Bukalo
Several houses being constructed under the nationwide, multibillion dollar Mass Housing Project – initiated by the government to address the acute shortage of houses across the country – have been vandalised at Bukalo, a councillor on the Bukalo Village Council (BVC), Charles Siyauya, revealed.
Vandals started debasing mass houses at Bukalo because the contractor stopped construction after the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Sophia Shaaningwa, issued a directive to all contractors involved in mass housing to halt construction until a number of issues are resolved.
Local businessman Francis Sikumba was awarded the tender for the construction of 86 houses at Bukalo, ranging in size from two-roomed to three-roomed houses – some 40 kilometres east of Katima Mulilo, the regional capital of the Zambezi Region in northeastern Namibia.
Siyauya said the halted project has also created uncertainty among the dozens of bricklayers, plumbers and electrical fitters that were employed on the building project. Some have lamented the fact that they are now in serious financial difficulty and uncertainty.
“We will end up having to spend more on what we have already built on the housing project at Bukalo. We really need mass housing, because it is a good project that has created jobs for our people, but there is a level of uncertainty because the builders cannot pay their children’s school fees and others cannot pay their accounts,” stated Siyauya, a Swapo councillor.
What compounds the issue he says is the fact that Namibia will host regional and local authority elections towards the end of November and the issue could antagonise voters.
Meanwhile, Sikumba said he was unaware of some of the houses being vandalised at Bukalo and said he even checked with the security company that looks after the houses and was informed there was nothing of that nature, but he said he has instructed the security firm to probe the report.
Sikumba indicated that his company incurred extra costs, as he like other contractors was affected by the temporary interruption of the ambitious housing project, as they have bills to pay.
The main goal of the mass housing project is to construct 185 000 houses by 2030. The goal was to be underpinned by three objectives: to provide affordable housing to all Namibians, specifically low-income groups; economic empowerment through ownership of a tradable asset (being a house) that can be used as security for further wealth-creation at household level; and lastly to create jobs and stimulate the economy.