Applying the OECD/DAC Evaluation Criteria to Human Settlement Programmes in Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

The South African government (post-1994) prioritised the creation of low-cost housing to redress previous racial disparities in housing allocations. The Department of Human Settlements provides human settlement programmes through the public and private sectors. The public sector offers human accommodation in metropolitan centres and rural locations. However, human settlement delivery has not been evaluated to establish the value of these programmes, even though there is proof of and respect for housing delivery efforts. This article evaluates the implementation of human settlement projects in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa to determine the efficacy of housing delivery. The study underlying this article adopted the qualitative methodology. A series of prepared questionnaires were emailed to provincial and local housing officials. The questionnaires included open-ended and closed-structured questions. The study used primary and secondary data analysis to complement each other in fulfilling the research objectives. The human settlement programmes are being implemented to meet the demands of the recipients. However, rising housing demand makes dealing with backlogs difficult; as a result, human settlement programmes fail to meet their objectives. Furthermore, human settlements are delivered together with other bulk services that provide better settlements than existing informal settlements. Management needs to provide adequate oversight mechanisms, resulting in an improved quality of human settlement delivery. The evidence of this study demonstrates that stakeholder engagement processes have been undertaken, which are crucial in human settlement delivery. Lastly, human settlement delivery has had a minimal impact on improving the quality of life for beneficiaries within these communities.