Reviving Ubuntu: the role of community in South Africa's housing crisis

THERE are innovative and progressive human settlement experts in our mist that understand both the task of housing and the duty to people, such as former KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay, who spearheaded a program to upgrade the Shallcross Flats and simultaneously provide ownership of these homes to people.

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The Shallcross Flats were government housing blocks which were originally built as temporary accommodation. Through sheer persistence by Pillay and the tireless advocacy of local leaders like the late Bob Abhrams, Mogie Naidoo, Ronnie Pillay, Olean Naidoo, Picky Naidoo, the flats transformed from temporary occupancy into permanent ownership and people were given a flat upgrade and their very first title deeds.

This was not just a housing upgrade - it was a dignity upgrade.

It showed what is possible when the government and community work as partners. I am glad that I also had the opportunity to play a part in this process.

Sadly though, that momentum has since stalled under new councillor leadership. The community’s hope now sits in limbo, a reminder of how easily progress can be lost without accountable and visionary local government.

In African philosophy, Ubuntu - often translated as “I am because we are” - encapsulates a spirit of community, mutual care, and humaneness. South African communities, especially under hardship, have long embodied this ethos. Neighbours look after each other's children; strangers share water from a common tap; a family is hungry and the whole community pitches in to help.