Browsing by Author "Platzky, Laurine"

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    An Analysis of the role of governance on effective programme management - A case of Namibia Mass Housing Development Programme Management - A case of Namibia Mass Housing Development Programme
    (2018) Wilhelm, Martha; Govender, Rajen; Platzky, Laurine
    Namibia has been praised for having rigorous policy frameworks that address various national development challenges. Over the years, the country has introduced various policy initiatives to address the housing challenge in the country. However, implementation of such policies and programmes faced various challenges resulting in suboptimal outcomes and consequently, a situation where such programmes are abandoned, and new ones are introduced with little learning from past experiences. This paper, analysed the role of governance on effective programme management using a case study of Namibia’s Mass Housing Development Programme. The findings highlight governance challenges, as one of the key contributing factors to failing programmes. A qualitative approach was employed in gathering data using face to face in-depth interviews with the informants who represented the target population in the study. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge on the importance of governance which public policy and programme makers can draw lessons from for effective programme implementation.
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    An assessment of the extent to which the city of Johannesburg's Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system is achieving its intended socio-economic and political objectives
    (2021) Mjiyako, Dominic Ntokozo; Platzky, Laurine
    South Africa is ranked number one in the world as the most unequal society by the World Bank. Inequalities are largely manifested in income, education and spatial arrangements, as well as access to opportunities and public services. My dissertation examines the impact of the City of Johannesburg's Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and the transit-oriented development programme, known as Corridors of Freedom, in transforming the mini-bus taxi industry; providing safe and reliable public transport to previously marginalised communities; and to mitigate the legacy of apartheid spatial planning. The research examines the policy objectives of the Rea Vaya BRT system as part of the larger Corridors of Freedom capital programme, which aims to create development nodes to densify the City and improve mobility, and in turn enhance social integration. The research outlines the implementation of Rea Vaya over the past ten years, and explores the impact of the service on the City's commuters and the mini-bus taxi operators. A key argument of the paper is that while anecdotal evidence exists that the Rea Vaya BRT functions optimally, an evaluation study of the City's continued public investment is critical to ascertain whether the project is achieving its intended socio-political and economic objectives.
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    Managing the welfare impacts of urbanization in Zambia: A case for a composite district performance index
    (2018) Masumbu, Gibson; Platzky, Laurine
    This paper looks at the evolution of urbanization in Zambia. The country has a population of just over 15 million people with about 35% living in urban areas. The population in the urban areas is projected to increase driven by both natural population growth and rural-urban migration. This population growth is expected to put pressure on the provision of services in urban areas. The country has been implementing a decentralization programme that is meant to devolve vital tasks to the local authority. If this happens, the local authorities will have the pressure of ensuring that people in their cities have decent standards of living. The localized city development index will assist local authorities with information to use in assessing their performance. The index adopts the Alkire Foster multidimensional measurement approach.
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    Rapid Urbanisation in Zambia – the challenge of providing low-income housing in urban areas – 1964 to 2018: The case of the city of Lusaka
    (2018) Chileshe, Alexander; Platzky, Laurine
    Soon after independence, in 1964, Zambia’s urbanisation proceeded very rapidly presenting significant housing problems to the independence government. In the last five decades, Zambia’s Capital City, Lusaka has been growing most rapidly. Unfortunately, most of this growth has been in informal settlements on insecure land because most residents cannot afford formal lowincome housing. Since 1964, government has undertaken several initiatives to bridge this low-income housing crisis. These include; providing complete housing, providing housing subsidies, providing serviced land, enacting new laws, establishing new institutions and even giving away housing for free. But all these initiatives, designed around the ruling political party governance system, have not yielded the desired results. As a result, the urban housing backlog which was estimated to be around 24,000 housing units at independence may now grow to over 3.0 million by 2030 if urgent action is not taken. Government has an opportunity to transform the urban housing sector by addressing weaknesses in the current laws and institutions, providing specific support to low-income households and encouraging private sector involvement. In all this, government must remember that context matters.
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    The impact of exclusion of the urban ultra-poor from public housing on the lives of those excluded
    (2018) Ndjembela, Toivo Djeiko; Govender, Rajen; Platzky, Laurine
    Namibia has experienced an upward growth of informal settlements since independence. Such settlements have become an integral part of urban areas in the country, a situation that begs for, first, acceptance of this reality and, second, action to mitigate challenges that are generally associated with living in such areas. Due to such challenges, which include high rates of poverty as a result unemployment among slum dwellers, informal settlements have become the glaring face of social exclusion in Namibia. In order to arrest this exclusion, planners and policymakers need to find ways of upgrading these settlements so that the residents’ quality of life is incrementally enhanced. This paper is an outcome of a study conducted in five informal settlements in Windhoek, with a deliberate focus on access - or lack thereof - to basic services and infrastructure. Having highlighted the level of exclusion in those informal areas, this paper recommends that instead of re-inventing the wheel, government must embark of a sustained deliberate exercise to upgrade the existing informal settlements instead of demolishing or eradicating them. Policymakers are urged in this study to accept that people, out of desperation fed by social factors, would continue to occupy land illegally. Policymakers must thus find ways to amicably regulate these invasions. This would help attain a degree of inclusivity and compliance with the Constitutional requirement of ensuring dignity for everyone in the country.