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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Oledan: Basic intervention
By Radzini Oledan
Slice of Life
"What differentiates Davao City from the rest of the country in terms of governance is the convergence of efforts and active partnership between the local government and the private sector."
URBAN housing remains to be one of the formidable challenges in developing countries. Acute housing shortage continues to hound urban centers in our country and it doesn't help that there is relatively low national support on this most basic infrastructure need.
The factors could vary from inadequate affordable housing programs to address the poorest of the poor, absence of a comprehensive shelter program, affordability of the underprivileged homeless population to the city and administrative bottlenecks in securing the development permits, conversion clearance, tax exemption, EEC clearance among others.
However, the most important factor limiting progress in improving housing and living conditions of low income groups particularly in informal settlements and slums is the lack of appreciation and sufficient political will to address the issue in a fundamentally structured, sustainable and large scale manner.
Political will combined with local ownership and leadership, and the mobilization of the potential and capacity of all stakeholders, particularly the people themselves, are the key to success in housing programs.
Perhaps, one crucial and common shortcoming in the housing sector is the inadequacy and limitations of housing finance mechanisms.
The fact that conventional housing finance usually works in favor of middle and high income groups is reflected in highly segmented housing markets. Most often, the poor, low- and even middle-income majority of the population cannot afford a loan even for the least expensive commercially built housing units.
Consequently, many low or even middle-income households build their own houses progressively over long periods for as long as ten to fifteen years, or as is the case for the majority of the low-income population in many cities, they are simply tenants.
The provision of adequate shelter is a continuing concern for Davao City as manifested in the development plans which responded to the shelter needs of the city's rapidly growing population.
Data shows that registered housing unit in Davao City is occupied by more than one family and on the average, accommodates five to six people.
Thus, any intervention in providing shelter, especially for the informal settlers among the urban poor will bring about positive impact. Beneficiaries are expected to gain security of tenure, acquire a larger dwelling area through walk up terrace housing, maximize the limited use of land, retain their accessibility to job location near their places of work and further increase their participation in governance.
However, the housing problem is one that could not be solely shouldered by the national or even local government alone. Upgrading initiatives could not rely entirely on governmental subsidies.
What differentiates Davao City from the rest of the country in terms of governance is the convergence of efforts and active partnership between the local government and the private sector.
It is this spirit of volunteerism, which pushed the Gawad Kalinga through its Tatag program to award an additional nine shelter units to the second batch of its beneficiaries from Sasa creek.
The program endeavors to build or improve houses and provide other physical structures such as path walks and drainage systems, water and toilet facilities, a school, a livelihood center, a multi purpose hall and a clinic.
The work is not about dole out or charity but stewardship. It is all about uplifting the dignity of the poor by building their capacity to respond to the opportunities and enabling them to reach their highest potentials.
It is the collective heroism in the bayanihan spirit, which translates successful communities into empowered folks able to actively participate in governance. It is a collective desire to find a common home in a diverse culture. It requires basic intervention.
(March 2, 2005 issue)
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