The effectiveness of a single housing authority in producing adequate quality housing for the low income in Botswana, a case study of Gaborone

This study seeks contribute to the debate on the merits of a hierarchical and centralised approach to housing. Single housing authority (SiHA) was established under Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) to implement all the housing programmes which are inclusive of the Self-Help Housing Agency (SHHA) Turnkey Loan housing schemes and youth housing. BHC mandate is to provide affordable housing to Batswana but the proportion of houses provided by BHC has decreased from 4.6 % in 2001 to 1.72 % in 2011. In opposite correlation with the 20.5% growth in population from 1,680,863 to 2,024,904, (Central Statistics Botswana, 2014) and the following year of 2012, Botswana Housing Corporation was given responsibility for other housing programmes. This decrease seems to signal that there are inefficiencies in provision of housing and challenges of housing are not sufficiently met. As of the 1990’s the institutions acted separately in providing housing to the low income. The main objective of this study was to find out the whether coalition of housing programmes will influence the rate at which quality housing is produced to meet the needs for low income housing, which included considerations for customer plan preferences and payment plan issues. Causal research design and Quantitative research approach were employed. The study population comprised of Botswana Housing Corporation management, Botswana Housing Corporation customers and Gaborone City Council public housing officers. This was to determine the sample size and stratified random sampling was used to increase the viability of the research. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect study data. SPSS version 22 was used to process and analyze the data findings of the study. The data was summarised and categorised according to common themes. The SPSS computer software aided in the analysis as it was user friendly and most appropriate for analysis. The study found out that considerations for user preferences are standardized due to constraints in funding and mandate. The study further found out that the corporation developed a quality assurance system to allow for feedback and appropriate planning. This gives consideration to user preferences in more general approach. The study further revealed that loan rates are adequate although beneficiaries still face issues of default which suggests that the cause of default is not necessarily due to the rates imposed but the income group being served. This shows a need for social housing that is highly subsidized and empowerment alongside facilitation of housing. The study recommended that Botswana Housing Corporation should continually embrace the use of quality assurance systems to provide basis for customer satisfaction and planning to create new products. It was evident that along with supply of housing, property literacy is imperative along with proper management of projects to improve delivery.