Johannesburg: Traditional construction methods may no longer meet the needs of a growing population facing climate change and rising urban pressures, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. Speaking at the Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs) Summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday, the President highlighted the urgency of accelerating technological housing innovations as both a social imperative and an economic necessity.

According to South African Government News Agency, President Ramaphosa emphasized that while the government has provided approximately five million housing opportunities since 1994, there is still much to be done. With an estimated 2.5 million families still on the waiting list and projections indicating that nearly eight out of every 10 South Africans will live in cities by 2050, there is a pressing need to adopt new building methods. Many of these urban residents will live in informal settlements on land vulnerable to environmental challenges such as floods, droughts, and heat stress.

The President warned that continuing to build in traditional ways would not solve the housing challenge. He urged for a change, advocating for the adoption of technological progress to future-proof human settlements. He identified inadequate supply, limited land availability, rising construction costs, and project delays as key contributors to the housing scarcity, impacting both the middle class and the poor and leading to homelessness and expanded informal settlements.

President Ramaphosa asserted that housing goes beyond mere shelter, emphasizing its connection to human dignity, security, and opportunity. The summit also addressed the need for climate-resilient housing, especially after recent floods in Limpopo resulted in significant loss of life and infrastructure damage. The President argued that traditional construction is unsustainable and highlighted the potential of innovative building technologies to build faster and at scale, reduce carbon emissions and water use, and improve energy efficiency and durability.

A significant outcome of the summit was the introduction of the Social Compact, aimed at integrating innovative building technologies into mainstream use. Through this compact, government entities, banks, insurers, and development finance institutions committed to aligning funding, de-risking projects, and recognizing IBT housing as financeable and insurable. President Ramaphosa stressed that without this alignment, innovation would stall.

In his concluding remarks, the President called for collective action, stressing the importance of resilience in housing as a means of ensuring recovery and dignity. He urged for leadership, partnerships, and creativity to build a resilient and inclusive South Africa where all people have access to decent homes.