ABSTRACT
When the African National Congress took over government in 1994, it was confronted by the challenge of addressing apartheid social inequities. Most importantly, it had to meet the expectations of its overwhelming black political constituency by addressing demands for social justice. By 1994, an estimated housing backlog ranged from 1.4 million to 3 million units and people living in shacks or informal settlements numbered between 5-8 million. Sixty percent of the population had no access to electricity while 6 million had no access to water. Furthermore, 22 million people did not have access to adequate sanitation. There were 17 fragmented departments of education with a disproportionate high allocation of resources to “white” schools. To be addressed in the shortest period possible, all these required radical policy approaches.
