Capital Accumulation and the Political Reproduction of the Urban Housing Problem in Botswana

This paper seeks to make a contribution to the debate on self-help housing. It does so through a critical appraisal of the housing problem confronting the urban poor within Botswana. A conceptual framework is developed that seeks to problematise self-help as a form of housing provision within the limits of private property and the commodity form of social reproduction. Through this conceptualisation, the paper traces the history of Botswana from the colonial period to the present to uncover the role of the state and the market in the constitution and reproduction of the urban housing problem. It concludes that self-help housing was not designed to solve the housing problem, but rather to politically reproduce and legitimise a policy of enforced poverty and thereby facilitate Botswana's integration into the global economy.