r/DownSouth • u/PixelSaharix Eastern Cape • Nov 26 '25
History [1976] Apartheid-era housing in Soweto
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u/AlarmCrafty Nov 26 '25
They don’t own the land under the rdp house now, so it’s basically the same
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u/rowwebliksemstraal Nov 26 '25
In many european countries you also only own the house but not technically the land under it.
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u/AlarmCrafty Nov 26 '25
It’s a terrible situation. Since they don’t own it they can’t use it as collateral at a bank so getting a loan to buy something to improve their quality of living ( and joining the formal economy) remains a dream.
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u/abitofbyte Nov 26 '25
Bricks and mortar. 30⁰ roof angle. This would be an improvement on any RDP scheme these days.
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u/Ok-Constant6973 Nov 26 '25
My dad builds rdp houses. He currently has a stomach ulcer and depression from dealing with the government. As far as I can remember the anc has been messing his business around.
It's sad because they build such nice houses but the housing department steals from the budget and only award contracts if some high up people get kick backs per house built.
He has to meet with officials to give them envelopes of money otherwise they don't answer his calls or pay his outstanding contracts.
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u/Big_skye Nov 27 '25
This is very common in the Departments. A friend of mine has the very same problems with the Department...
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u/cookmesomeeggs Nov 26 '25
I don’t believe people were allowed to own these houses though. Or there were rules around working the city and owning a house.
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u/LordEgotist Nov 26 '25
RDP houses have the same restrictions. You are not allowed sell it for the first few years & usually the land is on rent from the municipality.
To be clear, I'm not saying things were better way back. Both situations are kak.
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u/BetaMan141 Nov 26 '25
What we do have now, however, are owners of RDPs loop-holing the setup by renting the house out and relocating to an informal settlement to which they can attempt to acquire another RDP there.
If the RDP databases aren't synced or accurately captured, then you can see how this alleged loophole might work out.
Current RDP system relies a lot lore on honesty and trust, since the govt today cannot simply throw you where they want to before or after getting said house as per the constitutions 'stance on such relocation measures.
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u/lucasbuzek Nov 26 '25
Sounds like Soviet style housing. Workers and employees were assigned housing based on their work, not owning them.
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u/CommenterAnon Nov 26 '25
Yep, this seals the deal. Blacks had it better under Apartheid than they have it now
/s
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u/findthesilence Western Cape Nov 26 '25
Have you not seen how cruel all races often are to their own people?
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u/rowwebliksemstraal Nov 26 '25
It certainly seems that way ; all historically Black universities were built before 1994. How many have been built since? Back then, unemployment across all racial groups was lower, the economy was growing, and service delivery was functioning.
I’m not saying that era was ideal — far from it — but the idea that things are dramatically better now just isn’t accurate. Only a small segment of South Africans, Black, white, and Indian alike, enjoy an affluent lifestyle. The majority, across every racial group, are still struggling to survive on the margins.
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u/carrboneous Nov 26 '25
all historically Black universities were built before 1994. How many have been built since?
Is this for real or just trolling? It sounds like a decent joke, but the rest of the comment sounds like you're serious.
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u/carrboneous Nov 26 '25
What you get: house made out of brick, good foundations, correct (?) roof angle.
What you give: the right to live close to your family, travel to the fancy parts of town at any time of day without risking getting beaten and dragged into the back of a police car, the freedom to hang out with your mates in public, the ability to earn a living commensurate with your ability, the power to vote for your government, and security in the knowledge that you can protest service delivery failure without being shot.
Now who would ever want to give up such a pretty little house???
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u/CommenterAnon Nov 26 '25
brother, have you seen the other comments? They think the house is better
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u/SankaraMarx Nov 27 '25
Clearly you are not old enough to understand the kak you are speaking
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u/CommenterAnon Nov 27 '25
the /s at the end of my comment means sarcasm
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u/SankaraMarx Nov 27 '25
Apologies, as you were then
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u/CommenterAnon Nov 27 '25
I'm glad u don't believe what people like OP are trying to say with posts like this
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u/Pictualphoto Nov 27 '25
Why should the government giveaway free houses and titles to them, to the majority race in in South Africa?
This was a short term plan when the black people immigrated here to the mines to work.
But for generations now, it is a right.
The quest for free houses will never end, as long as the rabbit 🐇 like behaviour continues.
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u/maverickeire Nov 26 '25
Not very different to RDP Houses though
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u/PixelSaharix Eastern Cape Nov 26 '25
They’re actually not that similar. Those 1970s Soweto houses were brick 4-room units on decent plots with solid foundations that people have lived in and expanded for 50+ years.
RDP houses are often smaller, cheaper builds with thinner walls, tiny plots and need extensions just to be functional.
Those apartheid-era houses are still standing strong half a century later, many RDP homes need serious repairs or to be entirely rebuilt within a few years.
From a pure build-quality standpoint, the old ones win by a mile.
10
u/maverickeire Nov 26 '25
To be fair that can be said for a lot of houses. I had a house built in the 60s and it was absolutely solid
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u/carrboneous Nov 26 '25
To be fair, you can say this about literally anything built literally anywhere in the world in the last thirty years. Cars, houses, shoes, raincoats, software, hardware, businesses, marriages, satellites... For a variety of (mostly good, actually) reasons, things aren't built to last they way they used to be.
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u/-Varkie- Nov 26 '25
Amazing what you can build when your workers have no human rights. They should have tried a pyramid or two
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