Africa-Press – Namibia. THOUSANDS of Namibians, particularly those in the lower income segment who live in shacks in informal settlements, dream of owning a decent home.
These dreams are slowly becoming a reality, thanks to a number of affordable housing options initiated by the government and other stakeholders.
Although Namibia’s housing need stood at 300 000 units according to the country’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP4). The Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) 2021 Census Mapping Report indicated that there were 507 249 dwelling units in Namibia, of which 36.6% were detached houses, while a significant proportion of about 25% was improvised housing units (locally known as shacks or kambashus).
Statistics provided by Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) in its 2020-2021 annual report, indicates that informal settlements in Namibia accommodate about 995 000 of the country’s population.
One of the programmes addressing the housing backlog in various settlements is the Informal Settlement Upgrading Affordable Housing Pilot Project (ISUAPP) spearheaded by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, in collaboration with the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and the City of Windhoek.
The project is reportedly bearing fruit with 700 Windhoek residents from the in informal settlements, shacks and hazardous makeshift structures, so far benefiting between 2020 and 2023 while an additional 400 Namibians are expected to benefit this year.
Twenty houses are under construction.
Under this programme, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development Erastus Uutoni, handed over 49 houses to beneficiaries in the Greenwell Matongo area in December.
Evelyn! Nawases-Taeyele, Deputy Minister of Urban and Rural Development, has confirmed that the houses built under this project have become very popular and the demand has skyrocketed with over 400 applications from individuals who want to benefit from the project on the waiting list.
!Nawases-Taeyele was speaking at the official groundbreaking ceremony and launch the construction of 113 houses at Goreangab Extension 4, as part of the ISUAPP yesterday.
According to !Nawases-Taeyele, 503 plots that have been serviced so far under the Mass Urban Land Servicing Project have been made available with the aim of constructing houses, hence the construction of these 113 housing units.
The 113 houses to be constructed are a combination of two-bedroom, free standing and one and two-bedroom flats that would cater for various income levels. The house’s prices range between N$200 000 and N$600 000, she revealed.
She said to ensure that this project is sustainable, all proceeds generated through the sale of these new houses will be deposited in the Housing Revolving Fund, currently utilised for the funding of houses under the ISUAPP.
“This will allow us to accelerate the construction of more houses for other ultra-low- and low-income bracket and other beneficiaries residing in other informal settlements” she said.
According to the deputy minister the houses will be constructed in three phases over a period of 12 months with the final stock expected to be delivered in April 2025.
“Beneficiaries will be identified in line with the criteria of the Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme while directing special preference to our men and women in uniform” she said.
She further said the remaining 224 of the 400 erven in Goreangab Extension 4 is still being finalised in terms of the installation of all required services and are expected to be ready in 2025.
“I am optimistic that our efforts will yield positive results and that the reduction of shacks in our informal settlements will be evident for all to see,” she said.
Queen Kamati, mayor of Windhoek indicated that through the ISUAPP, the government intends to construct 1 200 affordable housing units within identified informal settlement areas in Windhoek.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) board, Toska Sem slammed rumours that some beneficiaries of the ISUAPP have been left homeless after NHE repossessed their houses.
“I am pleased to inform you and the nation that none of the beneficiaries have lost their homes. We have actively engaged our clients, where necessary, to ensure that they are financially sound and are able to honour their repayment obligations,” Sem said.
He further urged all beneficiaries to prioritise their repayments to allow NHE to serve other deserving Namibians.
This year, President Nangolo Mbumba announced that the government has provided subsidies to local authorities and regional councils amounting to N$297 million, under the Mass Urban and Regional Land Servicing Programme.
Information obtained from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development reveals that through this programme, 26 new townships were proclaimed, 3 103 new plots were fully serviced in various parts of the country, bringing the total number of serviced plots during the second Harambee Prosperity Plan period to 6 024.
An additional 4 791 partially serviced plots are currently being serviced through various partnerships while 2 073 housing units were constructed at a cost of N$97 million.
SDFN have built about 7 224 affordable houses to date to the tune of N$39 million, according to the institution’s 2022 annual report.
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