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Cape Town - Informal settlement residents can expect to have more say in government housing provision, Deputy Human Settlements Minister Zou Kota-Fredericks said on Tuesday.
"We know that when the poor are not involved in development decisions they will care less about their surroundings or even use their initiative to resist paying for their services," she said.
"Our new approach means we will build partnerships with communities, and to give them 'voice and choice' in the design and construction of settlements that build sustainable livelihoods and can fulfil their needs."
Kota-Fredericks was speaking at a national informal settlement upgrading summit in Cape Town.
She said national government had recognised the need to build a new practice of participatory planning, construction, and management in housing settlements.
Without public participation, community spirit weakened, social capital declined, and poverty increased.
Public participation, however, did not extend to leaving the poor to build their own homes or to stop building houses and only provide sites and services.
The aim was to partner with the community to come up with satisfying housing solutions.
"We are now changing our approach to allow for more flexibility, more creativity, and more humanity in the way in which we work with communities around shelter," she said.
"We are providing the capital resources, capacity building, and technical support. We must now cement the partnerships with communities as the final element step in taking us forward together."
