Housing in Soweto

This is a picture of the main highway that leads into Soweto which is home to 1.3 million people. Soweto is composed of both informal and formal housing structures.

Informal Housing

Informal settlements are communities of impoverished people who live in self constructed shelters usually made from corrugated metal, plywood and sheets of plastic. They often do not have proper sanitation, electricity, water, or telephone services. They usually lack basic services including policing, medical services, and fire fighting.

They were first set up on the outskirts of major towns and cities during white minority rule. Thousands from rural areas in South Africa as well as other countries have moved into the city in hopes of employment but can only afford to live in these make-shift homes.

1 in 10 South Africans live in informal settlements.

Formal or RDP Houses

Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a South African socio-economic policy framework implemented by the African National Congress (ANC) government of Nelson Mandela in 1994 to provide "housing for all." People earning less than R1,500 ($187.50) month qualify for a RDP house. 

In the last election manifesto the ANC declared that 2.6 million houses had been built for the poor from 1994 to date.

My friend put her name on the list in 1994 to receive a RDP house and is still waiting...