Masikhase: Community Upgrading Finance Facility

This report describes a finance facility that provides seed capital to support community-led upgrading in informal settlements in South Africa. Called Masikhase – the Community Upgrading Finance Facility (CUFF) – this shows what communities can do with modest financial support. It also shows how their initiatives can catalyse partnerships with local governments so that they learn to work together – and with additional support drawn from local government. Of the 11 initiatives described, many were modest and inexpensive – for instance, upgrading existing communal taps and adding new ones. Another initiative installed a storm drain that needed some reblocking to allow the pipes to be installed. Another developed a crèche and community centre. In all the initiatives supported by CUFF, community contributions represented 10 per cent or more of total costs.

CUFF was set up to support community-led upgrading in response to the increasing emphasis given to upgrading by the government of South Africa. The new National Development Plan calls on government to “stop building houses in poorly located land and shift more resources to upgrading informal settlements provided that they are in areas close to jobs”.

CUFF supports community organizations formed by the residents of informal settlements to start taking action to upgrade their settlement themselves (Masikhase means crawling in preparation for walking). Then from this, to engage with local governments – for instance, the connection of the community-installed storm drain mentioned above to the city’s storm drainage network. And by upgrading their settlements, to strengthen their possibilities of avoiding eviction. CUFF is supported by the South African Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Alliance, which in turn supports community savings groups, enumerations of informal settlements and partnerships.

The 11 community-led initiatives described in this report and other initiatives supported by CUFF are not trouble free. This report includes details of difficulties faced – sometimes from local government, sometimes from politicians, and sometimes from the difficulty in generating consensus within communities. But the learning produced by each initiative and each time a real partnership with local government is generated can build to make community-led upgrading a conventional and uncontroversial response. As this book notes, “Upgrading is about more than services and improved living conditions; it is about exercising the right to be urban and contribute to the creation of urban places” (page 92). And this fund is among the few funding sources that is available and accountable to urban poor communities and what they choose to do.

Available at http://sasdialliance.org.za/wp-content/uploads/docs/publications/CUFF%20Project%20Report_Masikhase_Web%20Version%202013.pdf

Book note prepared by David Satterthwaite