In Conversation With Innocent & Terry-Ann Van Eck, Spokesperson for Gauteng MEC of Human Settlements

South Africa’s social and affordable housing sector is under significant strain, with recent research underscoring both its achievements and the persistent obstacles to meaningful urban regeneration. A study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities examined the role of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) in delivering social housing across provinces like Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu‑Natal. The research found that while SHRA has succeeded in increasing the number of regulated housing units, improving tenant reach, reducing financial pressure on lower‑income households, and stimulating local economies through job creation, many challenges remain. Among these are funding constraints, issues of stakeholder coordination, and sabotage by criminal actors sometimes described as “construction mafias,” as well as occasional rental boycotts.
However, the reality on the ground in some major housing developments paints a troubling counterpoint to the promise of social housing policy. Case in point: the Tembisa Mega Housing Project (Hospital View, in Gauteng), a joint initiative of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements and the City of Ekurhuleni intended to deliver over 3,000 subsidy and social housing units. Begun more than five years ago, the project has effectively been abandoned: structures have been vandalised and stripped of roof sheets, windows, electrical wiring, and doors. Despite initial commitments that the project would be completed by mid‑2021, the site remains derelict. Public officials cite vandalism and lack of funding for repair and completion; opposition parties and watchdogs demand accountability, greater transparency around expenditure, and consequence management for those responsible