The differences between prime minister Elijah Ngurare and housing minister James Sankwasa over prefabricated housing may sound like semantics and trivial.
Yet such divergent views might well mean whether half of Namibia's population will continue to live in unsafe shack houses or on the streets while ruling officials bicker about what material is of an acceptable standard for dignified homes.
Ngurare referred to prefab material made from metal sheets with foam insulation. The material has been used by the government for schools, hospitals and housing for civil servants.
The prime minister argued that at N$150 000, with the construction period taking as little as a week, Namibia should adopt the material for houses that can last up to 50 years.
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Sankwasa expressed scepticism about the prefab material that his prime minister touted. Instead, the housing minister prefers cement precasts. He argues such precast slabs are more durable and claims the other material is too weak, rots easily and only lasts 10 to 15 years.
Sankwasa has also promoted a private company's project being undertaken close to Namibia's capital of shack houses in Windhoek.
Sankwasa made the case for the precast, saying they cost between N$330 000 and N$800 000, and were suitable for single professionals.
We doubt the politicians were relying on any scientific guidance while engaging in polemic amid a dire housing crisis.
By now, more than 1.5 million Namibians probably live in insecure houses constructed with makeshift materials.
At our coastal towns, fires spread regularly because the shack homes are made from some of the thinnest and most flammable plastics.
In Windhoek, and most of Namibia, statistics show that no fewer than one million Namibians live in shacks, mainly constructed from zinc plates that are hot in summer, cold in winter, leak during rain and overall are set up illegally as the country's towns cannot keep up with urban migration.
In short, Ngurare and Sankwasa are engaging in semantics while people suffer.
What they ought to do is urgently look at changing laws that allow families and individuals to use tested, secure and durable materials to build their homes in an affordable way - houses people are proud to live in.
The material Ngurare refers to has been in use for at least 15 years in Namibia and it should have been determined by now whether it is of an acceptable standard or not.
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So what if they only last 15 years? If such material provides security and dignified living, it is far better than turning a blind eye to the horrible windowless shacks that have become a commonplace death and poverty trap in Namibia.
A lack of imagination seems to be the main obstacle to solving societal problems in Namibia since Swapo took power from apartheid 35 years ago.
Widespread usage of prefabricated materials provide opportunities to create meaningful and long-term jobs for the youth.
They will learn design and manufacturing skills, which are at the very least semi or high level skills.
Installation of sanitation, water and electricity will lead to an increase in services, pushing people up the social ladder and out of the cycle of hopeless poverty.
In short, we would have self-perpetuating productive economic activities instead of the current housing construction market that is difficult to do on a large scale because it depends heavily on huge capital and big projects by the wealthy, government and large private institutions.
Let's be clear: Sankwasa's cement precasts and what Ngurare argues for are both prefabricated materials.
Enough with the smart mind games. Hunker down and tackle the challenges of the needy - the people who most often bother to stand in long queues all day for a chance to vote for their political leaders.
