The government has decided to revive and expedite the completion of the long-stalled Mass Housing Development Programme, focusing on three key sites: Windhoek, Swakopmund and Opuwo.
In Windhoek, the government has allocated N$90 million to complete 362 housing units, which have remained unfinished since 2017 due to legal challenges.
In Swakopmund, the government is in the early stages of working with New Era Investment contractors to complete 186 partially constructed houses. Meanwhile, in Opuwo, the procurement process is advancing, with bids currently being evaluated to appoint a contractor for the completion of 24 homes there.
This was confirmed by the executive director of the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Nghidinua Daniel during a familiarisation visit to the mass housing development project at Otjomuise Extension 10, in Windhoek yesterday.
Daniel explained that the mass housing development project, is slowly coming back to life with the first banch of houses expected to be handed over in early December.
The decision comes years after Namibia's second president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, registered disappointment in the government's decision to halt the project after it was reportedly hijacked by greedy individuals.
Seen as Pohamba's brainchild and legacy, the project was spearheaded by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, as well as the National Housing Enterprise (NHE).
It intended to build 185 000 affordable houses by 2030.
"My idea was to build and sell, then reinvest the money into the project to build more houses on a continuing basis until all our low-income people were moved from zinc and cardboard houses into basic, standard, two-bedroom houses with a shower, toilet, kitchen and living room," Pohamba says in his memoir published last week.
"Unfortunately, defective implementation of the housing scheme castrated the project because some greed crept in and hijacked the good intentions of the housing scheme, which could have benefitted many."
Numbers
The urban development ministry stated that the Mass Housing Development Programme, which was adopted by Cabinet in 2013 and kicked off in 2014, has benefitted close to 4 446 people so far.
The executive director explained that despite temporary setbacks, including legislative delays, the government remains committed to completing the project under the rule of law.
"The legal challenges have been addressed, and work has resumed in full swing," he said.
"The minister, being a hands-on leader, wanted to personally visit the sites to assess progress. We are pleased to report that work has resumed at all sites, and we are confident that the remaining units will be completed soon," the official added.
Apart from the 362 houses in Windhoek, currently under construction, the ministry's accounting officer said in Opuwo, 24 housing units are being finalised while in Swakopmund, out of 505 housing units, 319 have already been completed and handed over to beneficiaries in June this year, leaving 186 units to be completed.
"We are now expediting the remaining 186 units to ensure that this community can fully benefit from the programme," said Daniel.
"We are working closely with a team of consulting engineers, to ensure these houses are completed on schedule," said Daniel.
Contractor
The newly appointed contractor for Windhoek, Taleni Kapadhi, promised that by December, six dual-freestanding houses, each consisting of two units, are expected to be handed over.
Standing on site, Kapadhi, the project coordinator, explained the underlying challenges.
"These houses look complete from the outside," he said, gesturing towards the row of houses, "but the real issue is underground. The pipes, the water, the electricity - all the services need to be upgraded because the land was initially serviced for single residential units, not blocks like these," he explained.
It was a problem that had halted the project in 2017 and sent it into legal limbo.
He said the land had been prepared for normal houses, but when the decision was made to construct dual units, the infrastructure needed to support more occupants was simply not enough.
"Imagine flushing in a house with a small pipe meant for one family, but now there are two. The entire system needs to be bigger, and stronger. That's what we're fixing now," Kapadhi said, pointing to a team digging a trench where new sewer pipes were being laid.
"We had to change everything underground to make these homes livable," Kapadhi added.
In addition to upgrading the underground services, the project team was also building roads, fencing the property, and installing drying/pavement yards and refuse areas. These would make the place not just a site of houses but a community where people could truly settle.
As the deadline for the first batch of houses approached, the workers remained determined.
"We're pushing to have it all done by next year June," he said confidently, though the challenges were evident.
Eleven blocks, each containing 24 units, were under construction with two- and three-bedroom units.
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For now, though, the focus was on getting the first 12 units completed and connected to the electricity grid. The rest, as Kapadhi said, would follow in due time, block by block, house by house.
Subsidise
Speaking at the Otjomuise Extension 10 site, where 362 houses remain incomplete, urban development minister Erastus Uutoni outlined the government's efforts to address the country's housing shortage.
He said the government is not only focused on completing the units but also on making them affordable.
"Cabinet decided that the categories of houses earmarked for the ultra-low and low-income groups must be sold at prices that are lower than the actual cost of construction," he stated, highlighting the government's effort to ensure housing is accessible to those in need.
Out of the 21 sites where the mass housing projects were implemented, only Windhoek, Opuwo, and Swakopmund have incomplete housing units.
He also confirmed that the contractor for the 24 houses in Opuwo will be appointed soon, with work expected to start later this financial year.
He urged all stakeholders, including local authorities, to expedite the completion of these projects and called for greater collaboration between the government, private sector, and civic society.
(Housing)
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