Tshepo Mashashane
Head of Strategy Partnerships and Marketing
Editor's note
Welcome to the fourth edition of The Address, themed The Power Punch.
In this issue we provide a sense of how powerful housing solutions create the right energy for the betterment of South Africans who have homeownership dreams. Power and energy are key to this because both dynamics are closely related: when we empower the powerless, we transfer energy, and in so doing, we create a collective ability to cause positive change.
The road to empowerment through housing is not an easy journey in the current environment. Load shedding for example! Access to electricity means opportunities and is essential to improving the quality of life. Yet, even without an uninterrupted power supply, we see the resilience of South African people to find solutions, be that for themselves or for others.
Editor's note
Tshepo Mashashane
Head of Strategy Partnerships and Marketing
Welcome to the fourth edition of The Address, themed The Power Punch.
In this issue we provide a sense of how powerful housing solutions create the right energy for the betterment of South Africans who have homeownership dreams. Power and energy are key to this because both dynamics are closely related: when we empower the powerless, we transfer energy, and in so doing, we create a collective ability to cause positive change.
The road to empowerment through housing is not an easy journey in the current environment. Load shedding for example! Access to electricity means opportunities and is essential to improving the quality of life. Yet, even without an uninterrupted power supply, we see the resilience of South African people to find solutions, be that for themselves or for others.
Providing knowledge is empowering but it is dependent on whether the process or outcome provides the beneficiaries with a sense of impact and allows them to make choices. Social infrastructure is also important to empowerment, and here I do not refer purely to the physical systems that underpin our economy like access to power or transport, but those sometimes 'invisible' efforts that provide the foundation for services that ensure people can improve their lives.
Housing is a powerful and fundamental component of social infrastructure. It’s true that we may be on the backend of meeting affordable housing demand, but there are pioneering efforts within the public-private partnership space that speak to projects that are getting the job done, regardless of challenges such as load shedding and its long-arm impacts.
Many crossovers exist in this space, such as homes being valued for their solar installations, or erected with climate change or cost-effectiveness in mind. Another is the innovative use of cultural innovations like Stokvels to advance homeownership dreams.
It is clear that we have a role to play and influence positive life-changing outcomes through empowerment. At Absa, we exert our collaborative skills in our quest to house the nation. When we empower one person to own a home, or have shelter, we are saying ‘You Matter’ … we need only to present those who have a need, or a dream, with that first opportunity.