6.4. FOCUS GROUPS PERSPECTIVE
6.4.1. Theme 1: Quality living environment
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worth noting is that some beneficiaries were relocated from the southern and western parts of Durban to the northern part of Durban. This has resulted in a number of problems, where some beneficiaries are now spending more on transport, because of these relocations. The largest number of beneficiaries relocated from the south to the north is from Isipingo and Uganda, which can be very far for beneficiaries.
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exposed to in formal housing – where they were now accessing running water and toilets inside their houses.
Life in this place is much better than where I was living. In the informal settlement where I am coming from in Isipingo the area used to be flooded when it was raining (2).
The introduction of the RDP was equated to the provision of adequate housing, which was the vision envisaged in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. As a result, the objective of the Housing White Paper of 1994 was to prove “viable, socially- and economically- integrated communities, which were to be situated in areas of convenient access to economic opportunities such as health, educational, and social amenities” (see Huchzermeyer, 2001;
SAHRC, 2015).
Some participants in the focus groups indicated that even though they were now living in urban areas, where they have escaped overcrowding in informal settlements they were, however, exposed to all kinds of diseases, as they did not have access to basic amenities, just like people living in informal housing. Participants unanimously agreed that while in informal settlements they have been compromised in so many ways, because of the sizes of shacks, as compared to the sizes of houses in the new area.
My shack was a one bedroom where we were doing everything, cooking, watching television and sleeping with my family of four (1).
The findings indicated that in informal settlements housing conditions for those that cannot afford formal housing differ greatly with those in formal housing. Houses in informal settlements are built with materials of inferior quality, and there is less developed infrastructure and no basic amenities, with less regard to formal planning and building regulations (see United Nations, 2012).
6.4.1.2. Shortage of amenities
Participants in all focus groups acknowledged that the strategy used by the municipality has brought an improvement to their quality of life in that they were now living in formal houses.
Most beneficiaries were relocated by the municipality from different informal settlements - the challenge however, has been that some of the amenities were not available in this new area.
Where I was living it was close to schools, community halls and we had electricity life was good. (2)
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Some respondents raised concerns that in these new area children have to travel for long distances to schools that cater for them. Respondents unanimously felt that in as much as the quality of their life has improved, it appears to them as if they have been dumped – and that the municipality does not care.
There is no electricity in this area; we have been told it will be fixed. In the informal settlement where I am coming from, we had electricity. We cannot leave on these illegal connections it is not safe for our children. (3)
The findings from this theme indicated that the vision of the BNG has not been realised - since municipalities have not reached the target of providing houses in order to improve the quality of life of communities. This challenge has been acknowledged by the officials, that the lack of funding and poor alignment of budgets and priorities between line-function departments and municipalities, as well as municipalities responsible for social facilities in new communities has always been a problem (see Huchzermeyer, 2001, DHS, 2015). The eThekwini Municipality has committed itself to improving the quality of life of communities by ensuring that there is access to services such as health, community halls, safety education, and recreational centres, which complete the integration of human settlements (see IDP, 2016/17).
6.4.1.3. Access to economic opportunities
Focus group were concerned with accessing economic opportunities, as the majority of people who lived in the area were unemployed. The relocations of people from Isipingo, which is +- 48 km away to the Greenfields, was a matter of concern for the focus group. It can take up to 45 minutes for a person to travel from Isipingo to Cornubia. Some of the beneficiaries were working in Isipingo, while others were working as far as Amanzimtoti. Respondents in all focused groups were concerned that people now had to travel for long distances, leaving home in the early hours of the morning, and coming back late.
I work at Amanzimtoti I now leave home at about 4 am in the morning, and I don’t even know how my kids look like when they go to school. (1)
I work in Pinetown; I was staying in an informal settlement in Clermont now have to travel a long distance to work. I leave home at 4 am take a train from Mount Edgecombe to Pinetown.
It is much better now because I used to take a taxi and spend R60 a day, which was too much for me (4).
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The findings indicated that because beneficiaries have been relocated from different settlements, those that were staying closer to Cornubia have benefited. Those who were staying far acknowledged that their quality of life has improved, but that the only problem that they were faced with was that they now had to spend more on transport. Another concern raised by some parents was that because they leave early in the morning they didn’t even know if their children attended school as expected, or whether they were presentable when going to school.
These parents did not have these problems when they were staying in informal settlements because they were hands on. Participants also revealed that some beneficiaries have resorted to going back to the informal settlements closer to work, while others have even rented out their houses.
The findings further indicate that the relocation of beneficiaries to this new place has affected the normal functioning of their families, because in some cases the breadwinner would leave the family, including the spouse, to go and stay in an informal settlement. The findings of the theme alluded to the fact that the majority of the people who were relocated to new areas were not working – and that bringing them close to economic opportunities did not help, because there were no jobs. The Cornubia development project was aimed at bringing people from lower socio-economic classes and the jobless to locations where they would have access to economic opportunities (see Tongaat Hullet, 2014).