President Hage Geingob yesterday acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in the country is a well-documented problem and has seen the backlog remaining well above 300 000 units countrywide.
Geingob highlighted during the state of the nation address the housing backlog remains a challenge. The President, however, added there have been major achievements in terms of housing and serviced land delivery.
“However, the delivery of serviced land, housing, and sanitation have progressed in line with targets set over the term. The Harambee Prosperity Plan target to deliver 20 000 new houses was achieved at 82%, with the delivery of 16 464 houses by March 2020,” he singled out.
The houses were constructed in collaboration with various stakeholders including the National Housing Enterprise,
Government Institutions Pension Fund, the Shack Dwellers Federation, Build Together and several public-private partnerships.
Geingob maintained the delivery of residential erven was achieved at 89% or 23 194 plots of the targeted 26 000. “The national housing backlog remains above 300 000 units.
I am conscious that despite these achievements and considering the persistently high national demand, we need to accelerate our efforts in the area of housing and land provision, particularly in major cities and towns,” he said.
On the bucket toilet system, Geingob says it was not eliminated by the end of the period envisaged, but the government achieved an elimination rate of 74%.
Since the declaration of a humanitarian crisis in informal settlements, he revealed, a pilot project has commenced in Windhoek, to transform peri-urban settlements into sustainable human settlements that are planned, serviced, and occupied through various tenure options. To restore dignified life, Geingob said such an attempt would be incomplete without the delivery of decent shelter and sanitation.
Therefore, he suggested, rural economic development, through delegation of key central government functions and decentralisation of industries, must be implemented in tandem, as a means of addressing the factors driving rural-urban migration.
He also touched on water supply security that came under pressure due to the prolonged drought Namibia experienced over three years. He commended the government for taking decisive action to constitute a Cabinet committee on water supply security that worked to guarantee water supply for the central and coastal regions even in a no-rain scenario.
“Government intensified drilling of boreholes and upgrading water infrastructure across the country, to enhance access to potable water for rural communities that were faced with water shortages as a result of the drought. Currently, 94% of the population has access to potable water,” he stated.
– anakale@nepc.com.na