SWAKOPMUND – At least 119 residents of Swakopmund became first-time homeowners on Monday after the National Housing Enterprise handed over houses that were completed by New Era Investment.
The houses were part of the last batch out of a total of 319 that were handed over to New Era Investments for completion.
“We are overjoyed and extremely thankful,” said Paul Ndjambula, one of the recipients of a house. He said he signed up at NHE in 2012, and has been patiently waiting to become a homeowner. “We cannot express our gratitude enough to the government, Swakopmund municipality and NHE for making our dreams a reality,” he said. Another recipient said she applied in 2010 at NHE.
“I have been renting for the past 20 years in Swakopmund, and it feels good to finally have a safe place for my family. I am forever grateful,” she said while taking her first steps inside her house shortly after it was handed over by Urban and Rural Development minister Erastus Uutoni. Desiree Olivier could also not hide her joy when she received the keys to her house on Monday.
“This is a dream coming true, but it also shows that my patience paid off. We should never lose hope if we have signed up with NHE,” she said.
Uutoni said, these are all collaborative efforts to make affordable housing a reality. However, the government is fully aware that more needs to be done to provide decent and affordable housing to all Namibians, adding that the government is doing all it can to complete the remaining 572 houses in Swakopmund, Windhoek and Opuwo.
“I have directed my team to work very hard to resolve the dispute that is still holding up the completion of the remaining houses in Swakopmund, Windhoek and Opuwo. I have been informed that the Opuwo project is at the procurement stage, and also that engagements are at an advanced stage for the resumption of work at the Otjomuise Extension 10 site,” the minister said.
As part of these efforts, Uutoni said the government approved the revised National Housing Policy with a five-year implementation action plan last November.
“The policy seeks to reinforce and scale-up ongoing collaborative actions and partnerships between the government, community-based organisations and the private sector, and gives special attention to the improvement of conditions in informal settlements and the needs of identified target groups, notably the ultra-low, low, and middle-income groups which constitute approximately 88% of the section of the population that is in need of affordable land and decent housing. We are finalising arrangements for the official launch of the policy and implementation plan, and their dissemination,” he said.
Also speaking at the same event, NHE board chairperson Hasting Tjipueja said NHE’s renewed approach is to maintain this momentum in terms of housing delivery to ensure that their projected housing targets are met without hindrances.
“The NHE is fully-cognisant of the colossal task that is before us, which serves as motivation for us to redouble our efforts insofar as housing provision is concerned,” he said.