An assessment of the housing strategy during the post-apartheid era : the case of Waterloo in Durban.

Abstract

This research attempted to assess the housing strategy at Waterloo as well as the services such as electricity, sanitation, water, transport, adequate shelter and employment opportunities that are available for residents. The information was gathered through interviews and the use of questionnaires. There were some problems encountered during the gathering of information. The questionnaires were completed by the household head and in some cases the head was not available, making it difficult for the researcher to continue smoothly, in such cases extra visits were made. In some cases the household head was unable to read, so the researcher had to read the questionnaire for him/her and then write down an answer. Another problem worth noting was that of acceptance of a researcher by the respondents, but the researcher was able to finally convince them and assured them of confidentiality of the information. There were lots of problems raised by beneficiaries of Waterloo about the services rendered to them. Most of them are not satisfied with the type of houses built for them, they are small, some have leakages and no ventilators. Beneficiaries also complained about the basic services which are not available for them. The other services needed at Waterloo are health clinics, schools and transport. People have to travel long distances for other services and traveling to those places is very costly. It is recommended that Government looks at the problems raised by the beneficiaries and improve on them. It would also help them when they are building in other areas not to make the same mistake again. From this study it shows that the strategy in Waterloo partially meets the requirements of the beneficiaries and with the recommendations given, Waterloo will be a better place to live in .