Rauna Kalola
The Namibian Housing Action Group in support of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia paid a courtesy visit to the Erongo governor last week in Swakopmund to solidify their partnership and ensure that the housing need in the region is addressed.
Chairperson of the NHAG, Daniel Botha said the SDFN is a bottom-up approach to development and is focused on the communities. He said solutions to housing needs have been growing from the people on the ground, instead of top-down traditional structures and systems.
“The challenges of housing are massive worldwide and since independence, the government has done its best to try and address these challenges, but solutions have been coming from the communities. If we recognise the power of solutions from the people at the bottom and allow it to penetrate into systems and structures, then we can have new dialogue,” Botha said.
The Namibian government has identified housing need as a major challenge and more needs to be done to develop a model that will be more effective and feasible in addressing the housing need as the influx of people to the region in search of opportunities continues to increase, said the governor of Erongo region, Neville Andre during the visit.
“Government is seeing the need in assisting the shack dwellers with funding of their initiatives because they are helping in the housing programmes and their model is helping to fast-track address the housing challenge,” Andre said.
Andre indicated that there are roughly about 20 000 residents on the housing waiting list in Walvis Bay and 16 000 in Swakopmund. The town of Swakopmund has allocated about 15 000 square metres of land to shack dwellers for servicing and construction of houses.
NHAG co-director, Heinrich Amushila highlighted a few pending projects within the region, including the construction of about 40 houses in Narraville (Walvis Bay), upgrading of informal settlements and construction of houses in Karibib, construction of 32 houses in Swakopmund, and five houses in Henties Bay.
“The communities are also involved in these projects and we thank those employers who play a role in supporting their employees to live in decent houses,” Amushila added.
The governor visited the 32 houses constructed in Swakopmund and applauded the federation for its dedication to ensuring that the less privileged communities live a dignified life by providing decent and affordable housing. The Swakopmund project was started in October 2021 and some of the houses are already occupied.