Prospects, constraints, and barriers to the efficient delivery of human settlements in South Africa—the case for professionalisation

The South African polity, since democracy, has witnessed significant shifts in state policy calling for the increasing professionalisation of the civil service in general through the National Development Plan (NDP) and the National Professionalisation Framework (NPF) for the public service. The rationale behind these has been to build a capable and efficient state. This article presents a critical review of literature pertaining to professionalisation of the civil service as it relates to the human settlements sector in South Africa, with a particular focus on the major causes of inefficiencies in service delivery. The article argues that beyond the calls for overall professionalisation, the human settlements professional project has a more specific history which has been a systemic response to sector deficiencies and constraints. Therefore, this study will necessarily consider existing policy frameworks, as well as selected empirical evidence on the professionalisation of human settlements in South Africa. The article examines international trends and local directions in professionalisation, as well as considering key leverage points for the domestication of an implementation framework to guide professionalisation in the arena of human settlements for enhanced service delivery, improved quality of household life, and economic progress. The main findings emphasise strong alignment between sector deficiencies and professionalisation objectives. The article argues for a more rapid advancement of professionalisation processes to address the significant systemic weaknesses across the human settlements sector, and suggests that these have created systemic barriers to effective service delivery of human settlements. The study takes care not to advance professionalisation as a panacea and highlights potential negative impacts of professionalisation efforts. The study highlights significant developments at the policy, institutional, and interorganisational level to nurture progress towards sector professionalisation. New organisations operating in dynamic networks and partnerships are emerging to collaborate to support sector-wide professionalisation efforts.