86
Mpehle (2012), beneficiaries of public services have witnessed little improvement in the provision of these services. Hence, the service delivery protests are witnessed because of poor provisioning of services leading to most people living in poverty.
Displeasure amongst communities’ marks resulted to the disappointment to deliver material benefits to the people – but also from government’s non-consultative and often exceptionally careless style to urban governance hence, these material benefits included houses and access to water. Therefore, service delivery protests are more about incompetent local governance, caused by people not knowing the proper channels to raise their concerns (Tissington, 2011).
Bradlow et al. (2011) indicate that a people-centred approach puts emphasis to the concept of pro-poor strategies. In most cases, these strategies are designed and implemented without the integration of participatory processes by communities. Therefore, this approach was expected to take into account that interventions, which were effective, would oblige the state to provide space for well-informed and organised communities of the urban poor to be considered in such projects (Bradlow et al., 2011).
Policies adopted in South Africa post 1994 aimed at providing change, which does not fully respond to the dualistic challenge of providing services for human settlements, which also ensures a safe and sustainable environment (Goebel, 2007). While the Housing Department was aligning policies to development goals, uneven expenditure patterns arose. To improve the situation, policy instruments and implementing agencies it is important that they are brought together so as to achieve greater alignment, to enhance the flow of funding and housing delivery (DoH, 2004).
4.3. BACK-TO-BASICS AS A STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE HUMAN
87
responsiveness of officials. As a result, democratic decentralisation can be regarded as a means by which governments are taken to the people. The aim of bringing these governments closer to the people is to enhance active citizen participation in decision-making. This can also be regarded as means where government intends to capacitate communities, through evidence- based interventions, which can only be made possible by generating accurate information about public needs (Dipholo et al., 2011).
In South Africa, a primary source for the delivery of basic services since the dawn of democracy has been at local government level (ANC, 2015). Progress has been made as far as delivering basic services such as water and sanitation, electricity, and refuse removal are concerned. Communities, which are beneficiaries, can attest to the progress made in this regard.
However, housing demand is increasing, since people are flocking to cities with the aim attaining a better life (IDP, 2016/17).
Dipholo et al. (2011), attest to the fact that for any local government to be effective, it should receive the financial boost from the central government. This reliance on the central government puts local government in a vulnerable position; as this is the only way it will be able to deliver services as expected. The author further argue that local government is expected to display capacity, professional aptitude and commitment in utilising the resources at its disposal. This will allow it to silence its critics, instead of accepting their fate and confirming their inefficiency (Dipholo et al., 2011). Thus, the core mandate of the eThekwini Municipality is to provide a quality living environment to members of the community. This can only be achieved through delivering houses and basic services. In the past 20 years, the municipality has been able to fulfil that mandate, but more needs to be done. The municipality is committed to addressing housing backlogs as its priority. There should be an increasing emphasis on the provision of social services that it is aligned to the vision of creating and sustaining integrated human settlements (IDP, 2016/17).
The City of Durban has its own dynamics, caused by a modification of the population and business activities along the coast towards Umhlanga. It is powered by the highway, cars and a search for Greenfield’s developments as ways of developing real estate (Freund, 2010).
Freund further alludes to the fact that that this phenomenon is different from what is happening in South Africa, where Greenfields are used for low- and middle-income earners. At the same time, this has been used to address issues of inequality in South Africa by bringing people closer to all amenities.
88
4.3.1. Spatial Development Plan as a strategy for sustainable human settlements
The NDP (2012) acknowledges that in South Africa there is a sound spatial structure, with economic activities distributed across metropolitan cities, as well as large towns and cities, which are linked by the established networks connected by infrastructure. However, there the challenge is that there is a dysfunctional and inequitable settlement pattern, which causes many people to live in poverty – including those in rural areas. Thus, the NDP further acknowledges the need to involve various stakeholders to tackle, which include economic solutions, institutional reforms, land management system changes, and infrastructure investments (The Presidency, 2012). The eThekwini Housing Sector Plan (2012) indicate that the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) ensures that provincial economic growth and enhanced quality of life for all in KZN is in line with National Vision 2030. The strategy further ensures that various stakeholders, with the aim of creating employment opportunities, enhancing skills, effective and efficient governance, human and community development, improved infrastructure and adequate utilisation of spatial form, adopt an integrated service delivery approach (IDP, 2016/17).
The Spatial Development Plan (SDP) forms part of the IDP as it informs and interprets the IDP spatially and provide guidance on the execution of the IDP. It further provides guidance on the spatial distribution of land uses in a municipality giving effect to the spatial vision, goals and objective of the municipality, whilst prioritising areas for spatial interventions (Spatial Development Framework, 2016/17). Todes (2008) argues that spatial framework planning in South Africa did not pay attention to the socio-political dynamics of the cities, but has focused on nodes and corridors, densification and the infill. Attention has been drawn away from understanding how people locate and move within the city, what drives their choices and the effects of the patterns for their livelihoods and survival. Hence, the SDP has identified Cornubia, located within the Urban Development Corridor, as an investment opportunity. The aims are to address the disparities and building the future by responding suitably to the needs and growth patterns and trends (Cornubia Framework Plan, 2011).
Benit and Morange (as cited in Todes, 2008), raised questions regarding a uniform approach used for spatial organisation. These scholars further argue about how poor locations affect employment opportunities for domestic workers, as well as the conditions under which they work. This reinforces the traditional critiques of apartheid cities, which leads to the decline in formal employment, and the increasing reliance by the poor on government. These strategies
89
have made central location less important. BNG has acknowledged the promotion of densification and integration as public interventions trying to build cities and towns, while they are at the same time processes, which assist in generating wealth and its distribution. The key was to integrate previously groups, which were excluded into the cities and the benefits, which are offered by the cities (DoH, 2004).
In the eThekwini Municipality, the need for managing densities in the city has been recognised by accommodating the people within the metropolitan area. At the same time, appropriate densification controls need to be applied, which could have a bearing on the spatial form of the city, and on accommodating the population growth (eThekwini Municipality, 2013). The SDF is a hierarchy plan for the municipality and informs the future spatial growth of the city. Hence, the SDF adopts the concepts of nodes and corridors as integrators of space in order to redress inequalities and segregation caused by apartheid policies (Sim, Sutherland & Scott, 2015).
4.3.2. Infrastructure Development Plan
According to Khan and Thurman (2011) the national government has the obligation of setting up “policies, norms and standards; set and monitor delivery goals; mobilise and distribute funds to provinces and municipalities for housing development, land acquisition, and infrastructure development; and create an environment for all parties to realise housing goals” (Khan &
Thurman, 2011). Municipalities in South Africa are faced with challenges related to infrastructure, such as expanding the existing infrastructure to disadvantaged areas. At the same time, they are expected to deal with the ageing existing infrastructure – while they are expected to increase capital infrastructure to fund projects identified. The transfer of public transport and housing functions to metropolitan cities causes this (Palmer, Graham, Swilling & Robinson, 2016).
Infrastructure provision is critical to social and economic development, and is a fundamental catalyst for investment attraction (Agbola & Olatubara, 2003). Infrastructure development provides the possibilities for the implementation of public policies and interventions to maximise finite resources in the creation of jobs, enhancement of living standards and attracting foreign investments (Ilesanmi, 2012). Ilesanmi (2012) further attest that, the physical infrastructure such as electricity, transportation and communication networks are essential for the sustainability of an operative market economy, as well as the acceleration of good governance. Infrastructure constitutes the bedrock of sound economic development, social
90
progress and human security. In the absence of constant supply of electricity, industrial activities such as manufacturing, mining and agriculture, which are usually the primary employers in developing economies – cannot be sustainable. As a result, efficient and affordable transportation networks are needed, without it markets disconnect and fail, the rural- urban movement of agricultural products is stalled, price discrepancies between points of manufacturing and consumption broaden, and public administration becomes difficult to manage (Ilesanmi, 2012).
The primary bulk municipal infrastructure and capacity to levy service contributions should be paid by the municipality. The provision of bulk infrastructure by developers can lead to complications and problems if this capacity is exclusive to the developer. The municipal infrastructure should adhere to the standards and technical specifications of the municipality (www.ameu.co.za/.../Provision%20of%20Bulk%20Municipal% 20Infrastructure%20).
According to Khan and Thurman (2011), provincial government is expected manage both national and provincial housing programmes, by implementing legislation where the need arises, and approve and dispense subsidies. On the other hand, local government should take realistic and essential steps ensuring that citizens have access to housing on a sustainable basis by providing basic services and infrastructure; and identifying designated land for housing (Khan & Thurman, 2011). Infrastructure for new housing should be developed single-dwelling units, medium-density housing, and incremental housing. Incremental housing involves the provision of services and land component of the project is separate from the top structure.
Hence, departments should consider that housing comes as a package, which also incorporates internal infrastructure (COGTA, 2016).
COGTA (2016) recognises that in most cases, communities are not aware that the networked infrastructure draws huge flows of natural and manufactured resources, which are sourced from borders outside the city. Shortages of water, energy, food, sewage and solid waste should not be for long hours, so long as they are needed by the users, and are sourced through channels of the city (Palmer et al., 2016). Infrastructure development has a major impact on the social and economic development of the country. An infrastructure that is up to the required standard provides many benefits to individuals and enterprises (COGTA, 2011). COGTA further elaborates that infrastructure development supports growth and economic output, and affords opportunities for the disadvantaged to contribute to the sustainability of the environment.
Municipalities should guard against over-emphasising economic benefits at the expense of
91
social benefits. Infrastructure planning can take up to 10 years to bring large projects – whether it is water or power generation. Therefore, cities should share their long-term visions in terms of the growth and development strategy, and prove a strategic framework for infrastructure planning (Palmer et al., 2016).
The plan of the eThekwini Municipality on infrastructure is to have a proactive management rather than a reactive maintenance of the infrastructure. This will help the municipality not to over commit funds on new infrastructure development, which can lead to insufficient funding for maintenance, as well as the replacement of the existing infrastructure (IDP, 2016/17).
Infrastructure planning should be undertaken by time-scale, coupled with investment plans, which will in turn, apprise short-term plans, which should be updated. Infrastructure planning should be integrated, not only at the level of the sector, but spatially and financially as well by consolidating the funding. Municipalities should exercise their autonomy to define their programmes and projects, with specific performance indicators related to the long-term objectives (Palmer et al., 2016).
Ureta (as cited in Todes & Harrison, 2016), contends that greater spatial access will be achieved if there is investment in infrastructure and systems that improves mobility. The regulatory policies can also play an important role in appropriate zoning, housing typologies and the location decisions around housing development. Metropolitan cities are known for concentrating jobs within higher-income areas, which requires that they consider inclusionary housing by bringing lower income people into the fabric of higher income urban areas (Todes
& Harrison, 2016). Todes (as quoted in Todes, 2008), reports on the findings of a study, conducted in 2000, which indicated that spatial frameworks failed to give guidance to infrastructure departments, which made them continue with their planning. This raised apprehensions on whether nodes and corridors were meaningful to departments that provide water and waste disposal services.
4.3.3. Densification
Density, in the eThekwini Municipality is defined, as a key model in planning, architecture and urban design that is used to pronounce, forecast and control the use of land. It increases the demand for efficiency of the urban environment with respect to better utilisation of land and natural resources, infrastructure, and human and financial resources (eThekwini Municipality, 2013). According to Turok (2011), density has two elements: the physical structures and the
92
actual resident population. The physical structure should be measured by the dwellings per hectare, and urban planners, influence new developments by giving more attention to it. Hence, the main objective becomes raising the actual population density. Turok further indicates that this relationship is not static, but changes with household sizes and alignment, due to changes in income, stages in the life cycle and collective norms.
The World Bank Report (2016) suggests that urban planning process should integrate domains, which seek to increase the built-up space to accommodate both people and businesses at the same time. The required infrastructure should support these higher densities, which at the same time increase the value of the land. This can contribute to an increase in revenues, by levying property taxes and using other tools to increase the revenue. The World Bank (2016) further suggests that if urban planning is done properly, it can promote economically vibrant and sustainable cities and metropolitan areas. Whilst Boyko & Cooper (2011) suggest that high urban densities be accommodated in the policies, which boost food growth in urban areas.
Municipalities should be willing to convert vacant land into temporary vegetable gardens, and communities must, at the same time, be willing to grow food on the available land (Boyko &
Cooper, 2011).
According to Barret, Gakenheimer, Newman and Kenworthy, Nijkamp and Rienstra, Owens, Stead and Marshall, and Guindon (as cited in Du Plessis, 2014), common interests exist between mixed-use land and travelling patterns. Empirical studies conducted by scholars as suggested by Du Plessis are in favour of higher density levels and mixed use land and points to benefits such as less travelling by car, shorter travelling distances, and lesser transportation costs. This shows that there are benefits to communities, as they are going to live close to places of employment, and would as such, spend less on transportation. Hence, municipalities are to ensure that the land identified is in close proximity to the other facilities in order to achieve the integration in human settlements.
Turok (2011), identified three approaches that drive densification: (a) by state processes such as obtaining and making land obtainable for development so as to provide new low-income housing; (b) the encouragement of market producers, to use incentives encouraging new housing developers to build at higher densities; and (c) fiscal measures, influencing household choices and preferences. Therefore, for any city to realise these proper investment plans, incentives and controls should be put in place so as to ensure sustainability. However, Turok
93
suggest that if there is no consistency in spatial programmes and policy instruments public land ownership can be hampered (Turok, 2011).
Therefore, densification requires long-term planning, with opportunities provided to restructure cities to enable them to respond positively to challenges, and improving city performance in a positive manner. City dynamics bring changes in issues and realities overtime, and cities are expected to respond to these changes in order to satisfy the needs of communities (Yusuf & Allopi, 2004). The benefits of managing density should be related to the creation of sustainable human settlements and sustainable resource use. These key issues are important in driving the demand for density in the eThekwini Municipality (SDF, 2016/17).