WINDHOEK – The National Housing Enterprise (NHE), the official executing agency in the implementation of the recently announced mass housing programme, met with a delegation from Singapore as part of the groundwork for the project.
NHE wants to draw some practical lessons from Singapore that can be modelled in Namibia to provide mass housing. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the Singapore government through Singapore Enterprise aimed at sharing expertise and knowledge on delivering the initiative.
The mass housing programme is aimed at addressing the country’s current national housing backlog of 110 000 housing units, and the backlog is growing at an annual rate of about 3 700 units.
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) of Singapore, Liew Heng San, led the delegation. “Singapore has a strong international reputation,” said the NHE Chief Executive Officer Vincent Hailulu.
CPF is the core funder of housing programmes in Singapore, and has extensive experience and expertise in housing, urban development and economic related matters. “I am delighted NHE invited us to come share our expertise with Namibia,” San said.
San mentioned that accomplishing the project would not be a quick feat – “every country has its own unique challenges, understanding the challenges is the key in achieving success. Singapore did not start its housing development in one year, it took time,” he said.
By John Travolter Matali