Entrepreneurial land sub division

Entrepreneurial land sub division
or Managed shack farming

What process/ task is too complex?

Government does not provide subsidised land on which households can build their own houses. The only way for low income households to get land for settlement is to wait for government to give them an RDP house or to occupy invaded land. These invaded areas are often ‘managed’ by a shack lord / farmer who charges people to ‘rent’ land from him (usually a him).

Why is this process/ thing is complex?

The formal route involves expensive professionals like land surveyors and conveyencers, planners, etc. The person can only move onto the land once the house has been built.

The informal route has many risks relating to securing secure tenure. The process of then upgrading these settlements can be made complicated if the houses are not laid out in an organised manner. Some people may have to move if the shacks are in the road or are in flood plains for example.

How can this process/ thing be simplified?

The shack farming process can be turned into a ‘business’. Government can identify land where people are allowed to settle. ‘Sub divisional entrepreneurs’ can then be identified by government. Different entrepreneurs are allocated blocks. They are responsible for developing these blocks.

What benefits arise from this suggestion and for whom?

For the households
 * Provides another channel for people to get a piece of land/ house

For government
 * More control over how land is ‘informally’ settled.
 * Cheaper to get people to land – use the private sector
 * In future land is better planed making it easier to
 * The entrepreneur collects the rent / fee for living on the land

A possible disadvantage for households is that they may have to pay more to the local entrepreneurial developer then they would if government itself developed the land. But using this approach more land may be developed more rapidly.

What are the challenges to implementation & how can these challenges be overcome?

The perception that sack farmers are seen as bad. How to identify who are legitimate and non-legitimate shack farmers. How to link shack farmers to municipal processes. Shack farmers do not have skills. (Maybe not so?)

'''Possible solutions include? '''

Accredit entrepreneurial developers and regulate them. Provide funding to accredited land entrepreneurs to be able to develop the land. Conceptualise entrepreneurial developers more as a small business support challenge rather than a housing challenge in that government support comes in the form of small business skills training and small business loans rather than housing capital subsidies.

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