Isabel Bento 

SWAKOPMUND - The implementation of the new housing policy for Namibia approved by Cabinet last year will assist in boosting the delivery of houses, especially for low-income earners and first-time home buyers.

This was said by deputy urban and rural development minister, Evelyn !Nawases-Taeyele on Wednesday during the opening of the Henties Bay Land Development Conference, which addresses the prevailing land management, planning, and housing development challenges at the coastal town and elsewhere in the country.

The deputy minister said the housing sector faces multiple challenges, such as the prices of houses, which continue to skyrocket due to increases in input costs, and the mismatch between the rapidly rising demand for houses and the low housing delivery by housing developers.

This has made it difficult for many people to afford decent housing, with the national housing backlog currently estimated at 300 000 units, of which 70% is in the low-income categories where must people cannot access credit from financial institutions.

!Nawases-Taeyele noted the ministry’s commitment to upgrading informal settlements and accelerating the servicing of land in urban and townships to support the continuous process of upgrading.

“Government, through the budget allocation for this financial year, demonstrated its seriousness in providing a significant amount for housing delivery and servicing of land. 

We will continue to implement various interventions that are aimed at ensuring the availability of basic municipal infrastructure and services, as well as the provision of housing in the country,” she said.

The deputy minister added that available funding will be prioritised towards ongoing interventions on urban and regional planning, land servicing, and support to housing development initiatives that are carried out by the ministry and local government.

Meanwhile, land reform minister Calle Schlettwein said his ministry is administering the Flexible Land Tenure Act of 2012, an initiative by the government to provide land titles to informal settlement residents.

According to Schlettwein, the initiative is a pro-poor project which targets people who live in informal settlements and other low-income earners.

 It is aimed at providing affordable security of tenure to informal settlement residents and accelerating urban land delivery.
The three-day conference ends today.
-Nampa