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Recent protests in various communities across South Africa have once again given prominence to the country’s housing crisis. More than 25 years since the dawn of democracy, South Africa continues to be plagued by a desperate housing shortage.

When the current government took overpower in 1994, it was faced with the huge task of solving the myriad challenges concerning housing and its related issues. Under apartheid, significant numbers of the black population lived in substandard housing located in overcrowded areas. The post-apartheid dream, it was envisaged, would include housing for low-income households who had been denied decent living conditions under the previous regime.

Notwithstanding the achievements made thus far in delivering houses, the persistent outcries, and protests over housing highlight that many citizens are still without adequate housing. Low-income communities have been speaking out even more about their poor living conditions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, detailing the lack or limited provision of basic necessities like running water and sanitary waste removal systems.

Afrobarometer, a partner to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, fielded another round of surveys in South Africa in May-June 2021. The results show that South Africans rank housing as the third most important problem requiring government’s urgent attention, preceded only by unemployment and crime. An overwhelming majority of citizens (86%) say that the government has a duty to provide adequate housing for the poor who cannot afford shelter. More than half (55%) of respondents feel “very strongly” about this.

According to about three-quarters (76%) of South Africans, attending to the serious need for housing in the country should take priority over land redistribution. Almost half (45%) of respondents say that such housing should be located in rural areas. But even more would place such housing in or near central business districts (28%), on the outskirts of urban centres (11%) or in the suburbs (11%).

Housing is one of the foremost issues in the political debate on social justice in South Africa. It is in this context that policymakers, civil society, and all other relevant parties should make every effort to take urgent action in this regard.

Asafika Mpako, Project Officer, CSO-AGP Project at the IJR