Maihapa Ndjavera
The accessibility to decent housing improves people’s lives and mental health, while also creating a conducive environment for communities to thrive in. In this vein, the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) yesterday housed 40 families in Otjiwarongo in the Otjozondjupa region. The 40 houses were constructed through partnerships between NHE, the private sector and the Otjiwarongo municipality.
NHE CEO Gisbertus Mukulu stated that the total value of this housing project is N$11.5 million. And notably, the urban and rural development ministry availed N$5 million for it.
He said in Namibia, approximately 70% of the population is unlikely to access and afford conventional home loan facilities offered by the financial market, nor can they access urban freehold land and professional services, which form part of basic requirements to ultimately own a decent home.
“It is our strong conviction that if the channelling of resources to NHE is improved, the current situation could gradually improve,” the CEO pleaded.
Mukulu noted that the NHE board and management has taken into consideration the importance of realigning the institution’s housing delivery strategies to the reality on the ground.
“Let us not run away from the reality that there are people who can afford houses like these ones, but there are also those who can only afford a basic structure, to which they will keep adding geysers and tiles on their own at their own pace,” he added.
At the same occasion, urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni admitted that due to the countless and competing priorities, government is unable to provide houses alone. However, adequate housing and the provision of basic infrastructure and services, he said, remains one of the top priorities at all government levels.
According to the Namibia Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) report launched by the World Bank in July this year, more than 30 000 housing units are required per annum to clear the backlog of 300 000 houses over the next 10 years.
One of the solutions presented is effective public-private partnerships that can help rebuild the local construction sector’s capacity and stimulate linkages with the manufacturing sector.
Furthermore, NHE spokesperson Tuafi Shafombabi said the company is challenged with a lack of serviced land and funding. NHE is publicly-funded, and its core business is providing housing to Namibia’s low- and middle-income earners and the financing of housing for such inhabitants.
According to FNB Namibia’s residential property report for the second quarter of the year, overall national house prices have remained fairly stable, with the 12-month national weighted average house price recorded at N$1 173 059 in June 2022, compared to N$1 211 382 in June 2021.