Botswana like other developing countries faces the problem of an acute shortage of housing, particularly for low-income urban families. The current housing problems are the outcomes of the economic, demographic, and social changes that the country has experienced since independence in 1966. In particular, the urbanization process surfaced in the early 1980s. The government has sought to cope with the problem of low-income urban housing by establishing a Self-Help Housing (SHHA) program in the main urban centers.

The evaluation findings reveal that, on the whole, the impact of the SHHA approach on the improvement of low-income urban housing has been unsuccessful. The major problems of the scheme are lack of serviced land and inadequate finances for plot development. This has been exacerbated by the high urban development standards which are out of the reach of low-income urban families. The evaluation study also reveals that there are some indications of non-low-income urban households living in SHHA areas. The available evidence reveals that the number of those people in SHHA areas is not as big as has been
speculated by most people in the country. However, this paper calls for more investigation into this issue and a need for more
tight measures to control this illicit practice.

The major conclusions are that housing policies in Botswana are not supportive of the general housing conditions in low-income urban areas. Therefore there is a need for urban planners and policymakers of Botswana to take more positive action
toward the improvement of low-income urban areas. This would require pragmatic policies geared towards the improvement