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Mufulira

Upgrading Shanty Towns

Next issue - The Informal Sector >>

With continuing rural urban migration shanty towns are very much a feature of the peripheries of urban areas in LDCs, usually occurring in the less desirable areas such as adjacent to garbage tips. They are a source of concern to governments as they are areas of great deprivation, crime and health problems.

The question many are asking is will the government have the political will together with the necessary resources to invest in these communities and turn them into permanent settlements.

Game Scouts

Upgrading slums involves improving their physical environment, establishing property rights to the residents and investing in housing improvements, as well as improving access to social support programs (e.g. health, education) and municipal services. These include the provision of schools, health care, and waste disposal.

It is argued that the reforms of the government of President Chiluba through changing land tenure arrangements and deregulating financial markets will enable the process of upgrading to increase. By providing the opportunities for people to acquire land and hold the lease rather than squat on communal land around the edges of cities means that property rights are established.

Through the encouraging of microfinancing and more competitive financial markets the poor are beginning to have access to financial resources to buy houses. However, there is still a considerable amount needs to be done in providing access for the poor to credit facilities. Some economists argue that there is a desperate need for government subsidy of house building if the ramshackle shelters are to become permanent and desirable healthy residences. In the present economic climate where the burden of debt is crippling and multilateral assistance from organisations such as the IMF and World Bank is conditional upon the government keeping a tight control over government spending this may not be forthcoming.

Game Scouts

In many LDCs it is Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that provide a link between the poor and providers of housing and/or other services. The private sector can also have a significant impact by partnering with the government in the provision of low-income housing for their employees and their families. The move towards privatisation does, however, make this a costly business for firms. Many of the parastatals such as KCCM had a tradition of providing good quality housing for their workers. However this may not be such a priority for private sector firms who are compelled to satisfy their shareholders, many of whom live on the other side of the world.

Perhaps the overriding need is for government to address the problems of unemployment and underemployment. It is these that are the cause of poverty, depravation and the social problems associated with it.

Next issue - The Informal Sector >>

Related Glossary Items:
Informal Sector
Property rights
Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
Parastatals
Relative poverty
Absolute poverty
Privatisation
Underemployment
Land Tenure
Deregulation
Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

Related Issues:
Life in Shanty Towns
The Causes and Impact of Population Growth
Microfinance
The Extent of Zambia's Debt
Non Governmental Organisations

Related Theories:
Producer subsidies
Alternative Indicators of Poverty
Composite Indicators of Poverty and Living Standards