The delayed announcement by government that rent control and property regulation is in the pipeline, is a cause for celebration – albeit belated.
We failed to act in 2003 when the housing market started behaving sporadically.
Sooner rather than later, the envisaged committee, responsible to propose radical changes and amend the laws, should in my opinion have started as earlier as yesterday.
As a young professional, between 2005 and 2014, I have paid rent to the amount of N$736 000 in a space of 9 years as a displaced rental citizen.
Steep as it may sound, I know of other young professionals, mostly black, who have paid over a million in rentals to date; no derogative or racial intentions – but this housing crisis has mostly affected men and women of colour from previously disadvantaged communities.
I am fortunate now that I have my own place – and would understand how many youths are disgruntled – given that I hail from the same predicament.
My two pennies’ worth of advice to government is to appoint former Deputy Prime Minister Libertine Amathila. Solutions to this are many and one of them is to look at re-modification of the land acquisition policy to encourage private treaty with municipalities – especially for youth to buy land on long-term purchase [agreement] from the municipality directly, as opposed to middlemen and banking structures, whose motive is high profit.
Another alternative is classification of land acquisition systems, to prevent land barons from owning or buying land in suburbs/areas deemed for poor and low-income earners, in areas such as Goreangab and recently Havana where land barons are erecting unsightly flats. Clearly this will result in high land costs in areas meant for low-income earners.
Namibian Professional
Windhoek