Programme evaluation of social housing development in eThekwini Municipality : a case study of first metro housing rental company in South Africa

Abstract

This study examined the programme evaluation of social housing development in eThekwini Municipality using a case study of First Metro Housing Rental Company in South Africa. The 1994 democracy brought an immeasurable amount of work intending to provide affordable settlement for the poor and needy citizens, which became unbearable to do all the work as planned. The adoption of the preferential procurement policy supported housing demands to achieve socio-economic responsibility that later brought many challenges to the government. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and Breaking New Grounds (BNG) housing programme affected the livelihood of poor people negatively and positively. Therefore, this study investigated the effectiveness of the implementation of the social housing programmes at eThekwini municipality. Furthermore, the study recommends strategies that will contribute towards the improvement of social housing development programmes and bridging the gap between low-cost houses and open market houses. The objectives intended to examine the determinants of managing the social housing development programme in First Metro Housing Rental Company (FMHC Rental S.A) to investigate the challenges experienced by stakeholders in the implementation of social housing development programmes, and to recommend a strategy that can improve the housing delivery at eThekwini Municipality. To achieve these objectives, the population targeted included managers, supervisors, and employees from eThekwini municipality (Durban–Avoca Hills) and First Metro Housing Rental Company, where the sample was drawn. This study adopted a mixed methods approach to collect and analyse data. The interview and questionnaire instruments were used to collect data respectively from 7 officials at FMHC and 212 tenants. Data were processed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm software and the Nvivo thematic approaches. Thus, the social housing policy objectives were set to support and structuring spatial, economic, and social transformation. Findings show that existing policies guiding social Housing Development in South Africa, and particularly at eThekwini Municipality have been inadequately and inefficiently implemented. The improvement of land policy, and policy to tackle challenges affecting social housing development programmes were strongly recommended towards closing the gap of the demand of social housing in South Africa.