3 - Basic

Module 3 explores what the minimum level of services and tenure can be for your situation so that you still have dignity.

The following steps are involved in the Basic development phase.


 * 1) Basic organisation
 * 2) Basic planning / demarcation
 * 3) Basic tenure
 * 4) Basic services
 * 5) Basic facilities
 * 6) Basic access
 * 7) Basic financing

Decision questions: After working through this section you should be able to answer the following questions:
 * How will you organise yourselves during the construction and afterwards
 * What tenure will you have at the start
 * What level of services will you start with?

Exercises
Exercise 1: 

Read phase 2: the basic stage of the MLS story

Provide at least two key decisions that have to be made at each step within the basic development phase of a Managed Land Settlement Process.

Exercise 2: basic products

In Pamela’s story found here, what basic products were provided for the following:
 * organisation
 * tenure
 * services
 * facilities?

See the suggested responses section and compare you response to those suggested.

Exercise 3: services

Assume that you are part of a group involved in a similar MLS project to the one Pamela was involved in. Your group of 20 households has access to R100 000 (that is R5000 per household) to develop services. The engineer you are working with gives you the following cost breakdown of various types of services.

Communal water tap
 * R10 000
 * R500/ house

Water tap per house
 * R80 000
 * R4 000/ house

Communal ablution with 4 toilets
 * R20 000
 * R1 000/house

Pit latrine toilet for house
 * R40 000
 * R2000/house

No roads only basic stormwater channel across intersections R10 000
 * R10 000
 * R500/house

Basic road
 * R40 000
 * R2000/ house

Tar road
 * R80 000
 * R4 000/house

Enclosed central refuse collection container
 * R10 000
 * R500/ house

Decide which set of services you would choose within the budget available and motivate why?

You can have a look at the more detailed report on services found here (note its 4.3MB large) to get some ideas. This report is quite long so start by just skimming over it to see all the options that are mentioned.

See the suggested responses section and compare you response to those suggested.

Exercise 4: Tenure

Imagine that you are part of a group of 20 households who are discussing how you would like to organise the tenure on a piece of land you are able to get. You have a workshop where the rights to land are discussed and the following set of options for how you could organise your right to land is identified.


 * (a) Each plot is shown on a plan that is kept by the municipality. Each plot is numbered.    A list is kept by the municipality where the plot number is written next to your name.  If you leave you can sell your rights to the plot to another person of your choice if this transaction is recorded by the municipality on their list of occupants.


 * (b) Each individual plot within the block is shown on a plan kept by the elected block committee. Each plot is numbered.  A list is kept by the elected block committee where the plot number is written next to your name


 * (c) The outer boundary of the block of land that can accommodate all 20 houses is shown on a plan. The municipality signs a letter giving it to the group saying that your group of 20 people can stay on the land shown on the plan. It is then up to your group to decide where within the block each person can stay.


 * (d) Each individual plot within the block is shown on a plan that is kept by the municipality. Each plot is numbered.    A list is kept by the municipality where the plot number is written next to your name.  If you leave you must give your plot back to the municipality who can then give the plot to someone else.

Shift the order of these rights from what you think would be the weakest tenure rights to the strongest tenure rights.

See the suggested responses section and compare you response to those suggested.

Exercise 5: organisation

Still to come.

Assignments
Assignment 1: services

Organise a small delegation from your group to have a meeting with an engineer from the municipality or from an organisation that is willing to help you.

Ask and discuss the following questions with this engineer:

1. What engineering servicing options do we have as a community to get basic services for the land we have identified?

2. Which options are the cheapest options?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option from quality, maintenance, upgradability and other perspectives?

4. How could we make savings in getting the services cheaper?

Report back to your group what the engineer advised you to consider for basic services.

It is likely that some people will find a lot of problems with what you are saying. Encourage them to help you find solutions to overcome these challenges and make it possible for you to get land as part of an incremental settlement process.

Remind them and yourself that incremental settlement is about finding what is the least that needs to be put in place for you and your community to move onto a piece of land. Many other things and technical details can be addressed in subsequent stages like the upgrading phase.

Assignment 2 : tenure

This assignment assumes you will be having some form of basic tenure arrangement.

Discuss as a group the following questions:

1. What rights does a person get to the land?

2. What obligations does the person have?

3. What happens to persons rights if they die or leave the land?

4. Will the rights holder have to pay anything to stay on the land?

Elect a small delegation to present your proposed answers to these questions to the municipality,, and any other role-players and support providers you can identify, and get their response to your answers. Ask these stakeholders if there are any other questions the group should address. Discuss again as a group the responses from these stakeholders and reconsider your answers to these questions?

Assignment 3: Organisation

Does your group have a constitution or set of rules that explain how you are organised?

If you do, read them again and see if there are any changes you think you should make.

If you do not, approach different organisations to get examples of their constitutions. Consider if you could modify their constitution for your situation.

Next module
Click here to go to the next module, 4 - Self help.