Bridging to Equity: Evaluating the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme in Addressing South Africa's Housing 'Gap Market'

Programme evaluation is a critical component of programme management that is utilised across sectors to ensure value for money, impact and sustainability of a programme. Government policies related to housing provision in South Africa have been subject to considerable criticism. A gap in the housing market led to the adoption of the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP). Since its launch in 2012, the FLISP has performed below its target with a reported low uptake from target beneficiaries. This article evaluates the implementation of FLISP, to explore and identify blockages in its implementation and barriers to unlocking access to affordable housing for the gap market. Qualitative research methods have been employed, comprising textual analysis and semi-structured interviews with the programme implementers. In addition to programme design and implementation challenges, the study revealed complex socio-economic factors with relevance to the gap market that have a direct bearing on access to housing finance. The researchers conclude that FLISP as a finance-linked subsidy programme does not adequately meet the needs of the gap market and recommends, inter alia, removing the mortgage restriction for FLISP to achieve its redistributive objective. How to cite this article using ASWDNet styleMachelesi Y S, Conradie H F, Cherry J and Rulashe T. (2024). Bridging to Equity: Evaluating the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme in Addressing South Africa's Housing 'Gap Market'. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 9(2), 35 - 44. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v9i2.1 If interested in becoming a reviewer or editorial board member for this journal, submit an expression of interest here.