ANALYSIS OF WORK DURING JANUARY 2010
Ronald Eglin gave a presentation at a workshop organised by the Department of Housing in the Western Cape on 29 January 2010 regarding the LANDfirst concept developed by Afesis-corplan and other organisations. A broad range of experts were brought together by the Department of Housing in the Western Cape to explore options for what government can do to support people getting land and services.
The workshop recognised that a balance needed to be struck between addressing the huge demand for shelter as reflected in the number of people living in informal settlements and backyards, and the need to ensure the efficient development of settlements in relation to public transport and job opportunities, etc.
The Western Cape Department of Housing will provide opportunities to explore the increased supply of serviced sites in more detail. Afesis-corplan will be monitoring the Western Cape Department of Housing to see what emerges. The opportunity at this workshop was for Afesis-corplan to continue promoting the LANDfirst concept to other provincial governments.
Free to Grow
Ronald Eglin and Gugu Mgwebi attended a “Free to Grow” life skills workshop from 25 to 28 January in East London, together with twelve other people from the German Development Services (DED) and development partners working with DED.
The purpose of the workshop was to provide an opportunity for individuals to grow and develop life skills. The workshop addressed issues relating to self development, communication, conflict handling, interpersonal relationships and assertiveness. Participants were able to learn more about themselves, and the content of the workshop proved valuable. The Free to Grow workshop is one Afesis-corplan’s participants would recommend to other organisations.
To find out more, visit http://www.free-to-grow.co.za/
Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Housing presents green paper
On 22 January 2010, Ronald Eglin and Fred Kusambiza attended a workshop organised by the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Housing, where the department presented a green paper on “prevention of the mushrooming of informal settlements”.
The department is open to receive comments and a revised draft (or white paper) policy paper will be developed by end of February 2010. The Human Sciences Research Council also presented draft findings from a survey they are conducting for the department on informal settlements in the province. Preliminary findings indicate there are over 200 000 informal dwellings in the Eastern Cape. The final survey report should be complete towards mid 2010.
The feedback from the workshop was positive, because the department was taking a more developmental approach as opposed to policing or regulatory approaches. Although there is a lot more work that needs to be done in order for the new approach to become policy.
Organisations were given the opportunity to comment on the green paper, and Afesis-corplan submitted written comments. One of the comments Afesis-corplan made was that the Department needs to adopt a two-prong approach to upgrading informal settlements by providing emergency services and making new land available with services in place in response to future demand for housing.
A copy of the report can be found at:
http://echousing.ecprov.gov.za/index.php?module=documents&category=4#Publications