Johannesburg has spent ten years hiring consultants while Slovo Park families wait

This article explains how the failure to upgrade the Slovo Park informal settlement in Johannesburg reveals broader problems in South Africa’s housing policy, particularly the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP). Despite a 2016 court order requiring upgrades, residents have seen little improvement because government efforts have been delayed by poor coordination, lack of transparency, and repeated spending on consultants who produced inappropriate plans that were never implemented.  It argues that public funds have been wasted on consultancies instead of real development, highlighting systemic issues such as over-reliance on external experts, weak government capacity, and conflicts between officials and political structures, ultimately leaving communities without the services and housing improvements they were promised.

Abstract based on original source.