and Mr. Lebete.
13 Interview with local councillor, Mr. L.T. Matlou (Ward 10, Northern Pretoria Municipal Council), 12 June 1998. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 9
Figure 2: Soshanguve South Extension 4 from the air: 22/5/98 C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 10
2. Geographic origins of residents
Home language Three languages are used most often as home languages in Soshanguve South extension 4. The largest proportion of respondents (28%) spoke Sepedi. The two other commonly used languages were Xitsonga (21%) and Setswana (19%). Fourteen percent of respondents spoke isiZulu. The remaining 18% used one of five other South African languages as their home language. This pattern was replicated amongst members of three focus groups selected to give their views on developments in the area. Twelve of the thirty participants were speakers of Sepedi, another eight were Setswana, four spoke isiZulu and the rest were speakers of Xitsonga, isiNdebele, Siswati or Sesotho.
Migration histories
N Province 20%
Hammanskraal 20%
Selbourne 16%
N West Gauteng 16% 42% Pretoria (other) 47%
Gauteng (other) Mpumalanga 17% 15% FS Other 4% Prov. 3%
Figure 3: Birthplace of Soshanguve Ext. 4 respondents Two-fifths (42%) of respondents told us that they had been born in Gauteng, primarily in the northern parts of the province, in and around Pretoria. Almost all of the rest were born in the three adjacent provinces: Northern Province (20%), North West (16%) and Mpumalanga (15%). This pattern reflects the process of urbanisation that is occurring in the direction of South Africa‟s major metropolitan centres. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 11
Other Prov. 1% Chris Hani-Sosh. 42%
NW 16% Gauteng 79% Sosh. PP 22%
N.Prov. 2% Sosh. othr 25% Mpumal. 3%
Pretoria 10% Other 2%
Figure 4: Previous place of residence of Soshanguve Ext. 4 respondents Eight out of ten respondents had been living elsewhere in Gauteng prior to their move to Extension 4. The vast majority of these had moved from the same neighbourhood, namely other parts of Soshanguve, especially the Chris Hani and Extension PP informal settlements (two focus group participants said that these two names referred to the same place), where the water table was said to be too close to the ground surface to allow for construction of houses. It was these informal households that were specifically earmarked for occupation of Extension 4 in the Mayibuye project. Some of the focus group members had come from Orange Farm and other informal settlements such as Nirvana and Apla. Several focus group participants were under the impression that the government was going to refund them for expenses incurred in moving to Extension 4 and expressed impatience that this had not yet occurred.
Length of time in Soshanguve South Ext. 4 and Gauteng Almost all respondents (95%) had lived in Gauteng for 4 years or more. Settlement in Soshanguve South Extension 4 was supposed to begin in June 1997. However, results from this survey indicate that 9% of residents moved into the area prior to that date, and that since June 1997, movement to the settlement has occurred gradually. The highest proportion of respondents (48%) moved in between October and December 1997, a figure which appeared to correlate with the dates of arrival of most focus group participants. Nine out of ten (91%) had moved to the settlement between July 1997 and the end of January 1998 when the survey was conducted.
C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 12
Moved Real date < 1 month ago Jan „98 9% 1-3 months ago Oct-Nov „97 48% 4-6 months ago July-Sept „97 34% 7-12 months ago Jan-June „97 8% > 1 year, and < 3 years 1996 1%
Table 3: When did you move to Soshanguve South Extension 4?
Cities are better places to live than rural areas The sentiment in favour of urban versus rural localities was strong amongst most respondents. Only one in eight (12%) were pro-rural or unsure of their preference.
Strongly agree Agree Don‟t know Disagree Str. disagree 52% 37% 3% 6% 3%
Table 4: Cities are better places to live than rural areas Participants in the unemployed women‟s focus group were generally in favour of urban life. Points in its favour that were mentioned were the presence of “firms and shopping complexes which make job searching easier”, rapid transport (“when you are working in Pretoria you can leave home at 07:40 and at 08:00 you will be at work”, crèches, entertainment, telephones, clinics, proximity to town and the “fast” life. However, several disadvantages about living in cities were mentioned. These were crime, expensive lifestyles that include electricity and home loan repayments and disobedient children. Living in a rural environment was seen as advantageous in the view of one Extension 4 woman, who said “rural people are accustomed to such a life of collecting wood, using candles, fetching water from far distances, etc. They live a slow life without much crime, rapes, car hijackings and many other funny things that take place in urban areas”. Another said, “in rural areas there is still law abidance. If children are instructed in accordance with a law, they abide, unlike their counterparts in the urban areas”. One saw no problem with splitting the family. She felt that rural residents “are fine and live a normal and right life because they come to the cities to work while their children remain with their grannies at home. At the end of the month, they go back home with money for their families”. Others tended to focus on the disadvantages, mentioning such rural difficulties as obtaining transport, collecting wood, using candles and high levels of unemployment. One said “rural residents make use of hole toilets into which children sometimes fall when playing near them”. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 13
Reason for coming to Soshanguve South Ext. 4 Respondents gave three main reasons for moving to Soshanguve South Extension 4: 1. Security of tenure (46%) 2. Just wanted somewhere to live (25%) 3. Getting away from family and gaining independence (13%) Only 7% said they had moved because they were tired of being bullied by their previous landlord, and none mentioned avoidance of paying rent (a major reason for moving for residents of Eatonside). Only 3% said they moved in order to find a job or make money. It is of particular significance that almost half (46%) mentioned security of tenure as their reason for moving. This is a positive finding for the GDHLA and suggests a commitment among respondents to making Extension 4 their permanent home. These sentiments concurred with what was said in the focus groups. The issue of having one‟s “own place” was mentioned by several participants. A member of the employed male group said they had moved to Extension 4 “because in Chris Hani we were squatters, so there it was a place which is not ours. We wanted a place that is our own”. A proactive committee formed by the Chris Hani settlement “was given the responsibility of searching for a permanent settlement area … because people wished to build houses of their dreams, but they couldn‟t do so in a temporary residing area” (unemployed women). The committee approached the local authorities about being allocated permanent sites and this had resulted in their being moved to Extension 4. Another said “Here in Extension 4 it is better because you know that you occupy your own stand, even though we do not have title deeds.” A level of uncertainty still existed, as illustrated by his next comment that “we do not, however, have any permit or assurance that the place belongs to us”. Lack of services was the focus of another comment: “where we were staying before there were no schools, no streets, no water, no lights, no clinics. We were living just because we had to live, but you know that we were not living, we were dead” (employed men). Another traced his movements prior to coming to Extension 4, beginning with the occasion that he overheard an argument about use of the washing line between his wife and the landlady at their Mamelodi house. At that time he “predicted that we shall never stay happily in the landlady‟s house. I then decided to move to Mandela village at Mamelodi. I asked for a site there. I told them I shall buy building material so they told me they no longer sell sites. Fortunately when I arrived at Chris Hani I found that they were still selling sites. I talked to people who were responsible for sites and then I got a site. I built a shack and I went to take my wife and child to our new place”.
C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 14
3. Community and household demographics
Household structure For the purposes of this survey we defined household as “all the people who live here permanently for at least four days a week and who generally eat together or who take part in joint activities.” In Soshanguve South Extension 4, the mean household size was 3,8 people. The estimated number of occupied stands by April 1998 was 2 000, meaning that the total population of the settlement was between 7 000 and 8 100 residents. Figure 5 shows that over half the households (56%) had between 2 and 4 members. This can be broken down into adults and children, with adults defined as all those aged 16 years and over. The average household in Soshanguve South Extension 4 comprised 2,3 adults (slightly more women than men: 1,2 women, compared with 1,1 men), and 1,5 children (slightly more girls than boys: 0,8 girls compared with 0,7 boys). In other words, in the average household there were 1,5 adults per child.
20% 19% 19% 18%
15% 15% 12%
10%
6% 5% 5%
% of sampled households sampled of % 3% 2% 2%
0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ No. of people in household Figure 5: Household size Half (50%) of the households surveyed comprised one adult man and one adult woman. Of these, most (69%) included children. Just over a quarter of households (27%) comprised multiple adults (both men and women), and again, most (75%) included children. One in eight households (13%) included no adult men, and 9% consisted of adult men only (mostly without children). On the basis of the definition discussed in the introduction, 33% of households were female-headed. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 15
Structure Freq. % No children 30 31% 1 adult man + 1 adult woman 50% With children 68 69% Multiple adults (men & No children 13 25% 27% women) With children 40 75% No children 9 36% No adult men (women only) 13% With children 16 64% No children 17 94% No adult women (men only) 9% With children 1 6% (Plus one household with no adults at all) Note: for the purposes of this survey, „children‟ were defined as those aged 15 years and younger.
Differences in household structure by age and sex of household head There were significant differences in the structure of households by the age (not shown graphically) and sex of the household head (Figure 6). The younger the household head, the smaller the size of the household on average. In households where the head was under 35 years, the average size was 2,9 people. In comparison, where the head was 35 years or older, the household size was 3,9 people.14 There were no significant differences in household size between male- and female-headed households. However, in female-headed households, there were significantly more adult women (1,5 on average, compared with 1,0 in male-headed households).15
4.00 0.86
0.73 3.00 0.92 girls 0.62 boy s 2.00 women 1.04 men 1.46
1.00 1.24
0.88 Number of people in household (avg) in household people of Number 0.00 male-headed f emale-headed households households Figure 6: Household structure for male-headed and female-headed households
14 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,013. Significant at the 5% level. 15 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 16
Sons and daughters not living with respondent Just over half the respondents (52%) had sons or daughters who are not living with them. We did not ask how old these children were, but it is possible to infer this approximately from the age of the parents. This analysis is based on the assumption that a parent aged less than 35 years is unlikely to have children aged over 20 years. Of those with children living elsewhere, the majority (69%) were aged 35 or older. Their children are likely to be grown-up. However, 16% of respondents were aged under 35 and had children living elsewhere. We recognise the limitations of this information and in future phases of the research, a question will be included about how old respondent‟s children are who live elsewhere.
Community age-sex distribution Figure 7 shows the age-sex pyramid for all the 196 households sampled in Soshanguve South Extension 4. This gave us information about 740 residents.
86+ 81-85 male female 76-80 71-75 66-70 61-65 56-60 51-55 46-50 41-45 36-40 31-35 26-30 21-25 16-20 11-15 6-10 1-5 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 % of all residents in 196 sampled households Figure 7: Age-sex pyramid for all residents of sampled households The age-sex pyramid in Figure 7 indicates various features of the population of Extension 4. There were even numbers of males and females in the sampled households: 48,5% were male and 51,5% were female. The population of Extension 4 was young, with an average age of 24,2 years. Thirty nine per cent of the population were aged 15 or less, and 13% were aged under 5 years. In contrast to Johandeo, there were no significant differences by gender across the age categories. Characteristic of informal settlements in Gauteng in general, 16-20 year olds were under-represented in the population. It is likely that the population consists of young adults with young children (under 15 years). Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 17
Characteristics of heads of household As discussed in the introduction, for the purposes of this survey, we defined the head of the household as the “person who makes the most important decisions about how money is spent”. A third (33%) of households were defined as female-headed, and two thirds as male- headed. The average age of household heads in Soshanguve South Extension 4 was 40,5 years. However, this varied significantly by sex.16 The average age of female household heads was 46 years, compared with 37 years for male household heads. Seventeen percent of female household heads were aged 55 or over, compared with only 6% of male household heads.
men women 55+ 6 17
45-54 15 27
35-44 33 34
30-34 27 13 Age of household head household of Age
19-29 19 9
40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 % of male household heads % of female household heads Figure 8: Age of household head for male-headed and female-headed households
16 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 18
Among household heads in Soshanguve South Extension 4, levels of education were low. Just over half the respondents (53%) had either no schooling or were educated to the primary level only. This figure is only just higher than for African household heads in informal settlements in Gauteng as a whole (50%).17 Female household heads were significantly more likely to have a low level of education than male household heads.18 This is probably a reflection of both gender biases within the education system and the older average age of female household heads. Seven out of ten female household heads (72%) were educated to the primary level only, compared with 4 in 10 male household heads (39%).
men w omen Std. 10 or more 6 5
Std. 8-9 21 4
Std. 6-7 34 19
Primary 31 43
No formal 8 29 schooling
50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 % of male household heads % of female household heads Figure 9: Education level of household head for male-headed and female-headed households
17 Figures from Central Statistical Service, October Household Survey 1995 (Pretoria, Central Statistical Service, 1996). 18 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 19
The rate of unemployment19 among household heads (22%) was lower than that of adults in Soshanguve South Extension 4 as a whole (47%). This is not surprising, as the definition of „household head‟ was based partly on identifying the main contributor to household income. There were, however, significant differences between male and female household heads in their employment status (see Figure 10).20 A higher proportion of female household heads were pensioners (19%) compared with male household heads (4%). A far lower proportion of female household heads were employed full-time (29%) compared with male household heads (57%).
Male household heads Female household heads pensioner/ disabled student unemploy ed pensioner/ 4% 2% 7% disabled Working 19% f ull time 29%
Casual / piece jobs Working 27% f ull time 57% Working unemploy ed part time 27% 6% Working Casual / part time piece jobs 5% 17%
Figure 10: Occupation of household head for male-headed and female-headed households
19 Rate of unemployment is the proportion of the labour force that are unemployed. The „labour force‟ excludes students, full-time homemakers, pensioners, the disabled, and those under 16 years. 20 Chi² test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 20
The types of work available in Soshanguve South Extension 4 are shown below. The most common form of work is in informal businesses. This consists mostly of hawkers selling fruit, vegetables, drinks and cooked food. Five respondents owning spaza shops and one traditional healer are also included in this category. The second most common type of work was cleaning, which, along with informal businesses was the biggest source of employment for women. About 40% of cleaners worked in offices and businesses, while the remainder were domestic workers (including gardeners). The building industry was the third biggest employer in Soshanguve South extension 4 and the biggest source of work for men. This included a wide range of specialisms including bricklaying, plastering, plumbing and carpentry. The one woman employed in this category worked making bricks.
% of all w orking respondents 30 26 25 21 20 16 women 15 men 10 9 7 6 5 4 5 3 2 0
Cleaning Shops, other (unskilled) Skilled, artisan Casual labourer Informal business Building IndustryMechanic, driver Industrial/Factory Trained, professional Manager, supervisor businesses, clerical Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 11: Type of work done (all respondents, by sex) Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 21
Employment, dependence and poverty in the community
Employment As can be seen from the comments made by focus group respondents discussed in the section on „Poverty indicators and coping mechanisms‟ below, unemployment is a key cause of poverty in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Overall, rate of unemployment was 47%.19 Excluding those under 16 years, 44% of the population of Soshanguve South Extension 4 had some form of employment. A further 11% were studying, and 6% were pensioners or disabled. There were significant differences in employment rates between men and women in Soshanguve South Extension 4 as a whole. Among men aged 16 years and over, the unemployment rate was 27%, compared with 66% for women.21 Focus group participants commented on the need for jobs. One man complained that only a few local residents had been employed by the contractors laying the water pipes. The majority of their workers had come from Germiston.
Dependency Focus group participants talked about the dependency ratio in a household as another cause of poverty. As discussed below, one unemployed woman depicted poverty as “a family in which there are too many and no one works.” In 9% of cases, the household was surviving with no regular income at all. In 68% of households (some as large as 9 or 10 people) only one person was contributing to the household income. At the other end of the scale, in seven of the sampled households, there were three people contributing to the household‟s income. A percentage can be calculated of the number of people contributing to household income in relation to household size. In the average household, 40% (two out of five) people contributed some money towards household income. This was higher than the 35% on average who were employed. The difference can be accounted for by contributions from pensions and disability grants, and money given to a household on a regular basis by relatives. There were significant differences in the percentage employed in male and female headed households.22 This reflects the higher number of women in female-headed households and the higher rate of unemployment for women. On average, 26% of members of a female- headed household were employed compared to 39% in male-headed households. However, there were no significant differences in terms of the percentage of people contributing to household income. This implies that female-headed households rely more heavily on pensions, disability grants and support from relatives for their income than do male-headed households.
21 Chi² test. P=0,000. 22 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 22
Income Incomes among those sampled in Soshanguve South Extension 4 ranged from 15 households where there was no regular income, to 5 households earning over R3 000 per month. Half the households earned R925 per month or less. The highest proportion earned R401-R600. Household income per head ranged from households with no regular income, to those earning R2 000 per head. Half the sampled households had an income per head of R275 or less per month. 20
15
10
% of households of % 5
0
1-200 3000+ 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000 No regularincome 1001-12001201-14001401-16001601-18001801-20002001-25002501-3000 Figure 12: Total household income per month Total household income and income per head varied significantly by the sex of the household head.23 A third of female-headed households earned R401-R600 per month, while income for male-headed households was spread more evenly across a range of income levels. Fifty percent of female-headed households had a total monthly income of R500 or less, compared with R1 025 for male-headed households. There were also significant differences in household income per head, by the level of education of the household head.24 This was, however, closely related to the sex of the household head, as female household heads made up the majority of those with lower levels of education. Women tended to earn less, and support slightly larger households on the contributions of fewer members of the household.
23 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. 24 Spearman‟s rank correlation. P=0,005. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 23
35 male-headed female-headed 30
25
20
15
% of households of % 10
5
0
1-200 3000+ 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000 No regularincome 1001-12001201-14001401-16001601-18001801-20002001-25002501-3000 Figure 13: Total household income per month by sex of household head
Poverty indicators and coping mechanisms The meaning of poverty and wealth were discussed by focus group participants. It was felt that there were about “five or six” rich people in Extension 4. Wealth was not necessarily related to material possessions. For example, one participant felt that people in the settlement who drive “china eyes” (Mercedes Benzs) are not necessarily wealthy because the cars may be old. Wealth was described in terms of the ability to budget and economise effectively, and to be an entrepreneur. One woman said, “by wealth we understand that it relates to people who know how to budget. You are educated and you have had time to plan for your life. With the know-how you can use a certain amount of money for your needs and invest some in the bank”.
Another talked about the importance of being an entrepreneur. “If you are a boy for example and you are not lazy, you can start selling some vegetables, at the same time banking your proceeds. You may end up having a big business and ultimately being rich”.
Electricity was seen as an important factor in helping people to become better off. Some participants said that electricity would allow them to start businesses such as shops, or services involving spraying machines or grinders. Another participant (employed men) said that the provision of electricity would help people to economise, because you can buy a refrigerator and purchase food for a whole month and “they you are able to budget your money”. Unemployment was seen as a primary cause of poverty. An unemployed woman depicted poverty as C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 24
“a family in which there are too many and no one works. The whole family including the grandchildren may be dependent on the aged mother‟s pension, which is about three hundred, and something.25 She may be buying the grandchildren some shoes and myself some clothes because I cannot get a job as I have not been to school”.
One participant introduced race and the relationship between bosses and workers into the discussion claiming that “white people have retrenched a lot of people. There is a lot of oppression from white people”. His fellow participant added that if one attempted to negotiate re-employment, “all they would say is that you go talk to your president to give you jobs” (unemployed men).
Although unemployment is the main cause of poverty, one woman commented that even those who are employed may be poor. “even those who are working and earning their salaries monthly may be poor because of debts. You will find that a person borrows money from others during the month and at the end of the month he is left with nothing as he has to repay his debts” (unemployed women).
One indicator of levels of poverty, which was measured in the questionnaire survey, relates directly to definitions of poverty and wealth discussed in the focus groups – that is the ability of households to budget, and to save money. Just over 4 in 10 households (42%) said they were able to save money weekly or monthly. Another 1 in 10 (10%) said they saved money irregularly or every few months. However, just under half the respondents (48%) said they were never able to save money. Another indicator of poverty levels in Soshanguve South Extension 4 was responses to the question “were there times in the last 12 months when you could not afford to feed your family?” Overall, a quarter of respondents (25%) said they „often‟ could not afford to feed their family, and a further 30% said their family „sometimes‟ went hungry. Forty five percent said there was „never‟ a time in the last year when they could not afford to feed their family. These results are very similar to those from the 1995 October Household Survey, where respondents were asked whether there had been a shortage of money to feed the children in the last 12 months. As in Extension 4, 45% of the comparable group (Africans in informal settlements in Gauteng) said „no‟.26 Responses varied significantly by income.27 For households where people „often‟ went hungry, the average (median) income per head was R153 per month. For those replying
25 It seems that this woman was not describing her own situation, as the amount she gave for the pension is incorrect. Government old-age pensions are currently R490 per month. 26 Figures from Central Statistical Service October Household Survey, 1995 (Pretoria: Central Statistical Service, 1996). Comparable group are Africans living in informal settlements in Gauteng. 27 Kruskal-Wallis test. P=0,001. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 25
„sometimes‟ the average income per head was R233, and for those who could always afford to feed their family, the average income per head was R350. Residents in Soshanguve South Extension 4 use various coping mechanisms when money is short. Respondents were asked, “if you ever have no money at all and you really need some, how do you get it?” It should be noted that any illegal means of getting money were unlikely to have been mentioned by respondents. The low level of incomes is reflected in only 3% saying they never have money problems. The highest proportion of respondents (42%) relies on their immediate family for help. A smaller proportion (13%) than in the two more established sites of Eatonside (20%) and Albertina (19%) borrow money from neighbours or friends. The relatively high level of employment of household heads (78% are employed) is reflected in the fairly high proportion (29%) who borrow from their employer, banks or loan sharks, other sources, or who use their own resources.
stay without 14%
nev er hav e probs 3% use own resources 3% bor. family/ partner 42% bor. other 11%
bor. bank/ cash loans 5%
bor. employ er 10% bor. neighbour/ f riend 13% Figure 14: If you are ever desperate for money, how can you get some? Focus group participants spoke about requesting help for a range of problems, not just when money is short. Such situations might be the need to get somewhere quickly or to leave one‟s children with someone while out. For this kind of assistance, focus group participants (unemployed women) tended to opt for approaching their close neighbours, provided relationships were good. One woman spoke of a priest whom she felt comfortable to approach.
Spending patterns Respondents were asked whether they spend none, some, most or all of their income on various items. The graph below (Figure 15) displays the proportions saying they spent „some‟ or „most‟ of their income on different items (no respondents said they spent „all‟ of their income on one item). The graph does not show the proportions in which households allocate income to different items. However, the items on which high proportions of respondents said they spent „some‟ or „most‟ of their income can be seen as the most essential. The most essential items appear to be food, water and fuel, transport and clothes in that order. Over a C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 26 quarter of respondents (27%) said they spent „most‟ of their income on food. Other items that the majority of respondents said they spent „some‟ of their money on were cosmetics (which would include soap) and schooling. % of respondents 100 Some Most 80
60
40
20
0 Food Water Transport Clothes Cosmetics School Enter- Maintn./ Loans/ Rent/ & f uel tainment building hire bond materials purchase Most 27 11 9 6 3 4 6 Some 73 89 88 87 89 70 43 28 23 1 Figure 15: Items on which ‘some’ or ‘most’ of household income is spent
4. Housing
Subsidies
Household structure and eligibility for the housing subsidy The criteria for eligibility for a housing subsidy are: Applicant is over 21 years Applicant is married or living with their partner, OR has dependants. Household income is less than R3 500 per month Applicant is a South African citizen Applicant is buying a house for the first time Applicant or spouse has not received a subsidy previously. The survey results allow us to estimate the proportion of households that will not qualify for a housing subsidy based on the first three criteria above.
1. Age There was one household where there was no person aged 21 years or over. In fact, this household consisted entirely of children (aged 15 years and younger) supported by a relative living elsewhere.
2. Dependants One in eight households (14%) consisted of single adults with no children (9% men and 5% women). However, this does not necessarily mean that they will not qualify for a subsidy. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 27
This is because the definition of „dependant‟ is not clear. Does the dependant have to be a child, or could it be a pensioner (despite the fact that pension money may be the only source of income)? What is the cut-off age for children to be counted as dependants? Does the dependant have to live in the household, or could they be someone the household supports but who lives elsewhere? The definition of „household‟ may also be problematic. Our survey may overestimate the number of people living without partners. The definition of „household‟ used was “all the people who live here permanently for at least four days a week and who generally eat together or who take part in joint activities.” This may exclude a small number of households where the partner lives at work during the week and only come home at weekends.
3. Income Level Beneficiary Income Subsidy Amount % 1 R0 to R800 R15 000 46% 2 R801 to R1500 R12 500 31% 3 R1501 to R2500 R9 500 20% 4 R2501 to R3500 R5 000 1% 5 R3501 + R0 2%
Combining all three of these criteria, 16% of households fail to qualify for a housing subsidy (12% male-headed and 4% female-headed). The biggest determinant of this is household form, rather than age or income. However, as noted above, this may overestimate the number not qualifying because of the definition of „household‟ used in the survey.
Perceptions of the subsidy application process It was apparent in the focus group discussions that a considerable amount of confusion existed about the state subsidy scheme. One participant said that at meetings they had been told that of the R15 000 subsidy, “R7 500 of the total sum will belong to the government, while the remaining R7 500 belongs to the subsidised person”. This is true to some extent as approximately R7 500 may be left after services have been installed which can be used for building houses for individuals. However, people who qualify for subsidies will not physically receive the money themselves. It will be paid directly to contractors. Another participant had heard, while registering for a housing subsidy at Pretoria North (Akasia) that there might be “other types of subsidies like water, ash, sewerage and site.” Some dissatisfaction was voiced about the whole process. One participant claimed that „even though‟ he was a government employee he had realised that he might not be eligible for a house subsidy. He objected to having to produce birth certificates of himself, his wife, his children and a pay slip from his current employer. He subsequently decided to build a house at his own expense and questioned the need for a “state guarantee” to proceed with his plans. From visits to the site in July 1998 there is evidence that other residents are doing likewise and using their own money to build houses. This might cause problems in the future because C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 28 many of these houses are not built to approved plans, and might be being built over the planned sewerage lines. This had also caused confusion for other residents. One said, “I do not understand why some people are building houses because we have not yet received title deeds. Another thing is that we do not have sewerage but people have already started building houses” (unemployed men).
Some participants were dissatisfied with the work of the local committee. They felt was not committed enough, and was a delaying factor in obtaining subsidies. Another participant felt that if the committee was not organised enough, the government would not have the confidence to hand over subsidies. Several participants mentioned that the process of stand allocation, organised by the committee had been problematic. In some cases there had been conflicts over the boundaries of stands which had caused conflicts. One woman commented “the committee fails when it comes to such issues”.
Tenure The importance of having secure tenure was highlighted above as a reason given by 46% of respondents for moving to the settlement. It was also evident in the comments of focus group participants. One (unemployed) woman said, “I would not want to go anywhere else. I think where we are staying is all right for us now”. Another said, “we have been squatters for a long time, I think we are tired of moving around. Our belongings are partly damaged because of moving from one place to another”. Another participant (employed men) explained that he needed secure tenure in order buy a house plan and proceed with building. He asked “who is going to certify it without a title deed?” In the survey, respondents were asked, “do you own this site/land?” Fieldworkers were instructed not to probe too deeply. For example, respondents were not asked whether they had a title deed for the site or any other proof of ownership. This was to maintain the trust of the respondent. Questions about tenure were likely to be sensitive given the unsettled experiences of many residents of Soshanguve South extension 4 and Johandeo. The vast majority of residents of Soshanguve South extension 4 (94%) said they owned the site. Only 5% said they did not own the site, and 1% were not sure. Respondents were asked whether they had paid money to get the site on which their house is built. Only two respondents (1%) said they had paid for their sites. In the focus groups, participants (employed men) indicated that most had not paid for registration to be allocated sites in Extension 4 but that latecomers had been charged R30. These people had not questioned this expense because “if we asked maybe our application was not going to be successful”. This may be indicative of some corruption.
Type of dwelling The majority of dwellings (91%) in Soshanguve South extension 4 were constructed with corrugated iron walls. Five percent had wooden walls, and 1% were cardboard. Two percent of dwellings had brick walls. Almost all dwellings (97%) had corrugated iron roofs. The other 3% had roofs made of wood or cardboard. A variety of materials were used for the floors of Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 29 dwellings. Four in ten dwellings (42%) had mud or soil floors, and another 4 in 10 (40%) had brick or cement floors. Eleven percent of dwellings had floors made of a mixture of mud and cement. In the remaining 7% of dwellings the floors were covered with wood or carpet. Most dwellings in Soshanguve South extension 4 were very small. Six out of ten (59%) were one-roomed, and another two out of ten (21%) had two rooms. Only 11% of dwellings had 4 or more rooms, and none had more than six. As would be expected for a new settlement, and one under the Mayibuye scheme, the majority of dwellings (95%) were occupied by one family. However, there were 8 sites (4% of those sampled) where there were two families and in 1% of cases, there were three families on one stand. % of dw ellings 70
59 60
50
40
30 21 20 10 10 7 4 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 16: Number of rooms (divided by a solid structure) in dwelling Respondents were asked to estimate how much their dwelling had cost to construct. The pattern of costs was very variable as can be seen from Figure 17. Estimated costs ranged from R65 for a one-roomed dwelling with corrugated iron walls and roof to R9 000 for a four- roomed house with brick walls. Just over a quarter of dwellings (28%) had cost R600 or less to construct, but at the other end of the scale, a quarter (24%) had cost over R2 000. Half the dwellings had cost R1 450 or less to construct. Focus group participants also discussed the cost of building a shack. Estimates given ranged from R3 400 to R3 600. One man said, “One spends a lot of money on building material. One would spend R2 000 to pay people who helped in building the shack. The building material I used to build a shack at Chris Hani is now having rust. I can no longer use it. To build a two-roomed shack is very costly”.
Another participant pointed out that local prices for materials to construct a shack were inflated because suppliers were aware of the demand. Non-shack materials on the other hand were relatively less expensive. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 30
% of respondents 20
16 15 13 11 10 10 9 9 8 7 6 5 5 4 2 2
0
R5001+ R50-R200 R201-R400R401-R600R601-R800 R801-R1000 R1001-R1200R1201-R1400R1401-R1600R1601-R1800R1801-R2000R2001-R2500R2501-R5000
Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 17: Estimated cost of constructing the dwelling The majority of dwellings (82%) had either been built by the respondent themselves or by their family and friends. Of respondents who had built the dwelling themselves, 70% were male. Where the dwelling had been built by family, friends and neighbours, 75% of respondents were women. Fifteen percent of respondents had employed a builder (all from businesses employing 5 or less people) to construct the dwelling. This ties in with the 16% of respondents working in the building sector (see Figure 11). Surprisingly, given the short time the settlement has been in existence, 2% of respondents said the previous owner had constructed the dwelling. % of respondents 50% Men Women 40%
30%
20%
10%
0% My self Family/friend/ Small builder Prev ious owner Other neighbour Total 43% 39% 15% 2% 1% Figure 18: Who built the dwelling, by sex of respondent Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 31
A number of questions were asked in relation to the construction of formal houses. Respondents were asked whether they would like to participate in building their own house. There was a fairly wide spread of opinion about this. Two thirds of respondents (67%) agreed that they would like to participate in building their own house, but nearly a quarter (23%) disagreed. There was no clear pattern of responses in relation to the sex, education level, or age of the respondent, or to household income. Restricting responses to those from household heads, however, there was a correlation between who constructed the house, and attitudes to building a house.28 Those who had built their current dwelling themselves were more likely to agree or strongly agree that they would like to participate in building their own house (68%) than those who had had their house built for them (56%). Respondents were also asked, “do people in your household have the skills to build a house themselves?” Overall, over half the respondents (58%) said they did “not at all” have the skills to build a house. At the other end of the scale, over a quarter of respondents (28%) said members of their household had all the skills required to build a house. If the respondent or their friends and family had built their current dwelling, they were more likely to say they had all the skills to build a house (30%) than respondents whose house had been built by a builder or by the previous owner (14%).
Upgrading Respondents in the survey were asked whether they would like to upgrade their dwelling, and 81% said they would. Tenure security seemed to have an impact on this, as one focus group participant commented that his preference is to stay in a shack and gradually purchase bricks and other materials to build a house while knowing that his tenure is secure. This seems to have been happening, as another focus group participant mentioned that he had seen three stands with “enough bricks in their yards” to build houses. Respondents who said they would like to upgrade were asked what they would like to do. They could give as many answers as wanted. Just under half the respondents (46%) mentioned services (electricity, water or sanitation), while 96% mentioned upgrading some part of the dwelling itself. The highest proportion (68%) wanted to upgrade by enlarging their house. Other priorities included adding windows and improving the inside of the dwelling. Fifteen percent of respondents said specifically that they would like a „permanent‟, brick built house.
28 Chi² test. P=0,013. Significant at the 5% level. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 32
Electrify 46 Toilet in house/stand 38 Water in house/stand 30
Enlarge house 68 Add w indow s 45 Improve internal fittings 35 Improve yard 23 Permanent/brick house 15 Improve w alls/roof 11 Other 6 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 % of respondents Figure 19: How would you like to upgrade your dwelling? Despite the fact that the first people only settled in Soshanguve South extension 4 in June 1997, by the time of the survey (January 1998), 12% of respondents said they had already upgraded their dwelling. The highest proportion (69%) had used their own savings to upgrade, while 22% had got the money to upgrade from their employer.
Other 9%
Employ er 22% No Y es Own 88% 12% sav ings 52%
Family sav ings 17%
Figure 20: Have you upgraded your dwelling in the past, and if so, where did you get the money? Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 33
5. Facilities, priorities and development programmes
What services exist at the moment? All stands in Extension 4 have a tap in their yard. At this stage, water is the only service supplied. Sewerage reticulation, electricity and paved roads have not been installed. Some focus group participants mentioned that adjacent Extension 3 was being provided with these services in spite of its residents having arrived more recently those in Extension 4.
Water Three quarters of respondents (74%) had taps in their yard by the time of the survey (January 1998). Six percent of respondents had water piped to their houses. Seventeen percent of respondents got water from a tap in their neighbour‟s yard, and the remaining 3% used other sources of water. Some problems with the continuity of water supplies have been experienced. Thirty seven percent of respondents said they had problems with the water supply. For a quarter of respondents (24%) these problems were experienced weekly. Several participants in the employed male group mentioned that water supplies to Extension 4 were sometimes cut off without warning. One said, “when you are from work and you want to do some washing, you will find that there is no water”. Another man complained that the local committee was not active enough in helping to solve this problem. “We cannot be organised if our leadership is disorganised. They must first be organised, then come to us so that we know their position, then we can submit our requests. Presently when you have a problem, you cannot take it to the office. You cannot go to the office and complain that your water pipe is leaking – it may take two to three weeks before it is sealed” (employed men).
Toilet facilities Almost all those surveyed in Soshanguve South extension 4 (98%) use pit latrines. For less than half of those using pit latrines (43%) these were used by household members only. For another 55% the facilities were shared with neighbours. Two percent use public toilets. Only two out of ten respondents (21%) thought the toilet facilities were „fine‟ or „adequate‟. Four out of ten (41%) thought they were „inadequate‟ and another four in ten (37%) thought they were „terrible‟. The installation of sewerage pipes is planned but at least one house has been built in a position where digging of trenches for pipes may affect its foundations, according to a participant in one of the focus groups (employed men). The local councillor also mentioned this as a problem, but emphasised that the installation of sewerage was a priority for the community. There may be major advantages in making every effort to begin this quickly, before more houses are built which may obstruct sewerage lines. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 34
Refuse disposal The municipality does not remove refuse from Soshanguve South extension 4. Residents dispose of their household refuse in a variety of ways. The largest proportion (58%) buries it, and 18% burn it. The remainder (24%) dumps their refuse - mostly in an open space, although one respondent said they dumped their rubbish on the street. A focus group participant (unemployed men) said, “we throw garbage anywhere we want to throw because they no longer come to collect garbage”. Another pointed out the health hazard of pit latrines in combination with lack of refuse removal. He said “my concern is that we have little children who might get infected”
Priorities for services One focus group participant expressed an intense frustration about the lack of local facilities that was evident in all three groups. He said “there is no church, no clinic, no schools, no streets, no sewerage, no police stations, no phones, no shopping complexes – so where can we buy anything?” (employed men). One woman compared Extension 4 to Mshenguville (a densely populated, unserviced shack settlement in Soweto). Another complained that there were no playgrounds for children and if all stands were to be occupied with houses he asked, “where will they create a sports area?” (unemployed men). In addition to the above, other services required were post offices and shebeens according to another participant (unemployed women). Beyond these lists of requests, survey respondents were asked to prioritise which services and facilities were needed most urgently. Electricity was mentioned the most frequently (by 81% of respondents), and the most frequently as a first priority (57%). Frustration over the lack of electricity has been exacerbated by the installation of electricity and Apollo lights in Extension 3. One focus group participant questioned this, saying that “Extension 3 came into being long after we were here, but it is more developed than Extension 4”. Toilet facilities and sanitation were the second most frequently mentioned services in the survey. Given the dissatisfaction expressed with toilet facilities, this is perhaps not surprising. Beyond these basic services, people spoke of health services (with 8% mentioning this as the top priority), tarred roads and schools. The state of the roads was also discussed in the focus groups. None of the roads except one within Extension 4 are tarred, and at times they become too muddy for taxis to enter the area. Another participant complained that the roads “are bumpy, and full of potholes and thus dangerous when it is raining”. She added that to avoid the mud “you have to wear plastic covers on your feet until arriving at the bus stop”. Others (employed men and unemployed women) mentioned that passing cars on the busy main Rosslyn-Erasmia road had killed several children. One participant said that the local committee “do not want to go to the traffic department and ask that at least one or two officers be allowed to come and help, so that at a certain times traffic is controlled so that people can cross [the road]”. The provision of schools was also discussed by focus group participants. Various problems and frustrations have been experienced in relation to schooling. On focus group Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 35 participant (employed men) said that on arrival promises had been made that tents would be erected to accommodate school children and that these had not materialised. In consequence his two children now have to be transported to school, whereas in their previous settlement, they could just walk. Another participant claimed that four schools had been promised for Extension 4 (unemployed women). Someone else in her group said that for local children to get to school there were insufficient buses and she related an incident of a young child getting lost because of not knowing about “extensions” in response to the bus driver‟s question. Problems with the committee had also been experienced in relation to schools. One woman indicated that some community volunteers had approached the Sinqobile School to ask that Extension 4 children could attend there and negotiated transport for them. This initiative was not appreciated by the committee, who responded by saying that the volunteers had been usurping the role “which was supposed to be played by the committee – taking their duties” (unemployed women).
80 1st choice 2nd choice 24 60
40
57 32
% of respondents of % 20 9 9 14 11 9 11 8 7 0 4 3 3
Water Schools Electricity Tarred roads lights) Health services Toilets/sanitation shops, phones, Other (houses, police, Figure 21: Services most urgently needed in Soshanguve South Extension 4
Developments Over half the respondents (54%) said they did not know of any development project taking place in Soshanguve South extension 4 at the time of the survey (January 1998). Of those who had heard of development programmes, the most commonly mentioned were a water/sanitation project (70%), grading of roads (40%) and electrification (11%). No development projects are currently underway in Extension 4, although a sewerage project and electrification are planned. Only two respondents (1%) said that members of their household were participating in development projects. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 36
Payment for services Under a quarter of respondents (23%) said they paid for services in the past, with the remainder (77%) saying they had never paid for services. Despite this low rate of payment in the past, the vast majority of respondents (96%) agreed that people should pay for services. There was also strong support for the idea that those who do not pay should have their services cut off. Half the respondents (49%) strongly agreed with this statement, and another 29% agreed. In the focus groups it became clear that there were problems with payment for water. Many households do not have water meters (more than 800 according to one focus group participant) and the method of determining how much these people should pay each month appears erratic. One participant (employed men) said “you go to the offices to pay and what they do is just look at you and determine from your appearance as to how much you could pay for water”. Another said “Some people pay R16, some R100 and others R80. There is no consistency. Dizzy from the previous day‟s beer drinking, they just determine the water account from the head as to who pays how much”. Another (unemployed men) questioned whether he could be expected to pay for water without receiving a statement. He said that he had been told that “they only check the months you did not pay for and then they know how much you should be charged”. Others also said that they never receive accounts for water usage. There was disagreement whether accounts should be paid under these circumstances. One man said “There are some people who use water from the pipe because the taps got finished before the tap installation into each house was completed, If those people drink 20 litres, who should pay?” Amongst those who had paid for services, the amount varied from R48,60 to R81. In the survey, respondents were asked how much they would be willing to pay for water and electricity each month. This was an open-ended question, but the highest proportion of respondents (32%) said they would be willing to pay R50 per month. Just over half the respondents (53%) said they would pay up to R50 per month, with the remainder (47%) saying they would be willing to pay more. When asked about how much they could afford to pay, respondents gave slightly higher figures, selecting from a range of figures from R5 up to R200. On average, respondents said they could afford to pay R26 more than they were willing to pay, however 38% said they could not afford any more than they were willing to pay. A third of respondents (32%) said they could not afford to pay over R50 per month. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 37
35 afford to pay willing to pay 30
25
20
15
% of respondents of % 10
5
0 0 10 20 35 50 75 100 150 200 Amount (R) Figure 22: How much can you afford to pay, and how much are you willing to pay for services?
6. Problems in the community Focus group participants complained about several issues. These were mostly related to services and facilities as discussed in section 5. The other problem spoken about most often was crime.
Crime Over six out of ten respondents (62%) said that crime was not a problem in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Crime was perceived as much less of a problem here than in any of the other three settlements. In Eatonside only 11% of respondents said there was no crime, and 37% in Johandeo MP and 46% in Albertina gave this response. In Extension 4, of those who reported that crime was a problem, the majority (87%) said that the main type of crime was theft or robbery. Others (7%) mentioned rape, and 1% mentioned corruption and the illegal selling of stands. The majority of respondents (59%) said crimes occurred only „sometimes‟. Crime was also discussed in the focus groups. One participant attributed crime to the large number of unoccupied stands in Extension 4. She said “people hide in these areas because they won‟t be seen as there are no lights” (unemployed women). Similarly, another mentioned the incidence of empty shacks. Some “people erect their shacks and leave them to stay elsewhere. This promotes gangsters and thieves because gangs live in those unoccupied shacks”. There was some criticism of the lack of policing in the area. One participant (unemployed men) said, “I have a problem with our area because there is no police station nearby where one could report criminal cases. We are just in the bush. There is no security, especially at night”. Another pointed out “even if you are attacked, there are no telephones nearby where you can phone the police. The nearest place is Rosslyn and one has to use a taxi and pay R2,50. There are no taxi‟s at night”. According to another “the committee must C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 38 arrange with nearby policemen for our security. It looks as if we were just thrown away in the bush and nobody is taking care of us”. As a result of the lack of policing, the community has developed its own system for dealing with criminals. In the event of a crime a whistle is blown. “Each one of us has a whistle in the house. We use a whistle if someone has broken into a house and attacked us. That is the only strategy we use to wake neighbours for help. I sometimes think the strategy is wrong because sometimes a person without fault is beaten” (unemployed men). A response to this comment was “It is all because we are doing this in the dark. You can hardly see whom you are beating!”.
7. Community organisations and dynamics
Organisations and membership Results of the survey indicate that membership of one or more community organisations was common amongst households in Soshanguve Ext. 4. In only 13% of households none of the members was affiliated to a community organisation. Some focus group participants felt that facilities for organisations were lacking. One participant (unemployed male) said that Extension 4 had no recreational hall and therefore “no activities like karate, boxing or football”. He also pointed out the lack of a church, saying “there is nothing we can use to keep ourselves busy. All we have is our sites and shacks”. One focus group participant (employed men) said that there was no ANC branch structure in Extension 4. He said that he had been urging local women to form a women‟s league. A certain minimum number was needed before it would be “recognised”. For those who did belong to organisations, the highest proportion belonged to a church (63% or all respondents). An unemployed woman commented in the focus group that the churches were quite active in Extension 4. A church had recently been built (referring to a house building) and that it “serves as a crèche during the week, on Sundays it is a church. Beauty contests are also held there”. There was also a relatively high proportion of households with membership of women‟s organisations (44%), political organisations (36%), street committees (22%) and trade unions (20%). Others belonged to youth organisations (18%), sports clubs (14%), stokvels (8%), cultural organisations (3%), burial societies (4%) or civic organisations (2%). Organisational membership was higher amongst households that had a history of membership in the areas where they lived previously (87%) than those that had not belonged to organisations in their old communities (56%). What is indicative of a sense of settledness amongst Extension 4 households is that the latter group had joined organisations, in spite of not being members previously. Households with incomes of less than R500 per month were slightly less likely to have organisational memberships (84%) than those with incomes in excess of R500 per month (89%).
Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 39
Church 63 Women's org. 45 Political org. 36 Street comm. 22 Trade Union 20 Youth 18 Sports 14 Stokvel 8 Burial society 4 Other 10 None 13 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 % of households Figure 23: Organisational membership of Soshanguve Ext. 4 households
Settling conflicts Respondents were asked whom they would first approach to settle a serious conflict between themselves and their neighbours. Despite the criticism of the community committee voiced in the focus groups, the highest proportion of respondents said this is where they would turn for assistance. Just under a quarter of respondents (23%) said they would solve the problem themselves, and 5% said they would involve their family or neighbours.
Street committee 11% Ourselves 23%
Family/ neighbour 5% Police/ councillor 2%
Community committee 59% Figure 24: How would you resolve a conflict with your neighbour? From the discussion in the focus groups, it seems that the resolution of local conflicts is a rather haphazard affair. As indicated in the section on crime, the community may take the law into its own hands. “Kangaroo courts” are conducted in the event of conflict situations. One focus group participant (employed men) said “when you beat your wife and we cannot sleep because of that, we may beat you up”. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 40
Community meetings The community development committee sometimes convenes meetings in the evenings at about 19:00 when working residents have all arrived home. According to one woman, “they use a whistle, then we congregate at the football grounds”. Attendance at these meetings is generally high, with the majority of respondents (96%) estimating that over 200 people attend such meetings. Most respondents (87%) said that the meetings were the main way they found out about developments within the community. Another 7% mentioned pamphlets and letters as a way of gaining information. There was criticism of the community committee for a lack of activity from some focus group participants. One participant claimed that the last meeting had been in December 1997 and that no update on developments had been received at the time of the group being convened (March 1998). Other participants felt that the committee had not done much since acquiring sites for them and that better organisation was needed.
Relationship between the community and local government Respondents in the survey were asked how they would describe the relationship between the community and the local government councillor. Support for the councillor seemed quite high, with 60% saying the relationship was „good‟ and another 12% saying it was „excellent‟. Only 7% said the relationship was „poor‟ or „terrible‟. This was also the impression of C A S E staff on visiting the site, and on one occasion finding the councillor was also visiting. This impression is contradicted, however, by some comments from the focus groups. Some participants claimed that the councillor is not actively involved in the affairs of local people and that although he meets with the local committee and attends mass meetings, he does not provide enough feedback about developments and what has been achieved.
8. Individuals and their place in the community In the report on the baseline surveys of Eatonside and Albertina two indicators were constructed by combining responses to a series of questions. The indicators centred around issues of a) how settled a person felt in the community, and b) how isolated or powerless they felt. It was recognised in the first baseline report that these indicators are subjective and experimental. The results for Soshanguve South extension 4 and Johandeo suggest that some changes may be needed in the future as more becomes known about the process of development and local perceptions of it. This is discussed below. However, the indicators are calculated and presented here in the same format as in the baseline report for Eatonside and Etwatwa extension 30 so that comparisons between the four sites can be made.
How well established are individuals? The following five questions were grouped together to create an index of how well established and settled respondents felt. Answers were allocated scores as below. Questions 1 and 2 were weighted more strongly than the other three questions, because they were considered to be more powerful indicators of how settled a person felt. The minimum possible score was 0, and the maximum, 14. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 41
1. Do you feel you are part of this community? 2. How many different organisations do members of this household belong to? 3. Do you plan to bring any of your relatives here in the future? 4. Do you, or members of this household, participate in community development projects? 5. If you ever really need money, how do you get it?
Question Responses and score 0 1 2 3 4 Feel part of the No, not at all No, not really Don‟t know Yes, sort of Yes, strongly community? 1% 0% 1% 6% 92% Number of None One Two Three 4 or more organisations 13% 26% 14% 20% 27% Bring relatives? No Don‟t know Yes 53% 8% 39% Participate in No Yes comm. devp. 99% 1% Projects How get money Self-sufficient (go Borrow from Borrow from when really without, use own family or friends or need it? savings etc.) work (or not neighbours specific) 24% 63% 13% Table 5: Questions included in the score for how settled respondents are Respondents‟ scores ranged between 2 and 12. Over half the respondents (54%) scored between 7 and 9. 25%
20% 20% 20%
15% 14% 14%
11% 10% 9% 7%
5% 4%
1% 1% 0% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Score from 0-14 Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 25: Composite score for how well settled respondents are C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 42
Most respondents seem well-settled in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Ninety two percent of respondents said they felt „very strongly‟ part of the community, and only 1% said they did not feel part of the community. Focus group participants also reported a strong sense of community because people know each other from the days at Chris Hani settlement. For example, assistance is given in the erection of shacks, sometimes for money and sometimes not. In the event of a death, people are generally very supportive in donating money or lending “pots, a tent and chairs on the day when the burial service is held”. Statistical tests carried out on the scores showed that a respondents‟ score was not related to socio-economic variables of sex, age, education or income. However, there was a significant difference in the score for how settled a respondent was, in relation to how long they had lived at Soshanguve South extension 4. Only 14% of those who had been there for less than 4 months at the time of the survey scored „high‟ compared to 33% of those who had been there for 4 months or more.29 One explanation for this, despite the short amount of time involved, may be that those who came to the settlement first were more committed to the development of the area, and may have known each other from previous settlements. Those who came later may have come with less enthusiasm than the first arrivals. Possible problems with the indicator can be identified: It does not differentiate enough between links to a community that people from Johandeo and Soshanguve have moved with, and links to the specific place where they are now. Not enough is known about the dynamics of organisational membership or about the movement of people and families to draw specific conclusions. It may be that in a new place, respondents feel they need to join organisations, but as they feel more settled, the number they belong to actually declines. Comparison between all the sites shows little differences in responses despite, for example, the 19% of respondents in Johandeo who said this was only a temporary move and they were waiting for something better, compared with only 1% from Extension 4. Bigger differences might have been expected. An indicator which shows greater variance between the sites (and over time, although this remains to be seen) may need to be developed.
Powerlessness and isolation A similar score was calculated using responses to the following three statements: 1. People like me can‟t influence developments in our community. 2. The government doesn‟t care about people like me. 3. I will never be able to afford a better place to live. Respondents scored 0 for strong agreement with the statement (the most pessimistic) and 4 for strong disagreement (the most optimistic). The lower the score, the greater the sense of powerlessness.
29 Chi² test. P=0,005. Baseline Report: Soshanguve South Extension 4. 43
Question RESPONSES AND SCORE Pessimistic/disempowered Optimistic/empowered Strongly agree Agree Don‟t know Disagree Strongly disagree 0 1 2 3 4 Can‟t influence 41% 11% 7% 36% 5% development. Govt. doesn‟t 17% 14% 7% 44% 17% care. Never afford better place to 24% 7% 7% 30% 6% live. Table 6: Responses to questions included in score for feelings of powerlessness Six out of ten respondents (61%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that “the government doesn‟t care about people like me”. Responses to this statement were the most positive across the three statements. It is quite concerning that four out of ten respondents (41%) strongly agreed with the statement that “people like me can‟t influence development in our community”. % of respondents
20% 19%
15%
11% 11% 11% 11% 10% 7% 7% 7% 5% 5% 5% 4% 2%
0% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Score from 0-12 Figure 26: Composite score for how powerless and isolated respondents feel Statistical analysis showed that scores did not vary dramatically by socio-economic variables such as age, sex, education or income. There were significant differences between men and women, according to the length of time the respondent had been in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Men who had been there for 3 months or less were much more likely to have a low score than women who had been there for same amount of time. Forty five percent of men scored between 0 and 4, compared with only 17% of women. However, among those who had been there four months or over, the pattern was reversed. Fifty five percent of women scored between 0 and 4 compared with only 29% of men. This suggests a link with patterns of migration to the settlement, and warrants further investigation in the follow-up studies. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 44
Baseline Report: Johandeo. 45
JOHANDEO
1. Background to Johandeo Johandeo is the second Mayibuye site selected for this study. The settlement is bounded by the Golden Highway (R553) to the east and the Vereeniging-Potchefstroom railway line to the south, in the vicinity of the Vanderbijlpark station and immediately west of Sebokeng‟s southernmost extension (17). Johandeo lies 14 kilometres north of Vanderbijlpark town centre and 16 kilometres north-west of Vereeniging town centre. It lies on a flat site at an altitude of 1 490 metres. The Mayibuye site is situated immediately east and south of an older informal settlement of the same name. The old and Mayibuye sections have become known locally as Phases 1 and 2 respectively (see Figure 27). The settlement as a whole comprises 2 009 residential stands, of which 712 were previously occupied as Phase 1, and the remainder laid out as new stands for the Mayibuye project. A comparison between the two phases is useful in this analysis, because of their proximity to each other and the inevitable networks of relationships between residents of each phase. The survey, therefore, comprised households from both phases (67 from Phase 1 and 132 from Phase 2), but the primary focus of this report is on Phase 2. Some of the first residents of Phase 1 (about 30 households) moved there from the KwaMadala (Iscor) hostels. They had allegedly been involved in the massacre that took place at Boipatong on the 17th June 1992. Protracted negotiations led to their settlement in Johandeo (named after the original farmland on which it is situated) in April 1994. Others followed these households from the Sebokeng and Evaton areas during 1995. The settlement is known by some residents as Polokong. Early settlers in Phase 1 were given cards bearing this name, to register their occupation of stands, according to focus group participants. Even now, at taxi ranks, one woman said, “you will find the board written Polokong” (employed women). An important difference between the two phases is the different provision of services. Phase 1 has piped water, toilets and electricity, in contrast to the Mayibuye site which only has water (a tap in each stand). Phase 2 is part of the province‟s Mayibuye programme and residents began to move into the settlement in March 1997. Many of these came from a site beside a small shopping centre on the Golden Highway called „Golden Store‟, and from Sebokeng (particularly extension 13), Evaton and other surrounding townships. Indications are that virtually all stands have now been occupied. A greater problem currently is people moving away to other settlements. Some apply for a subsidy in more than one place, and move if their application is approved in another settlement first. This problem may be a serious concern in the future given the plans for extensive development and building of formal houses on land adjacent to Johandeo to the North and East.
C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 46
Figure 27: Johandeo from the air (22/5/98) Baseline Report: Johandeo. 47
The total population of the settlement can be estimated to lie between 6 200 and 7 100. This takes into account the small proportion of stands which fieldworkers found to be vacant, or where there were houses that appeared to have been abandoned.
Mayibuye Phase 1 Total Number of stands 1401 608 2009 % of vacant stands in sample 8% 9% Estimated no. of occupied 1295 554 1849 stands. Average household size 3,37 4,09 Estimated number of people 4364 2266 6630 Confidence interval30 for ±446 population estimate (95%) 6184-7076 Note: this estimate assumes that there was only one household per stand. In the survey, only two stands were found where this was not the case. Table 7: Estimate of population size of Johandeo, at time of the survey (January 1998). Johandeo is part of ward 17 of the Western Vaal Sub-structure of the Vaal Metropolitan Council. Mr Ace Motaung of the ANC was elected as councillor for the ward in the November 1995 local council elections. The community itself has formed a Johandeo Development Committee. It comprises four residents of Phase 1 and three from the Mayibuye section. The committee is chaired by Mr Abram Manuedi Moilwa, minister of the local AME church. Other members are Mrs Princess Cxiki (vice-chairperson), Mr William Nhlapo (secretary), Mr David Hulane (vice-secretary), Ms Elizabeth Mokoena (treasurer), Ms Beauty Mthethwa (vice-treasurer) and Rev Simon Dlamini (AFM minister). The streets of Johandeo are named after the members of the committee.
2. Geographic origins of residents
Home language The dominant language in Johandeo as a whole is Sesotho, spoken at home by two thirds (67%) of the respondents. Two other languages are also frequently spoken. One in eight respondents (13%) used isiZulu as their home language, and another 13% spoke isiXhosa. There were slight differences between Phase 1 of Johandeo and the Mayibuye area. In the Mayibuye area lower proportions of respondents spoke Zulu (12% compared with 15% in the Phase 1 area) or isiXhosa (11% versus 16%). In the case of the isiZulu speakers this may be a result of the early settlement of Zulu hostel residents in the area. Conversely, the predominance of the largest group, speakers of Sesotho, is less marked in Phase 1 (where 60% use this language at home) than in the Mayibuye area (where the equivalent statistic is 71%).
30 Because the survey did not cover every household in the settlement, but only a sample, it is not possible to give an exact number for the population. From our sample, however, we can be 95% sure, that the population lies between 6184 and 7076. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 48
The majority of participants (21 out of 30) in the three focus groups convened were speakers of Sesotho.
Migration histories Just under half (44%) of the respondents were born in Gauteng, especially the Evaton region, and more than one third (38%) in the Free State, especially the Heilbron, Parys and Sasolburg areas. Situated near the southern boundary of Gauteng, Johandeo and the Vaal region as a whole serves as a convenient settling place for migrants from the Free State. The survey revealed a small proportion of respondents (3%) who were born outside South Africa. In the focus groups there was some animosity towards these foreigners. One man felt were only there to make money from their businesses and not interested in contributing to the development of the community. In contrast, however, the employed women‟s group expressed admiration for these people because of the way that they co-operate with each other and the “good wages” (R150 per week) that they pay their employees, who are also foreigners.
Outside SA 3%
Vaal (Evaton) Free State 25% 37%
Gauteng 44% Vaal (other) 64%
Gauteng (other) Mpumalanga 11% 5% NW Other 4% Prov. 7%
Figure 28: Birthplaces of heads of households in Johandeo (Mayibuye section) Most residents had not moved directly from the areas where they had been born to Johandeo, as illustrated by Figure 29 which shows the place of previous residence. In this case, more than eight out of ten (84%) had moved from other parts of the Vaal region in close proximity to Johandeo, especially Evaton, Sebokeng and the „Golden Store‟ settlement next to the Golden Highway. This was verified by the stated previous homes of participants in the three focus groups, primarily Evaton, Sebokeng and Small Farms, all within about a seven kilometre radius of Johandeo. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 49
Evaton 36%
Free State 9% Golden Hgwy 23% Gauteng 87%
Other Prov. 4% Sebokeng 17% Vereeniging 8%
Othr Vaal 17% Othr Gaut. 1%
Figure 29: Where did you live before coming to Johandeo? (Mayibuye section)
Length of time in Johandeo and Gauteng Almost all respondents (95%) across both areas of Johandeo had lived in Gauteng for 4 years or more. The history of development is revealed in the dates given for moving to Johandeo. In the Mayibuye area, the highest proportion (69%) had moved to Johandeo between January and June 1997. Another 16% had moved later than this (between July 1997 and the end of January 1998 when the survey was conducted). In contrast, 67% of respondents from Phase 1 of Johandeo had moved sometime during 1995 or earlier. Only 14% had moved to Johandeo during 1997.
Moved Real date MP Phase 1 < 1 month ago Jan „98 2% 0% 1-3 months ago Oct-Nov „97 5% 0% 4-6 months ago July-Sept „97 9% 2% 7-12 months ago Jan-June „97 69% 12% > 1 year, and < 3 years 1996 11% 19% > 3 years, and < 4 yrs 1995 4% 31% 4 years or more 1994 or earlier 1% 36% Note: percentages do not add to 100% due to rounding.
Table 8: When did you move to Johandeo? C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 50
Cities are better places to live than rural areas The majority of respondents in both sections of Johandeo agreed or strongly agreed that cities are better places to live than rural areas. However, there were significant differences between respondents from the two sections.31 Those from the Mayibuye area were significantly more likely to agree with the statement than those from Phase 1, who were more likely to strongly disagree with the statement.
Strongly agree Agree Don‟t know Disagree Str. disagree MP 51% 28% 5% 7% 8% Phase 1 40% 16% 5% 13% 25% Note: percentages do not add to 100% due to rounding. Table 9: Cities are better places to live than rural areas. Most participants in the focus groups were from Phase 1 and had moved to Johandeo in 1994. Their views should thus be seen as indicative primarily of the more established residents of the settlement. Some of these older residents had favourable comments about urban life. One said that the convenience of proximity to shops and schools was a great advantage (employed women). A spin-off of this was that “Our children do not have to walk long distances. They just walk short distances and then they are at school. After school they come straight home” (employed women).
In contrast, it was mentioned that “Rural life is difficult because if you want to build a fire you must go to the forest and chop some trees for wood and also get some cow dung. In town it is better because there are trucks that sell both wood and coal. When you are in the rural areas you leave children at home and fetch wood very far away” (unemployed women).
However, comments that placed rural areas in a positive light were more common among participants in the focus groups. These participants often seemed cynical about the possibility of living a settled life in an urban environment. “Rural areas are good because one does not spend money. You do things on your own. You can get vegetables and beans from your own garden” (employed women).
“We came for money in Gauteng. The money that we want is not available. It is better that we go back. We should start from scratch ploughing. If one has chickens one can eat eggs. I have sheep. I have cows that will produce milk. My children will eat properly. I plough in the fields. When maize has ripened I reap it. I do not buy. We eat
31 Chi² test. P=0,005. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 51
brown bread – not this one that we eat in Johannesburg. I never thought I would stay in a shack in Johannesburg” (employed women).
“When we have functions or services we encounter problems. We are said to be making noise. Even if one has bought a property, one has to be quiet in one‟s yard. We black people are so used to noise. The other time we would like to enjoy ourselves. Every person would like to do things in his own way. When you are in town you are said to be making a public disturbance” (employed women).
“You are not allowed to slaughter a cow, you are said to be abusing animals. We black people are used to doing things in that way” (employed women).
The bottom line was articulated by one participant who pointed out the stark economic differences between rural and urban environments. Only the latter offered a means of escape from the poverty trap in which so many people are caught. She said, “In towns there are many piece jobs. If I am not working I can go looking for someone who can offer me some washing to do. In the rural areas you cannot, because we are all the same. In towns you can offer to clean someone‟s house and maybe raise yourself some R20. In the rural areas this is impossible” (unemployed women).
Reason for coming to Johandeo Respondents in the Mayibuye area of Johandeo gave a variety of reasons for moving there. The five most common reasons are listed below: 1. Just wanted somewhere to live (32%) 2. This is a temporary home. I‟m waiting for a better place (19%) 3. To get away from family and gain independence (14%) 4. Avoid paying rent (12%) 5. Tired of bullying from landlord (11%) A third of respondents from the Mayibuye section said they moved to Johandeo because they „just wanted somewhere to live‟. One focus group participant said, “I was staying with my parents so I had no problems. The only thing was that I wanted to get my own place” (unemployed women). It is very concerning, however, that one in five respondents said they had moved to the Mayibuye site at Johandeo as a temporary measure. One in ten (9%) of those living in Phase 1 of Johandeo also gave this response. Only 2% of respondents from the Mayibuye area of Johandeo said they had moved in order to gain security to tenure, which contrast starkly with the 46% who gave this response in Soshanguve South Extension 4. There were marked differences between the responses given by residents in the Mayibuye area of Johandeo and those from Phase 1. The highest proportion of respondents from Phase 1 (48%) said they had moved to Johandeo to avoid paying rent. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 52
There are some similarities between the responses of residents of the Mayibuye area, and those given by residents of nearby Eatonside.32 There, 30% of respondents said they „just wanted somewhere to live‟, 21% said they had moved to avoid paying rent, and 15% said they had moved to get away from their family and gain independence. There was discussion in the focus groups about the violence which had brought some residents to Phase 1 of Johandeo. One participant said that his family had been living at Mahlathini, Sasolburg. “We were forced to leave because of the violence that broke out between the various rival political parties. We then rushed for cover to Madala Hostel in Vanderbijlpark. Iscor chased us out because Madala Hostel belongs to workers. We were afraid to go back to the township because of a possible recurrence of violence. We then consulted the Peace Committee as residents. The Peace Committee, IFP, ANC and PAC held several meetings about our problem. Eventually we were brought to Johandeo. At first it was argued that only IFP members could move to Johandeo. This notion was rejected outright on the basis that there were no IFP members who were suffering and without a roof over their heads” (unemployed men).
Two participants in the employed women‟s group spoke about the IFP members who had come to live in Johandeo. One said that some IFP members had refused to move there because of fear of being targeted by “their enemies”. They “were afraid to mingle with us” but they were also “afraid to live alone”. This resulted in an excess of stands and “it was then decided that anyone who wants a site would go to Johandeo”. “Other people who belong to other organisations should stay with them”. The current situation is that the IFP members are no longer afraid of people from other political parties. We are mixed…” (employed women). Several participants said that they had left their previous homes because they had not been able to co-exist amenably with their landlords or families. Paying rent was a primary cause of tensions. One participant spoke of the landlord‟s practice of asking the tenant for an extra R40 on top of the R70 monthly rental in the event of her paying only after the 7th of the month (unemployed women). Another said that rental was increased if one extended one‟s shack size (unemployed men). Some spoke about other pressures from their landlords. For example, one said the landlord was unhappy about her having visitors and another said that her in-laws did not like her family arriving home late (employed women). Another said that her landlord “was not always happy” and that when one greeted her in the morning “she would respond in a very low voice”, indicative of an unfriendly or moody disposition. Access to services such as water and toilets was a problem for some. One woman referred to restrictions from her landlord on how much water she used (employed women). Another said that her landlord had expected her to empty and wash the buckets used for toilets and that none of her neighbours would assist with this unpleasant procedure. Others had to
32 See Stevens, L., & Rule, S.: Upgrading Gauteng‟s Informal Settlements. Volume 1: A baseline study of
Baseline Report: Johandeo. 53 use their neighbours‟ or landlord‟s toilets. One of these decided to leave when the landlord said that she should dig her own toilet, but could not because of the smallness of the stand on which she was living (unemployed women).
3. Community and household demographics
Household structure For the purposes of this survey we defined household as “all the people who live here permanently for at least four days a week and who generally eat together or who take part in joint activities.” One practical implication of this definition is that where the husband lives at work during the week and only returns to Johandeo at weekends, he was not counted as part of the household for the purposes of this survey. The mean household size in Johandeo was 3,4 people in the Mayibuye section. This is significantly lower than the average household size of 4,1 in Phase 1.33 The average household in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo comprised 2,2 adults (slightly more women than men: 1,2 women compared with 1,0 men), and 1,2 children (even numbers of boys and girls). In other words, in the average household there were 1,8 adults per child.
30% 29%
25% 23% 21% 20%
15%
9% 10% 8%
5% % of sampled households sampled of % 5% 3% 1% 1% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ No. of people in household Figure 30: Household size, Mayibuye section of Johandeo Half (50%) of households surveyed in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo comprised one adult man and one adult woman. Of these, 70% included children. One in five households (20%) comprised multiple adults (both men and women), and again, the majority (67%) included children. One in five households (19%) included no adult men, and 11% consisted of adult men only (mostly without children).
Eatonside and Albertina (Etwatwa Extension 30) (Braamfontein: C A S E, 1998) p.11. 33 Mann-Whitney U-test. P=0,042. Significant at the 5% level. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 54
On the basis of the definition discussed in the introduction, 30% of the households in the Mayibuye section, and 31% in Phase 1 were female-headed. The figures are similar to those found in the other baseline surveys (31% in Eatonside, 30% in Albertina).
Structure Freq. % No children 20 30% 1 adult man + 1 adult woman 50% With children 46 70% Multiple adults (men & No children 9 33% 20% women) With children 18 67% No children 7 28% No adult men (women only) 19% With children 18 72% No children 12 86% No adult women (men only) 11% With children 2 14%
Table 10: Household form, Mayibuye section of Johandeo The differences in household form between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 of Johandeo were not statistically significant. However, some differences noted may indicate a trend that may be followed as the Mayibuye section develops. In Phase 1 there were a higher proportion of households with multiple adults (36% compared with 20% in the Mayibuye section). Lower proportions of households with one adult man and one adult woman (39%) and households with no adult women (7%) compensated this for. The proportion of households with no adult men remained constant (18%).
Differences in household structure by age and sex of household head There were significant differences in the structure of households by the age (not shown graphically) and sex of the household head (Figure 31). The younger the household head, the smaller the size of the household on average. In households where the head was under 35 years, the average size was 3,0 people. In comparison, where the head was 35 years or older, the household size was 3,7 people.34 There were no significant differences in household size between male- and female- headed households. However, in female-headed households, there were significantly more adult women (1,58 on average, compared with 1,07 in male-headed households).35
34 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,033. Significant at the 5% level. 35 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 55
0.53 3.00 0.65
0.60 0.73 girls 2.00 boy s 1.07 women men 1.58 1.00
1.20
Number of people in household (avg) in household people of Number 0.38 0.00 male-headed f emale-headed households households Figure 31: Household structure for male-headed and female-headed households, Mayibuye section of Johandeo.
Sons and daughters not living with respondent Half the respondents in the Mayibuye section (50%) had sons or daughters who are not living with them. We did not ask how old these children were, but it is possible to infer this approximately from the age of the parents. This analysis is based on the assumption that a parent aged less than 35 years is unlikely to have children aged over 20 years. We recognise the limitations of this information and in future phases of the research, a question will be included about how old respondent‟s children are who live elsewhere. Of those with children living elsewhere, the majority (64%) were aged 35 or older. Their children are likely to be grown-up. However, 18% of all respondents were aged under 35 and had children living elsewhere. Focus group respondents confirmed this information. In the employed women‟s focus group, several participants mentioned that some of their children lived elsewhere, such as in Sebokeng zone 14 where there is better access to schools. The differences between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 suggest that the longer people have been living in a particular settlement, the more likely they are to bring relatives (including children) to live with them. In Phase 1 only 7% of respondents were aged under 35 and had children living elsewhere. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 56
Community age-sex distribution Figure 32 shows the age-sex pyramid for the 132 households sampled in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo. This gave us information about 445 residents. 86+ 81-85 male female 76-80 71-75 66-70 61-65 56-60 51-55 46-50 41-45 36-40 31-35 26-30 21-25 16-20 11-15 6-10 1-5 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 % of all residents in 132 sampled households Figure 32: Age-sex distribution of Johandeo (Mayibuye) residents There were even numbers of males and females in the sampled households: 47% were male and 53% were female. The population of Johandeo is quite young. The average age was 24,4 years. Thirty six per cent were aged 15 years or less, and 14% were aged under 5 years. There were significant differences by gender across the age categories. There were twice as many women as men in the 16-25 years age group, and nearly three times as many women as men aged over 50 years. In contrast there were slightly more men than women aged 26-50 years. For men in particular there were very few 16-20 year-olds. This pattern is common for informal settlements. It may partly be explained by the labour migrant nature of the population which causes the bulge in the bars for men especially aged 25-35 years. There were no significant differences between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 of Johandeo. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 57
Characteristics of heads of household The head of the household was defined, for the purposes of this survey, as the “person who makes the most important decisions about how money is spent”. In the Mayibuye section of Johandeo, 30% of households were female-headed. Similarly, in Phase 1, 31% of households were female-headed. The average age of household heads in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo was 38 years. Household heads in Phase 1 were on average slightly older (41 years), however this difference was not significant.36 There was a significant difference in the age of household heads by their sex. In the Mayibuye section female household heads were on average older (at 44 years) than male household heads (35 years).37 Nineteen percent of female household heads were aged 55 years or over compared with only 4% of male household heads.
men women 55+ 4 19
45-54 12 22
35-44 30 30
30-34 27 11 Age of household head household of Age
19-29 27 19
30 20 10 0 10 20 30 % of male household heads % of female household heads Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding. Figure 33: Age of household head for male-headed and female-headed households, Mayibuye section, Johandeo.
36 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,155. 37 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,005. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 58
Among household heads in Johandeo, levels of education were low. Over half the respondents (57%) in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo had either no schooling or were educated to the primary level only. There was no significant difference between the education levels of respondents in the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 of Johandeo. Education levels were lower than for Africans in informal settlements in Gauteng as a whole, where 50% were educated to the primary level.38 Male and female heads of household were equally likely to have low levels of education in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo. Some differences (not significant) are evident, however, especially at the secondary level. For example, 25% of male household heads completed standard 8 or more, compared with only 11% of female household heads.
men w omen Std. 10 or more 5 0
Std. 8-9 20 11
Std. 6-7 20 30
Primary 48 46
No formal 7 14 schooling
50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 % of male household heads % of female household heads Note: percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 34: Education level of household head for male-headed and female-headed households, Mayibuye section, Johandeo.
38 Figures from Central Statistical Service, October Household Survey 1995 (Pretoria, Central Statistical Service, 1996). Baseline Report: Johandeo. 59
The rate of unemployment39 among household heads in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo (21%) was lower than that of adults as a whole (51%). This is not surprising, as the definition of „household head‟ was based partly on identifying the main contributor to household income. There were, however, significant differences between male and female household heads in their employment status (see Figure 35).40 Only 38% of female household heads were employed, compared to 84% of male household heads. Also, a much higher proportion of female household heads (30%) were pensioners, disabled, students or classified themselves as housewives compared with male household heads (2%).
Male household heads Female household heads Pensioner/ Working Disabled/Student Student/ housewif e f ull time unemploy ed 2% 8% 8% 14% Working part time pensioner/ 19% Working disabled f ull time 22% 43% Casual / piece jobs 26% Casual / piece jobs 11% Working unemploy ed part time 32% 15%
Figure 35: Occupation of household head for male-headed and female-headed households, Mayibuye section, Johandeo.
39 Rate of unemployment is the proportion of the labour force that are unemployed. The „labour force‟ excludes students, full-time homemakers, pensioners, the disabled and those under 16 years. 40 Chi² test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 60
The types of work done by respondents in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo are shown below. The biggest employer (especially of men) remains the heavy industry of the Vaal area including firms such as ISCOR. The one woman employed in this category worked packing bricks. Most men in this category were employed as either machine operators or general labourers. Industry also provided about half (55%) the cleaning jobs, with the other half in this category employed as domestics or gardeners. The majority of women (86%) were employed as cleaners. A third of these worked in industries, offices or business, and two thirds worked as domestics. As in Soshanguve South extension 4, the third biggest employer was the building industry with men doing a wide range of jobs. The level of involvement in informal businesses (7% of those employed) was much lower than in Soshanguve South Extension 4, where 26% of respondents who were employed, earned money through informal businesses. This may be a reflection of the lower incomes in Johandeo, providing a smaller market for such businesses. % of all w orking respondents 30 26 25 25
20 women 15 14 men 10 10 10 7 5 4 4 1 0
Cleaning Shops, other (unskilled) Skilled, artisan Casual labourer Industrial/Factory Building IndustryMechanic, driver Informal business Trained, professional businesses, clerical Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 36: Types of work available in Johandeo – all respondents in Mayibuye section, by sex Baseline Report: Johandeo. 61
Employment, dependence and poverty in the community
Employment Of all those 16 years and over in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo, 37% had some form of work. A further 16% were studying and 8% were pensioners or disabled. The rate of unemployment39 was 51%. This high level of unemployment was seen as the major cause of poverty by focus group participants (employed women). There were significant differences in employment rates between men and women in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo.41 Among all men aged 16 years and over, the unemployment rate was 25%, compared with 74% for women. There were no significant differences in the rates of unemployment or the pattern of numbers studying or retired between the Mayibuye section of Johandeo, and Phase 1.
Dependency In 74% of households in the Mayibuye section, only one person was contributing on a regular basis to the household income. This includes money from pensions and disability grants as well as earned income. In a further 8% the household was surviving with no regular income at all. In contrast in 3 households sampled (2%) there were 3 people contributing to household income. There was no significant difference between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 in the numbers of people contributing to household income (despite the greater number of people per household in Phase 1). A percentage can be calculated of the number of people contributing to household income in relation to household size. In the average household in the Mayibuye section, 38% of household members (two out of five) contributed some money towards household income. A lower proportion of household members (30%) in Phase 1 contributed to household income, but this difference was not statistically significant. There were significant differences in the percentage of household members working for money in male- and female-headed households.42 This reflects the higher rate of unemployment for women, and the higher proportion of adult women in female-headed households (see Figure 31). On average 19% of the members of female-headed households were employed, compared with 33% of the members of male-headed households. However, there were no significant differences in the percentage of household members contributing to household income between male- and female-headed households. This implies that female- headed households rely more heavily on pensions, disability grants and support from relatives than do male-headed households.
41 Chi² test. P=0,000. 42 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,000. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 62
Income Incomes in the sample of 132 households in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo ranged from 10 households (8%) where there was no regular income, to 2 households (2%) earning over R3 000 per month. Half the households earned R560 per month or less. The highest proportion earned R401-600. Household income per head ranged from households with no regular income, to 4 (3%) earning over R1 000 per head. Half the sampled households had an income per head of R187 or less per month. There was no significant difference in total income or income per head between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 of Johandeo.
25
20
15
10 % of households of % 5
0
1-200 3000+ 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000 No regularincome 1001-12001201-14001401-16001601-18001801-20002001-25002501-3000 Figure 37: Total household income per month, Mayibuye section, Johandeo. There were no significant differences in income per month by the level of education of the household head. This seems surprising as education is often strongly related to income levels. One explanation may be the relatively high proportion of respondents with low levels of education. With education to primary level or less, income-earning opportunities are likely to be limited and income levels relatively similar. Total household income and income per head varied significantly by the sex of the household head.43 In Figure 38, the bars for female-headed households are clustered towards the left-hand side of the graph, while those for male-headed households peak at a higher income level (R401-600, compared to R1-400 for female-headed households) and extend over a greater range of incomes. Fifty percent of female-headed households had a total monthly income of R350 or less, compared with R680 for male-headed households.
43 Mann-Whitney U test. For total household income, P=0,000, and for income per head, P=0,001. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 63
30 male-headed female-headed 25
20
15
10 % of households of %
5
0
1-200 3000+ 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000 No regularincome 1001-12001201-14001401-16001601-18001801-20002001-25002501-3000 Note: Percentages f or f emale-headed households should be treated with caution as the sample size is only 39. Figure 38: Total household income per month, by sex of household head, Mayibuye section, Johandeo.
Poverty indicators and coping mechanisms Unemployment was seen as the major cause of poverty amongst focus group participants (employed women). Even among the unemployed, some families were seen as particularly poor. In spite of her own poverty, one woman (unemployed) said, “There are people who are more poor than us, who do not have life. I feel a stabbing pain when I have to talk about this old lady. She has six children and stays at her husband‟s mother‟s place. At times she goes to work in the fields with bare feet. Yesterday I was talking to Mrs. X that we should form something like a society and put some cents together so that we can buy her mealie meal”.
This comment speaks of poverty where families cannot even afford the essentials. This was explored in the questionnaire survey, where respondents were asked “were there times in the last 12 months when you could not afford to feed your family?”. In the Mayibuye section a surprisingly low proportion of respondents (7%) said there were „often‟ times when they could not afford to feed their family. However, four in ten respondents said there were „sometimes‟ times when their family went hungry. These figures are lower than the 55% of the comparable group (Africans in informal settlements in Gauteng) in the 1995 October Household Survey, who said there had been a shortage of money to feed their children in the last 12 months. There were no significant differences between the two sections of Johandeo. Responses did, however, vary significantly by income. For households where people „often‟ went hungry, the median income per head was R34 per month. For those replying „sometimes‟ the median income per head was R150, and for those who could always afford to feed their family, the median income per head was R239. The lower income levels of female- C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 64 headed households were also reflected in responses to this question. Fifteen percent of female-headed households were „often‟ unable to afford to feed their family, compared with only 3% of male-headed households.44 Another indicator of levels of poverty is the ability of households to save money. Just over a third of households in the Mayibuye section (36%) said they could afford to save money weekly or monthly. Four percent said they saved money irregularly or every few monthly. However, six out of ten respondents (61%) said they were never able to save money. Despite the fact that there were no significant differences in income levels or income per head between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 of Johandeo, respondents from the Mayibuye section saved money more often than those in Phase 1. Just over a third (36%) of respondents in the Mayibuye section said they saved money weekly or monthly, compared with only 21% of those in Phase 1. Residents in Johandeo use various coping mechanisms when money is short. Respondents were asked “if you ever have no money at all and you really need some, how do you get it?”. The desperate financial situation most households in Johandeo find themselves in is illustrated by the fact that only 1 respondent across all those sampled said that they „never have problems with money‟. The highest proportion of respondents in the Mayibuye section (42%) relies on their immediate family for help. While there were no significant differences in coping strategies between households in the Mayibuye section and Phase 1, some small differences may be indicative of the different ages of the settlements. In Phase 1, only 33% of respondents relied on their immediate family for help with money, while 21% borrowed from friends and neighbours. Half this proportion (11%) in the Mayibuye section borrows from neighbours and friends.
stay without 31%
bor. family/ partner 42%
nev er hav e probs 1% bor. others 3% (inc. bank/ cash loans)
bor. employ er 12% bor. neighbour/ f riend 11% Figure 39: If you are ever desperate for money, how can you get some?
44 The differences between male- and female-headed households were significant at the 5% level. Chi² test. P=0,048. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 65
The ability to borrow money was seen as an important solution to poverty in the view of one (employed) woman. She said, “If I could be lent money to continue with my crèche project, I would repay that money on a monthly basis. In that way I would be able to change my poor living conditions”. Others mentioned sewing or running a tuck shop or selling “Swissguard products” as means of alleviating poverty. Networks of mutual support are important for some in Johandeo. One focus group participant (unemployed men) said that someone whom he does not even know well had paid R110 for him to be taken by ambulance to hospital when he had been taken ill. Another indicated that he would give R10 to a person who needs it to get to work and would not expect to be repaid because “this is how I was raised”.
Spending patterns Respondents were asked whether they spend none, some, most, or all of their income on various items. The graph below (Figure 40) displays the proportions saying they spent „some‟ or „most‟ of their income on different items (no respondents said they spent „all‟ of their income on one item). The graph does not show the proportions in which households allocate income to different items. However, the items on which a high proportion of respondents said they spent „some‟ or „most‟ of their income, can be seen as the most essential. The most essential items appear to be food, water and fuel, transport, clothes and cosmetics (in that order). It is likely that soap was included under „cosmetics‟. Three out of ten respondents (31%) said they spent „most‟ of their income on food. All respondents said they spent at least some income on water and fuel, and nine out of ten said they spent at least „some‟ money on transport.
% of respondents 100
80
60
40
20
0 Food Water Transport Clothes Cosmetics School Enter- Loans/ Maintn./ Rent/ & f uel tainment hire building bond purchase materials Most 31 1 2 1 2 Some 69 98 90 84 77 60 38 17 9 1 Figure 40: Items on which ‘some’ or ‘most’ household income is spent, Mayibuye section, Johandeo. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 66
4. Housing
Subsidies
Household structure and eligibility for the housing subsidy The criteria for eligibility for a housing subsidy are listed in the chapter on Soshanguve South Extension 4. The survey results allow us to estimate the proportion of households that will not qualify for a housing subsidy based on the criteria of age, household structure and income.
1. Age There were 4 households across all those surveyed (all in the Mayibuye section) where no member of the household was aged 21 years or older.
2. Dependants Fourteen percent of households in the Mayibuye section consisted of single-sex households with no children (9% men and 5% women). However, as discussed in the section on subsidies for Soshanguve South, these households may still qualify for a subsidy depending on the definition of „dependant‟.
3. Income
Level Beneficiary Income Subsidy Amount % 1 R0 to R800 R15 000 65% 2 R801 to R1500 R12 500 23% 3 R1501 to R2500 R9 500 9% 4 R2501 to R3500 R5 000 3% 5 R3501 + R0 0%
Table 11: Income of households in Mayibuye section of Johandeo according to subsidy categories. Combining all three of these criteria, 16% of households from the Mayibuye section fail to qualify for a housing subsidy (10% male-headed and 6% female-headed). The biggest determinant of this is household form, rather than age or income. However, as noted above, this may overestimate the number not qualifying because of the definition of „household‟ used in the survey.
Perceptions of the subsidy application process From discussions in the focus groups it seems that a concerted effort had been made to ensure that people fill in subsidy application forms. One of the women participants (employed group) said that most residents had completed subsidy applications. Local people had distributed application forms and collected them on completion, together with copies of identity documents and children‟s birth certificates. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 67
There seems to have been some confusion over the application process. One woman said that she knew of two residents who had been told that they would be evicted from their shacks if they did not complete subsidy applications. One Johandeo man (unemployed group) expressed the view that some people in the community did not understand the subsidy scheme. He said, “the family of an illiterate granny and a school child will just use the child to fill in [the forms] without fully understanding the requirements”. Another commented that it was the first exposure to issues like subsidies and “instead of choosing a house plan of a size, which suits his/her pocket, he/she would choose a big house”.
Tenure In the survey, respondents were asked, “do you own this site/land?” Fieldworkers were instructed not to probe too deeply. For example, respondents were not asked whether they had a title deed for the site or any other proof of ownership. This was to maintain the trust of the respondent. Questions about tenure were likely to be sensitive given the unsettled experiences of many residents of Johandeo. The vast majority of residents of the Mayibuye section of Johandeo (95%) said they owned the site. Only 5% said they did not own the site. The same pattern of responses was found in Phase 1. In the focus groups most participants seemed happy that they had their own places. “What I love about Johandeo is that the place belongs to you. You do not trouble anyone. We love it because you are in your yard” (unemployed women).
“I am also happy because it is my place. I can do whatever I want. That is the only thing I like about it” (unemployed women).
However, the lack of title deeds was mentioned spontaneously. One woman said, “Even if we like being owners, we do not have title deeds”. Another indicated that in spite of the fact that they are “owners”, “they can come at any time and say mama, you are not well suited to stay here”. It appears that after filling in forms on several occasions, residents were told that they would receive title deeds. None have yet materialised at this stage. The only „proof of ownership‟ that residents have is a form bearing the name of the person and “a stamp that verifies that you have paid R50” (unemployed women). Phase 1 residents paid this money and were given the document. Residents from the Mayibuye section do not have this or title deeds yet. Respondents were asked whether they had paid money to get the sites on which their houses were built. In Phase 1, nine out of ten respondents (88%) had paid for their sites. The most commonly mentioned figures were R50 (paid by 41% of those who paid for their sites) and R80 (paid by 17%). In the focus groups it was mentioned that in Phase 1, local leaders of political organisations facilitated the move to Johandeo. Mr. Phosa of the ANC was mentioned in particular (employed women). Newcomers were initially required to pay R50 in order to settle in the area. Those who arrived later had to pay R80, which included the cost of a garbage bin. This money was either paid to the committee (42% of those who paid) or the previous owner (54% of those who paid). C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 68
In the Mayibuye section, a third (32%) of respondents had paid for their sites. This is in stark contrast with Soshanguve South extension 4 where only two respondents (1%) said they had paid. Amounts ranged from R10 to R250. Half the respondents who had paid for their site had paid R10-R15. However, a third of respondents (33%) had paid over R50. In a quarter of cases (24%), the respondents had paid the previous owner, and in these cases the amounts were often quite large (in 5 out of 10 cases respondents paid R250, and in 70% of cases respondents paid over R50). In three-quarters of cases (75%) respondents paid a committee member. In most of these cases (60%) the amount was R10-R15, with 71% paying R50 or less. It seems that there may have been some irregularities in the allocation of and payment for stands. One woman claimed that she was one of the few residents who had a double stand. It is not clear whether she was from Phase 1 or the Mayibuye section. Most of this select group had paid to get double stands but she said that she had not paid money, but “talked for myself”. She had “confronted” the white developers with her ambition to build a crèche. “I talked to them, telling them that I want two sites. They did not charge me a cent. They simply gave me the sites”. She had not managed to start the crèche yet, as she said he was impeded by the “lack of co-operation of people in Johandeo”.
Type of dwelling The majority of dwellings (95%) in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo were constructed with corrugated iron walls. Three percent had pre-fabricated walls, and 2% were of other materials including one brick house. Almost all dwellings (96%) had corrugated iron roofs. A variety of materials were used for the floors of dwellings. Six in ten dwellings (57%) had mud or soil floors, and a quarter (24%) had floors made of a mixture of mud and cement. Seventeen percent had cement or brick floors. Most dwellings in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo were very small. A third (33%) were one-roomed, and another three out of ten (28%) had two rooms. Only 18% of dwellings had 4 or more rooms. The differences between dwelling sizes in the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 were not statistically significant. However, as Figure 41 shows, dwellings in the older Phase 1 tended to be larger, with higher proportions having 3 or 4 rooms than dwellings in the Mayibuye section. As would be expected for a new settlement, and one under the Mayibuye scheme, the majority of dwellings (99%) were occupied by one family. However, there was 1 site where there were two families. The same pattern with 99% of sites occupied by one family was also found in Phase 1. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 69
% of dw ellings 40 Mayibuye Phase 1 33
30 28 25 24 22 21 21 20
14
10 5 3 2 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Figure 41: Number of rooms (divided by a solid structure) in dwelling Respondents were asked to estimate how much their dwelling had cost to construct. Estimated costs ranged from R30 for a one-roomed dwelling to R5 000 for a five-roomed dwelling. Half the dwellings cost R800 or less to construct, but at the other end of the scale, a quarter of dwellings had cost more than R1 800 to construct. % of respondents 20
16 15 14 12 11 11 11 10 7 5 5 5 3 3
0 0
R50-R200 R201-R400 R401-R600 R601-R800 R801-R1000 R1001-R1200R1201-R1400R1401-R1600R1601-R1800R1801-R2000R2001-R2500R2501-R5000
Note: Percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding Figure 42: Estimated cost of constructing the dwelling The highest proportion of dwellings (61%) had been built by the respondents themselves. Of respondents who had built the dwelling themselves, the majority (89%) was male. Where the dwelling had been built by family, friends and neighbours, two thirds (67%) of respondents were women. Eighteen percent of respondents had employed a builder (all from businesses employing 5 or less people) to construct the dwelling. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 70
% of respondents 70% Men Women 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% My self Family/friend/ Small builder Prev ious owner Other neighbour Total 61% 18% 18% 2% 1% Figure 43: Who built the dwelling, by sex of respondent A number of questions were asked in relation to the construction of formal houses. Respondents were asked whether they would like to participate in building their own house. There was a fairly wide spread of opinion about this. Four out of ten respondents (42%) agreed or strongly agreed that they would like to participate in building their own house, but over half (56%) disagreed. The differences between the Mayibuye section and Phase 1 were not statistically significant. There was no clear pattern of responses in relation to the education level, or age of the respondent, or to household income. However, there was a clear gender pattern. Women were significantly more likely to strongly disagree with the statement than men. Over a third of women (36%) said strongly that they did not want to participate in building their own house, compared with 13% of men. These attitudes are related to gender perceptions of whether people in the household have the skills to build a house themselves. Every female respondent said that their household possessed none of the skills required, compared with three-quarters (74%) of male respondents giving this answer. Overall, respondents in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo were not confident of possessing the skills needed to build a house. Only 11% of respondents said their household possessed all the skills required. This is despite 14% of those employed working in the building industry. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 71
Upgrading Respondents in the survey were asked whether they would like to upgrade their dwellings. In the Mayibuye section, 77% of respondents said they would like to upgrade – a significantly higher proportion than respondents from Phase 1 (60%).45 These respondents were asked how they would like to upgrade. They could give as many answers as they wanted. There were marked differences in the upgrading preferences of respondents from the Mayibuye section compared with Phase 1. These differences reflect the differences in service provision in the two areas. Housing is a much higher priority than services for Phase 1 residents, while services and housing are important for residents in the Mayibuye section. ISUP Mayibuye
Electrify 2 42 Toilet in house/stand 7 33 Water in house/stand 5 23
Enlarge house 90 64 Improve w alls/roof 75 46 Improve internal fittings 68 32 Add w indow s 48 35 Improve yard 55 22 100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 % of respondents from each phase Figure 44: How would you like to upgrade your dwelling? Despite the fact that the first people only settled in Johandeo‟s Mayibuye section in March 1997, by the time of the survey (January 1998), 18% of respondents said they had already upgraded their dwelling. The highest proportion (80%) of these had used their own savings to upgrade, while 20% had got the money from family savings.
45 Chi² test. P=0,021. Significant at the 5% level. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 72
Family sav ings 20%
No Y es 82% 18%
Own sav ings 80%
Figure 45: Have you upgraded your dwelling in the past, and if so, where did you get the money?
5. Services, priorities and development programmes
What services exist at the moment? In Phase 1 stands have toilets, piped water and electricity,46 whereas in the Mayibuye area only water has been provided so far. Three high mast “apollo” lights have been erected but in the view of one man “they are not enough for a large area like this”.
Water All stands in both sections of Johandeo have piped water in their stands. For about half the respondents from both sites (55% from the Mayibuye section and 45% from Phase 1) there were never problems with the supply of water. However, for 14% of respondents from the Mayibuye section and 33% from Phase 1, problems were experienced either daily or weekly.
Toilet facilities In Phase 1, the vast majority of stands have flush toilets in their yards (91%). The remainder use pit toilets. In the Mayibuye section, however, 79% of respondents use pit latrines. Just less than half these respondents (46%) share a latrine with their neighbours. Seventeen per cent of respondents from the Mayibuye section use the bush or open spaces. It is not surprising, therefore, that while 88% of respondents from Phase 1 said that toilet facilities were „fine‟, 72% of those from the Mayibuye section said they were „terrible‟, and another 21% said they were „inadequate‟.
46 Mr. Peter Tladi was said to have negotiated with Eskom for the installation of electricity in Phase 1 (working women‟s focus group). Baseline Report: Johandeo. 73
Refuse disposal The majority of respondents (84%) said they dumped their rubbish in the streets or an open space. One in ten (10%) buried their refuse, and 5% burn it. A quarter of respondents (23%) said that refuse was removed. There was disagreement over how often this happened. Some respondents said it was removed 2-3 times per month, while others said it was removed „irregularly‟. Concerns were raised in the focus groups about the amount of litter. One man said, “I would be happy to see the bush I am staying next to, removed. Children are playing in this bush and rubbish is dumped there as well. It is starting to smell badly” (unemployed men).
Priorities for services Respondents were asked what two services the community needed most urgently. In the Mayibuye section, the two top priorities were electricity and toilets. These services were listed first or second by over two thirds of respondents. They were also raised in the focus groups, with one man stating that „toilets and electricity are my biggest concern‟ (unemployed men). 80 1st choice 2nd choice
60 34 40 40 7
% of respondents of % 20 37 27 28 5 4 0 5 1 5 13 21
Water Houses Electricity Tarred roads schools) Refuse removal Health services Toilets/sanitation lights, phones Other (police, shops, Figure 46: Services most urgently needed in the Mayibuye section, Johandeo In Phase 1, the priorities were rather different. Fully 60% of respondents said that housing was their first priority, and another 6% listed it as the second most important need. The two other issues mentioned most often by respondents from Phase 1 were the need for tarred roads (55%) and the need for a clinic (34%). Some of these priorities were discussed in the focus groups. One participant spoke about the muddy roads saying, “on such days you hold your shoes in your hands until you reach a drier area”. Another said, “when it is raining a car cannot drive into my yard”. Another complained that the refuse truck was partly to blame for the state of the roads. It seems to come “when it is about to rain”, ploughing up the road and preventing other lorries, such as the one that delivers coal, from entering the area. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 74
On a previous occasion residents had been asked to contribute R40 to the development of the roads. “Immediately after popping out those R40‟s, the municipality improved the streets … they didn‟t manage to do all the streets and the residents also stopped paying the R40”. One participant (unemployed women) pointed out that formal township residents knew “nothing about dust”. She continued, “They will only see us when we are from shacks and being dusty. They have tarred roads. Even when they are from the clinics they look clean, and when we come back from our clinic we look dusty. You can even contract diseases on your way back from the clinic”.
Another participant described the difficulty of accessing good health services. One woman said that one is no longer allowed to get treatment at the Sebokeng hospital. “We are told to start at the clinic. If you go with an ill child right now, they send you back”. Another comment was that lack of money sometimes forces residents to walk to a clinic “on scary roads” where one could be attacked. Beyond these priorities which were revealed through the survey, focus group participants discussed a range of other issues related to services and facilities. These included problems with transport generally, education, and the need for community facilities. With reference to public transport, one perspective was given by a women‟s focus group participant, who complained, “When it has rained taxi drivers refuse to drop us at our area. They leave us on main roads. You would find that one is carrying groceries and become miserable. This would cost us much because I would be left with no choice but to board another taxi. That would cost me a lot of money. I pay R8,40 return to town. If I go to Vereeniging I pay R5,20”.
Another woman pointed out that Johandeo was situated alongside the railway but that no trains stopped there. “Platforms are in good order, the station is alright. What we only need are trains. We are next to the station” (unemployed women). The alternative open to residents is to wait lengthy periods for taxi‟s that do not always go directly to their destinations. In terms of education, it was mentioned that there is only one school in Johandeo and that it is private. Parents are required to pay R50, failing which “the principal will complain about the empty school purse from which he cannot pay the teachers” and children‟s reports are withheld. Some participants suggested that a government school be built so that education costs would not be so high. The needs for community facilities included a place to play soccer or volleyball, and the need for a community hall. Since the time of the survey, work has started funded by the IDT on converting an existing structure into a hall. One participant (employed women) regretted that a place to hold funerals, weddings or church choral functions was lacking in Johandeo. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 75
“If we had a hall we would invite other choirs to sing in the hall. We are not in a position to invite other school choirs for competitions if we do not have a hall. I think a hall is very important for our community” (employed women).
One final issue discussed was public telephones which are housed in caravans, which are closed during the night. One woman added, “they do not operate every day and they sometimes do not function properly”. Another said, “They belong to a certain person who hired them. We are unable to phone sometimes because he would lock the place and go. On holidays he does not open”.
Developments At the time of the survey (January 1998) only 36% of respondents from the Mayibuye section, and 25% from Phase 1 knew of any development projects taking place in Johandeo. The perception among focus group participants was that developments were only taking place very slowly. One woman attributed this to an “argument” about whether the name is Johandeo or Polokong, a matter that she said needed to be finalised in Pretoria. In the unemployed women‟s group a lot of dissatisfaction was articulated about the lack of facilities and slow progress in developing Johandeo. One woman said “We attend meetings almost daily and we are told the holes for sewerage pipes will be dug, yet nothing happens”. Where survey respondents had heard about development projects, over a quarter of all respondents in the Mayibuye section (26%) were aware of this sewerage project, which was discussed by focus group participants. There seems to be much talk of developments in Johandeo, but often these projects are stalled. For example, focus group participants talked about the installation of electricity, but said they had been informed that it would not be installed in the Mayibuye section until 1999. Another focus group participant (employed women) said that they had been told last year that “in January houses would be built for us”. Another confirmed that when she had been at the office to complete applications for a subsidy “we heard people talking amongst themselves that houses would be built”. Delays seemed inevitable, as another participant reported that they had been told that “in ten months time housing projects will resume”. No survey respondents reported that they, or members of their household, were employed on development projects. In the focus groups, however, it was reported that some local people had been employed in the installation of water pipes and electricity in Phase 1. One participant (employed women) said that the workers had “relieved” each other at times “so that we could all get money”. However, an element of nepotism also emerged in the discussion. One man, said that Johandeo committee members “rush to their unemployed relatives outside Johandeo to come an fill the posts” that occasionally become available for service work in the area. C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 76
Payment for services A significantly higher proportion of respondents in Phase 1 had paid for services in the past (60%) compared with those in the Mayibuye section (42%). The differences in service provision between the two sections of Johandeo are reflected in opinions about payment for services. Overall, the majority of respondents in both sections agreed that people should pay for services received (87% in the Mayibuye section and 94% in Phase 1). However respondents from the two sections differed significantly in their opinions about whether people who do not pay for services should have these services cut off.47 Nearly half the respondents in the Mayibuye section (46%) strongly agreed that non- payers should be cut off, and only 9% strongly disagreed. In Phase 1, however, a higher proportion disagreed with the idea of cutting off those who do not pay. This may be because they receive and pay for more services than the residents of the Mayibuye section, and have found themselves in the position of not being able to pay. Only 30% of respondents from Phase 1 strongly agreed that non-payers should be cut off and 22% strongly disagreed. In the survey, respondents were asked how much they would be willing to pay for water and electricity each month. This was an open-ended question, but among respondents from the Mayibuye section, the highest proportion (28%) said they would be willing to pay between R51 and R75 per month. Just over half the respondents (53%) said they would pay up to R60 per month, with the remainder (47%) saying they would be willing to pay more. When asked about how much they could afford to pay, respondents gave slightly higher figures, selecting from a range of figures from R5 up to R200. On average, respondents said they could afford to pay R15 more than they were willing to pay. 35 afford to pay willing to pay 30
25
20
15
% of respondents of % 10
5
0 0 10 20 35 50 75 100 150 200 Amount (R) Figure 47: How much can you afford to pay, and how much are you willing to pay for services, Mayibuye section, Johandeo
47 Chi² test. P=0,006. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 77
6. Problems in the community
Crime Several focus group participants (unemployed men) commented on the low crime rate in Johandeo and how this encouraged them to stay there. This is despite the fact that only a third (34%) of respondents in the survey reported that there was no crime in Johandeo, compared with 62% in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Of those who thought crime was a problem 63% thought crimes occurred „often‟ and 37% thought they occurred „sometimes‟. No respondents said crimes only occurred „occasionally‟ or „rarely‟. Of those who thought crime was a problem, 43% mentioned theft as the most common type of crime, 36% said rape was the most common, and 8% said assaults occurred the most frequently. There was some criticism of the police. There is a police station in Johandeo, but one focus group participant said “sometimes our police are afraid of criminals until police from outside places are called in”. It seems that the Houtkop police are called when the local police cannot cope with a difficult situation. Others felt that the police hampered by the lack of a vehicle. Others were more scathing. One young man said that people who have crimes committed against them “must contact the youth like us, because our policemen are lazy”. Another man said, “I will be happy if our Johandeo police could act responsibly. They must be serious even if they are just a small unit. They must stop drinking beer, which blinds them to see thieves who steal their guns. Should you go to them at night, you will find them asleep, not hearing you when knocking”.
7. Community organisations and dynamics
Organisations and membership Membership of a range of organisations was low in comparison with Soshanguve South Extension 4. Only 8% of respondents in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo said they, or members of their household, did not belong to any local organisation, compared with 13% in Soshanguve South Extension 4. However, in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo, 81% of respondents said they belonged to a church, but relatively few participated in any other community organisations. Forty two percent belonged to only one organisation, compared to only 26% in Soshanguve South. Only about one or two in ten of the survey respondents were members of a women‟s, a political or a youth organisation. It could be that the relative newness of the Mayibuye settlement means that residents have not had time to get too involved in community affairs and are understandably engrossed in eking out a living for their households under difficult circumstances.
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Church 81 Women's org. 23 Political org. 17 Youth 13 Sports 11 TU 11 Stokvel 8 Civic/Street committee 3 Burial society 2 Other 2 None 8 0 20 40 60 80 % of households Figure 48: Organisational membership of Johandeo (Mayibuye) households Church services tend to be held in people‟s houses. One focus group participant said that those who have “big yards do allocate one room for this purpose” (unemployed men). It was mentioned in focus groups that the ANC, PAC, IFP and NP have called meetings in Johandeo. However, attendance at these was reported to be quite low (unemployed men). Distribution of food parcels in the community had at one stage been attributed to donations from the NP (employed women). Some local committees are active in Johandeo. The local community police forum was mentioned which was set up “to deal with criminal activities and to guard this place” as well as other committees. One problem seems to be that the various committees do not work together very well (unemployed men). Some participants mentioned that clashes had occurred between the different committees about respective roles and turfs.
Settling conflicts
Ourselves 26% Street committee 27%
Family/ neighbour 3% Other 2%
Community Police 20% committee 21% Figure 49: How would you resolve a conflict with your neighbour, Mayibuye section, Johandeo Baseline Report: Johandeo. 79
Just more than one quarter (26%) of survey respondents indicated that in the event of a conflict with neighbours they would resolve the matter themselves. A similar proportion (27%) said that they would approach a street committee (although participants in two focus groups said that street committees do not exist in Johandeo). Just over a fifth (21%) said that the community committee would be contacted. Only one fifth (20%) said that they would approach the police about a neighbourhood conflict. In the employed women‟s focus group some participants said that they approach either the committee or the police in the event of conflicts.
Community meetings Survey respondents were asked to estimate the number of people who usually attend community meetings. These seem to be well attended with the majority (85% of all respondents) saying that there are usually over 200 people there. These meetings are held at an open space, and seem to serve for many people as their prime source of information about developments. Ninety four per cent of respondents from Phase 1 said that they mainly found out about important developments in the community through these meetings. Interestingly, only 78% of respondents from the Mayibuye section said this, and 14% said that they relied on friends and neighbours to tell them about developments. It may be that the lower proportion attending community meetings from the Mayibuye section is due to a sense of disillusionment with the local committee, and with the pace of development. Feedback from the focus groups about these meetings is not positive. In the employed women‟s group, disagreements between committee members were mentioned as a factor that impedes development in the community. Some even said that the committee was non-functional. Similarly, a participant in the unemployed men‟s group said, “the committee is out of focus… Today they may talk about electricity, tomorrow houses will be the focus and they will allow no one to refer to or ask questions about the previous day‟s issues. Some of us don‟t attend meetings anymore”.
Relationship between the community and local government The level of trust and respect for local government is low. This is particularly the case in Phase 1 where only 22% said that the relationship between local government and the community was „good‟ or „excellent‟ compared with 59% in the Mayibuye section and 72% in Soshanguve South Extension 4. Focus group members complained about the lack of interest shown in the community by the councillor (employed women). C A S E research for the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs. 80
8. Individuals and their place in the community As for Soshanguve South extension 4, two indicators have been calculated to suggest a) how settled, and b) how powerless or isolated respondents in Johandeo feel. Some possible problems with the indicators and suggestions for improving them were listed in the section on Soshanguve South extension 4.
How well established are individuals? The following five questions were grouped together to create an index of how well established and settled respondents felt. Answers were allocated scores as below. Questions 1 and 2 were weighted more strongly than the other three questions, because they were considered to be more powerful indicators of how settled a person felt. The minimum possible score was 0, and the maximum, 14. 1. Do you feel you are part of this community? 2. How many different organisations do members of this household belong to? 3. Do you plan to bring any of your relatives here in the future? 4. Do you, or members of this household, participate in community development projects? 5. If you ever really need money, how do you get it?
Question Responses and score 0 1 2 3 4 Feel part of the No, not at all No, not really Don‟t know Yes, sort of Yes, strongly community? 1% 5% 0% 8% 86% Number of None One Two Three 4 or more organisations 8% 42% 30% 13% 7% Bring relatives? No Don‟t know Yes 42% 2% 56% Participate in No Yes comm. devp. 100% 0% Projects How get money Self-sufficient (go Borrow from Borrow from when really without, use own family or friends or need it? savings etc.) work neighbours 34% 55% 11% Table 12: Questions included in the score for how settled respondents are in the Mayibuye section of Johandeo Respondents from the Mayibuye section scored between 2 and 12. This was a bigger range than respondents from Phase 1 who scored between 3 and 10. Surprisingly, respondents from the Mayibuye section scored slightly, but significantly48 higher on average, than those from Phase 1. The average score in the Mayibuye section was 7,3 compared with 6,5 in Phase 1. This finding may relate to the different histories of the two areas. Many of those from the
48 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,004. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 81
Mayibuye section came from a squatter camp beside the Golden Highway. This indicator may suggest a feeling of community amongst those people as much as an attachment to Johandeo itself. % of respondents 25% Mayibuye ISUP 20%
15%
10%
5%
0% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Score from 0-14 Figure 50: Composite score for how settled respondents are in Johandeo The majority of respondents (86%) said they felt strongly part of the community at Johandeo. Only 73% of respondents from Phase 1 felt strongly part of the community. One focus group participant felt that “Johandeo is the best of all places I know”. Another said (unemployed men) said, “I won‟t leave Johandeo because I am already used to this place and its people. Another thing is that if someone tries to do criminal practices we can easily recognise him. At a new place the criminals will have because we don‟t know each other, even neighbours”.
For others, however, staying in Johandeo was dependent on the provision of services. This is a concern given the plans for extensive new development, and building of formal houses on land adjacent to Johandeo to the North and East. If better services and facilities are available there, or even if people feel they are likely to be available, many may move out of Johandeo. For example, participants in the employed women‟s group said, “If [Johandeo] can be developed, we won‟t move”.
“Only if our needs are met, then there won‟t be anything which will make us move”. But she added: “I am already on my way out. I am going to look for a house elsewhere because it seems there is no progress”.
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Statistical tests on the results from the Mayibuye section led to the conclusion that a respondent‟s score is independent of socio-economic variables such as sex, age, income, education or how long the respondent had lived in Johandeo.
Powerlessness and isolation A similar score was calculated using responses to the following three statements: 4. People like me can‟t influence developments in our community. 5. The government doesn‟t care about people like me. 6. I will never be able to afford a better place to live. Respondents scored 0 for strong agreement with the statement (the most pessimistic) and 4 for strong disagreement (the most optimistic). The lower the score, the greater the sense of powerlessness.
Question RESPONSES AND SCORE Pessimistic/disempowered Optimistic/empowered Strongly agree Agree Don‟t know Disagree Strongly disagree 0 1 2 3 4 Can‟t influence 10% 33% 22% 19% 16% development. Govt. doesn‟t 8% 7% 18% 34% 33% care. Never afford better place to 10% 41% 2% 27% 21% live. Table 13: Responses to questions included in score for feelings of powerlessness, Mayibuye section, Johandeo Of the three statements, respondents from the Mayibuye section were the most positive about Government. Two thirds of respondents (67%) thought that government did care about people like them. There was a wider spread of opinion in response to the other two statements. For example, 10% of respondents strongly agreed that they would never be able to afford a better place to live, but 21% felt strongly that they would. Respondents from the Mayibuye section of Johandeo scored between 2 and 12. As with the score for how settled respondents felt, those from Phase 1 scored slightly, but significantly lower than those from the Mayibuye section.49 In Phase 1 the average score was 5,8 compared with 6,8 for respondents from the Mayibuye section.
49 Mann-Whitney U test. P=0,023. Significant at the 5% level. Baseline Report: Johandeo. 83
% of respondents 25% Mayibuye 20% 19% 17% 16% 15%
9% 10% 8% 8% 6% 6% 4% 4% 5% 3%
0% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Score from 0-12 Figure 51: Composite score for how powerless and isolated respondents feel, Mayibuye section, Johandeo Statistical analysis of the scores showed that the sex of the respondent was the only socio-economic variable by which there was a significant difference in scores (and this was only at the 5% level). Feelings of powerlessness and isolation were independent of age, education, income or how long the respondent had lived in Johandeo. By sex, women were more likely than men to have a low score (between 0 and 4), suggesting they feel more powerless than men. Nearly a quarter of women (22%) scored between 0 and 4 compared with only 9% of men.
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CONCLUSIONS The Mayibuye Programme (ISUP) of the Gauteng Department of Housing and Land Affairs commenced implementation almost simultaneously at different ends of the province. The time series study will be useful in monitoring their respective degrees of progress, within two different contexts. This report constitutes a baseline against which progress and change can be measured during subsequent years. Both of the settlements, Johandeo and Soshanguve South Extension 4, commenced in early 1997 (March and June respectively). Some progress has been made in the installation of bulk services but the communities are anxious to see further developments. The process of accessing housing subsidies and transferring land to individual beneficiaries is at an early stage in both settlements and levels of comprehension of the system are relatively low, more so in Johandeo. Some upgrading and expansion of existing dwellings has already taken place and most households intend to increase the sizes of their homes or add windows or internal fittings to upgrade their homes. Johandeo is not as well established as Soshanguve in terms of the networking and membership of local community organisations is concerned. Fewer households in Johandeo have members belonging to one or more organisation than is the case in Soshanguve. Additionally, there is a slightly stronger likelihood that Johandeo residents would move elsewhere given the opportunity. Households in Soshanguve are slightly better off than those in Johandeo. This is reflected in higher levels of employment, higher average household incomes and better levels of education in Soshanguve than in Johandeo. Johandeo have consequently been able to invest lesser amounts of capital in the construction of their current dwellings than their Soshanguve counterparts.