The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) has a housing backlog of 300000, with 120 000 applicants on its waiting list since 2005.

NHE CEO Gisbertus Mukulu, while speaking at the Government Information Centre here on Tuesday, said the Khomas region’s waiting list stands at 33 000, followed by Erongo with 35 000, while there are 22 000 applicants on the waiting list in the northern regions. 

In the southern and northeastern regions, there are 15000 applicants on the waiting list.

He said since its inception in 1993, the NHE has constructed 21 545 houses. 

He noted that 40% to 45% of Namibians are unable to afford houses. Thus, the company has come up with deliberate interventions, which include building houses that do not have finishes such as tiles, amongst others, to accommodate ultra-low and low-income earners.

The design of houses without finishes includes bachelor flats costing N$70 000 to N$80 000, one-bedroom houses costing N$100 000, two-bedroom houses costing N$120 000, and three-bedroom houses that cost close to N$200 000.

“This is the type of house that most Namibians can afford, and the reason we cut out some of the finishes is simply to make it more affordable. The inhabitants will then be able to expand that house as soon as the financial situation of that individual has improved, instead of providing a house that is expensive and out of reach,” he stated.

Mukulu also noted that NHE does provide houses for middle-income earners and above, and other services include providing building loans to clients who own plots, or existing clients who want to expand their houses.

He indicated that the biggest challenges NHE faces include scarcity of serviced land, high cost of serviced land, credit-readiness of clients, the increased cost of building materials, as well as limited funding.

-Nampa