The Western Cape government last week promoted an initiative called the “Better Living Challenge” (https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/better-living-challenge-blc) to address a growing housing backlog. In essence, the provincial government is acknowledging it would be near impossible to continue building and supplying RDP houses to catch up with a 400,000 backlog in Cape Town. In return, however, the government undertakes to provide residents in informal settlements with “serviced sites”, which in any functioning democracy should be a given...