THE launch by the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development (Rtd) Major-General Charles Namholoh of the N$45 billion mass housing scheme will go a long way to address the housing crisis.
In short, the mass housing initiative launched on Monday will culminate in 185 000 houses being constructed over the next 17 years, by 2030 translating into 10 882 housing units being constructed each year.
This also translates into an annual investment of N$2,5 billion which shows the scope and magnitude of this initiative to provide shelter to all and sundry.
Like we have pointed out in the past the current housing crisis is man-made in the sense that some unscrupulous “developers” buy huge tracts of land that they resell at outrageous prices to people desperately in need of houses.
Namibia has one of the highest housing prices in Africa partly because of the unholy alliance between commercial banks and so-called property developers.
In essence, the prices of houses are artificially inflated and it is only a matter of time before this housing bubble bursts. Since independence the price of houses has shot through the roof.
Some experts think housing prices in Namibia are high because of the high demand and this could be true but there is also the element of commercial banks making money each time they dish out loans for houses.
Banks make a killing by masking their charges and in most cases a person who takes out a loan on a 25-year mortgage will only start paying off the loan after five years as payments for the first five years go towards the interest charges.
The reason many people can no longer afford to buy a house is because housing prices tend to go up much faster than wages. Houses have become less and less affordable with each passing year because of ruthless housing speculators on the one hand and profit-driven banks on the other who have put the masses in a fix.
In reality the current high prices for housing only benefits banks and the so-called property developers who in a way are the architects of the current crisis.
Government has taken cognisance of this crisis that has condemned the masses to being backyard tenants who have been at the mercy of heartless landlords.
Another factor that led to the present housing crisis is the high price for building materials that have to be imported from South Africa while the issue of high prices for serviced land is a legislative issue that should be dealt with as such.
The Swapo Party election manifesto puts emphasis on the ruling party striving for economic independence and prosperity for all and the party “regards shelter as a very important element in human development.”
It is indeed for this reason that the provision of housing is a priority identified in the Swapo Party Political Programme intended to house the masses. The programme unveiled this week shows genuine commitment on the part of the government to address the issue of housing systematically and comprehensively.