Development Workshop prepared the Angola Housing Finance Chapter for the 2013 Africa Housing Finance Yearbook, published by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. This is the fourth edition of the Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook and reflects the mood and temperature of housing finance markets on the African continent in 2013.

Opropósito deste documento é o de facilitar a compreensão das opções do OGE pelos cidadãos, mas também o de levantar algumas questões críticas. Por limitações de tempo e de capacidade, e porque se pretende sempre aprofundar aspectos chave e não analisar todo o Orçamento Geral do Estado (OGE), o Observatório Político Social de Angola (OPSA) e a Acção para o Desenvolvimento Rural e Ambiente (ADRA) optaram por colocar o foco na tradução dos números de acordo com as diferentes rubricas e sua avaliação, na análise crítica, em termos de políticas públicas, dos sectores da educação, da saúde, da justiça e da agricultura e na elaboração de algumas recomendações que possam vir a ser consideradas no futuro aquando da elaboração de novos OGE.

The Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) in South Africa has been awarded the United Nations Scroll of Honour award at the World Habitat Day 2009 held in Washington, D.C. The ARP was initiated in 2001 as a regeneration project of the urban township north of Johannesburg. The project is a key component of the South African government’s approach to addressing urbanisation and housing challenges and comprises the integrated development of an area grappling with economic, social, and physical challenges. To date, the ARP has seen over 7,000 families relocated from the banks of Jukskei – a polluted local river – to settlements where living conditions are better.

Reading the history of Alexandra Township (a name used by the apartheid government to describe a black settlement), one cannot but realise how easy it is for a human tragedy to occur – all it needs is the combination of a mass movement of poor rural families to the city; short sighted, inadequate, local government, and a misguided national government – to destroy the lives of ordinary citizens.Today, Alex, as the township is lovingly known by its residents, is gradually starting to overcome its past, over 100 years later. But to understand how difficult the road has been, let’s get back to the beginning.

The Alexandra Development Forum (ADF) was established in April/May 2002, after various stakeholders from different organisations as well as community members felt that they had not been included in AURP planning. People wanted to know how the R1,3 billion allocated to the AURP would be spent. Therefore, on 17 November 2001, all community stakeholders including the GHD established the ADF as a formal and legal structure aimed at promoting broad-based community participation.