Abstracts Sociology

Investigating the viability of rural housing finance as a vehicle for the creation of sustainable human settlement in Moletlane village – Lepelle Nkumpi municipality

by Zamukuhle William Mthethwa

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need for sustainable human settlements, particularly for the poor, is crucial in South Africa (SA). This is because of the apartheid spatial constructs that segregated the black population groups from white minority and denied them equal access to economic opportunities, housing, as well as basic and social services (Smeddle-Thompson, 2012). Many South Africans remain without basic services in the many informal settlements. Even those who have jobs and a consistent salary find it difficult to sustain a decent quality of life, as they fall outside of the subsidy bracket but at the same time are unable to afford and access the mortgage products available from commercial banks (Department of Human Settlement, 2009). Consequently, the South African government is faced with the task of developing sustainable human settlements and improving quality of household life. For this reason, many initiatives such as legislative frameworks, policies and programmes to drive housing delivery have been established since 1994 and millions of rands have been used to implement such initiatives. However, housing delivery remains a challenge. Thus, the researcher sought to investigate the viability of rural housing finance in creating sustainable human settlement in rural areas, with special focus on Moletlane Village as a case study. Like many rural areas in SA, Moletlane village is still faced with a challenge of housing delivery. This study was conducted within the interpretive qualitative paradigm. Techniques to collect data focused on questionnaires and interviews for validity purposes and to counter subjectivity. For the survey, 100 participants were purposefully selected based on their knowledge and their expertise in rural housing finance. The survey was followed by in-depth interviews with key personnel of Moletlane Village and a few ordinary community members to verify and complete some answers. The researcher used data collected to draw findings and made recommendations. The foremost findings revealed that rural housing finance plays a major role in rural development as it provides people with the opportunity of improving their houses and rescues them from living in substandard conditions. The overall sentiments from the respondents are that rural housing finance has led to an increase in the economic activity and job creation which is a solid foundation for the creation of sustainable human settlements. This study has established a link between rural housing finance and rural development. It is clear from the findings that participants believe in rural housing finance and value it. They see it as a good strategy to liberate their lives and of realising sustainable human settlement. However, they all acknowledged that institutions that provide housing finance are not doing much to assist rural households and that there is a gap in as far as rural housing finance is concerned. Almost all of them indicated their wish to see rural housing finance across the country. Moreover,…