Assessing the perceptions of the beneficiaries of the Presidential Housing Appeal in Botswana: a case study of Gabane village

Abstract

The Republic of Botswana’s aim is to eradicate poverty and all its forms, housing the poor is another step in the attempt to eradicate poverty in the country. Botswana is sparsely populated with 2,038,228 inhabitants with the poverty rate at 19.3 % and a greater number of them lack adequate shelter. It is proposed that housing for the poor in Botswana should be solved in such a way as to be in accordance with the social and economic characteristics that are specific for the country as the Presidential Housing Appeal (PHA). In regard to this, President Lt. Gen Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama set out on a noble mission by creating a fund due to that he had realized that government handouts and programs had overtime proved to be inadequate for the homeless. The fund was named the President 's Housing Appeal. The fund caters for those not eligible for government programs such as the Self Help Housing Agency (SHAA) and Botswana Housing Cooperation (BHC) loans, given that one cannot differentiate between such people and those who qualified for accommodation under government’s social safety nets. On a progressive basis, having access to permanent residential structures with secure tenure, ensures internal and external privacy and providing adequate protection against the elements of poverty for example crime. Regrettably, little or no documentation has been done on the perceptions of the beneficiaries of this housing appeal. Presently, over 700 houses have been built all over the country. Ten houses have been allocated to the beneficiaries in Gabane Village where the study is focused. The ten beneficiaries where used in this study with other key informants being an officer at the Office of the President and a social worker at Gabane Social and Community Development office. Therefore, this study seek to assess the perceptions of these beneficiaries of the Presidential Housing Appeal in order to identify gaps in influencing relevant stakeholders to assist the poor in the quest to attain human dignity and social justice. This study also adopted the Empowerment theory in assessing the perceptions of the beneficiaries of the Presidential Housing Appeal. The study was a cross sectional, exploratory and descriptive study. This study’s findings will add to the scarce literature on housing the poor through noble gestures such as the Presidential Housing Appeal in Botswana.