Windhoek
The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development has requested N$1.4 billion for its programme to support housing planning, infrastructure and development.
This programme consists of the various interventions by the government aimed at supporting and boosting the development and availability of housing, basic infrastructure and services as well as ensuring proper and sustainable urban and regional planning and development.
According to Urban and Rural Development Minister, Sophia Shaningwa, despite known challenges, including resource constraint, the ministry remains steadfast in its resolve to address the backlog in the development and availability of serviced land and affordable housing.
“This includes the delivery of basic services to our people, especially the ultra-low and low income groups,” she said.
She explained that the budget allocation under the programme would be used to continue “our housing delivery interventions under the Mass Housing Development Programme and the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia”.
Some funds will also be used to support regional councils and local authorities to maintain and increase the delivery of serviced land and provision of basic infrastructure and services at the grass-roots level.
Shaningwa stressed that the Namibia Housing Enterprise (NHE), which will receive N$100 million, remains an important instrument of the government in the provision of housing products to a section of the population.
Regarding the public private partnership and the community involvement, the ministry will allocate N$7 million to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) whose members are people in the ultra-low and low income groups.
The SDFN is involved in the construction and delivery of affordable housing for the needy and often less serviced market segment.