According to the African National Congress (ANC)’s Freedom Charter of 1955, all people [of South Africa] shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring their families up in comfort and security...rent and prices shall be lowered...slums shall be demolished and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields...and social centres…[and] fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished.
When one examines the imperfect performance of the ANC-supported Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994 (abbreviated as the LRA), signed by President Mandela, a member of the primary political organization that fought apartheid and now claims to fight the socioeconomic injustices that persist in its …show more content…
Jaftha and Ms. Gundwana is if the government partners with nonprofit organizations on a larger scale to make micro-financial training accessible to economically disadvantaged South Africans of color. Unfortunately, the LRA itself does not stipulate training in affordable microfinance or financial literacy for disadvantaged people of color. That is why South African policymakers must think outside of the explicit language of this act to close the policy gap of low educational attainment and give disadvantaged South Africans of color with the skills necessary to keep homes and, further, land. As the World Bank noted in a 2013 study, they already have begun to do so. Microfinance and development nonprofits such as the NURCHA (National Urban and Reconstruction Agency) aim to “maximize options for the construction and financing of housing and related facilities and infrastructure…[and even] use NURCHA loans to contribute to the emergence of a new generation of successful, black-owned construction companies.” The Agency claims to have financed more than R6.7 million worth of construction across the nation and built 31,317 affordable homes. Yet, the World Bank report acknowledges that financial literacy is still a work in progress for developing markets like South Africa, seen as a “luxury” and out of reach. In summation, South African politicians can drum up all the legislation in the world to make it possible for black citizens to own homes and land. However, beyond legislation, the successful implementation of such policies and the overcoming of qualitative, discriminatory barriers to black property ownership rest on the continued expansion of affordable housing finance programs like NURCHA. If the government maintains its partnerships with contractors and nonprofits, black South Africans will have the best shot at receiving a fair share of satisfactory land,
When one examines the imperfect performance of the ANC-supported Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994 (abbreviated as the LRA), signed by President Mandela, a member of the primary political organization that fought apartheid and now claims to fight the socioeconomic injustices that persist in its …show more content…
Jaftha and Ms. Gundwana is if the government partners with nonprofit organizations on a larger scale to make micro-financial training accessible to economically disadvantaged South Africans of color. Unfortunately, the LRA itself does not stipulate training in affordable microfinance or financial literacy for disadvantaged people of color. That is why South African policymakers must think outside of the explicit language of this act to close the policy gap of low educational attainment and give disadvantaged South Africans of color with the skills necessary to keep homes and, further, land. As the World Bank noted in a 2013 study, they already have begun to do so. Microfinance and development nonprofits such as the NURCHA (National Urban and Reconstruction Agency) aim to “maximize options for the construction and financing of housing and related facilities and infrastructure…[and even] use NURCHA loans to contribute to the emergence of a new generation of successful, black-owned construction companies.” The Agency claims to have financed more than R6.7 million worth of construction across the nation and built 31,317 affordable homes. Yet, the World Bank report acknowledges that financial literacy is still a work in progress for developing markets like South Africa, seen as a “luxury” and out of reach. In summation, South African politicians can drum up all the legislation in the world to make it possible for black citizens to own homes and land. However, beyond legislation, the successful implementation of such policies and the overcoming of qualitative, discriminatory barriers to black property ownership rest on the continued expansion of affordable housing finance programs like NURCHA. If the government maintains its partnerships with contractors and nonprofits, black South Africans will have the best shot at receiving a fair share of satisfactory land,