The The Effects of Low- Cost Houses on Poverty Reduction: A Case Study of Moroke Village within Fetakgomo-Tubatse Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of Low-Cost Houses on poverty reduction in Moroke village within Fetakgomo-Tubatse Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Low-Cost Houses were introduced by the ruling party (African National Congress) in 1994 as a way of addressing the imbalances of the past and directing economic development. the idea was to have an integrated coherent socio-economic policy that would address problems brought about the lack of equitable development under apartheid. However, the quality of the Low-Cost Houses has been contentius since they are charecterzed by the challenges such as delivery crises (backlog), poor housing maintenance such as poor roofing, doors, windows, fllors and walls and questionable procedure of housing allocation. The study utilized qualitative methodology whereby noon-probability sampling as well as purporsive sampling as sub-type was used. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and observation and was analyzed in a narrative and tabular form. Most of beneficiaries of low-Cost Houses indicated that they face problems such as poor maintenance which results in the roofing being shaking during windy and rainy seasons, the doors are no longer closing and toilets have fallen while some officials reported problems such as poor construction quality, insufficient resource allocation and the creteria from the housing policy. The community should get educated about the procedures to be followed when addressing the challenges faced by the beneficiaries of Low-Cost Houses and the policy makers should consider the amendment of housing policy for the R3500 monthly band because it has been implemented since 1994 without amendment which is not enough to cater all basic needs as well as building a proper house.