Pioneering Cooperative Housing in South Africa

In South Africa, a tremendous need still exists for adequate shelter, particularly for residents living in slums that were formed during the apartheid era. For several years, CHF International worked with three local organizations—Afesis-Corplan, the East London Savings and Credit Cooperative, and the East London Housing Management Cooperative—to make cooperative housing successful for their fellow residents. All three organizations came together under the Amalinda Program, the first cooperative housing project to be brought to the country, in East London, South Africa. CHF International assisted these organizations as they worked to meet their goals. In particular, CHF International sponsored three Visiting International Professionals™ (VIPs) to provide their technical expertise: Alex Miller, Rita Taylor, and Arlene Stuker.
 
Alex Miller | VIP Assignment, October 1999

In October 1999, CHF selected Alex Miller, a real estate developer, investor and manager, to go to South Africa as a VIP to share his expertise in cooperative housing. Alex met with staff from CHF International and Afesis-Corplan and officials from provincial governments. Together with these groups, Alex discussed housing subsidies and the positive role of cooperatives. He also visited Amalinda housing sites, discussed progress and timetables for the approval of Afesis-Corplan’s East London Savings and Credit Cooperative, and attended a workshop with Afesis-Corplan staff and Board of Directors of its partner agency where various relevant management concepts were discussed.

Based on discussions, observations, and analysis, Alex Miller drafted a business plan for the East London Housing Management Cooperative, designed a graphical outline of cash flow, drafted a financial plan, and put together a workshop manual for managing housing cooperatives. All of these tools proved extremely useful to Afesis-Corplan and its partner agencies.

Alex said he gained a great deal of satisfaction from working on the project. At the end of his tenure with CHF, Alex commented, “It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with such outstanding individuals for such a noble cause.”

 

Rita Taylor | VIP Assignment, April 2001

During the time of the Amalinda Program, Afesis-Corplan founded the East London Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (ELSACCO) to help manage and standardize savings that members made towards their housing. This process ensured that community members could build a savings history to qualify for construction loans and home improvement loans.

In the process, Rita Taylor, an expert in community cooperative banking, was hired to provide professional expertise and ensure that ELSACCO implemented the best operational strategies possible.

Rita reviewed the role of the directors of ELSACCO, assessed the directors, and produced an operations procedures manual for deposit and loan systems. She spent as much time as possible with the Board of Directors of the ELSACCO to help the organization move into the area of expansion and growth. She helped the committee realize that with several necessary changes, the organization would be able to move forward and grow. Rita’s expertise in cooperative banking also enabled her to train the staff members of the organization.

Rita produced a policy and procedures manual, which she later used in workshops. Her presentations were to ensure a greater independence of ELSACCO, so it could later be able to move to deposit and loan systems.

Rita said, “Everyone that I have come in contact with, from the first call from CHF to the present, has been wonderful. I would like very much to stay in contact with Afesis-Corplan and ELSACCO and assist them in any way that I can.” Through Rita’s work, and the assistance of CHF International and its partner organizations working on the Cooperative Development Program, East Londoners were able to build technical skills and organizational capacity to develop necessary housing alternatives and financial services.

 

Arlene Stuker | VIP Assignment, January 2002

Arlene said it was an, “honor and privilege to participate in this endeavor.” Extending compliments to the CHF VIP program, she noted that it was a pleasure to work with all the people she encountered. Thanking her hosts at both CHF and Afesis-Corplan, she expressed interest in providing further assistance to the program.