Buy-A-Brick initiative targets construction of 1 000 houses

THE Buy-A-Brick initiative spearheaded by Standard Bank Namibia and the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia has set a target of delivering 1 000 houses every year to Namibians in the low to no-income groups after partners in the private sector expressed interest in funding the programme.

Standard Bank Namibia chief executive officer Vetumbuavi Mungunda said at the launch of the 4th Buy-A-Brick initiative in Windhoek last Thursday that plans are in place to scale up the initiative into a national project after mobile telecommunications operator MTC and diversified entity Bidvest indicated interest in taking the project further through joint efforts with other corporates.

He thus called on like-minded corporates in both the public and private sectors to come on board and help in mobilising funding and finding solutions to the housing crisis, adding that plans are already in place to delineate the initiative from Standard Bank to allow for more corporate participation.

“To this end, we are inviting our corporate sector and the public to join us in making the Buy-A-Brick initiative…the focal point of efforts to finding lasting solutions for the over 500 000 Namibians who are unemployed or are under-employed,” he said.

A new steering committee will soon be appointed to spearhead the task of mobilising funds and finding alternative building methods that would help in reducing the cost of building and the duration of construction.

“Since 2015, when we first launched the Buy-a-Brick initiative, very few people would have predicted that this project would evolve into a big national project that it is today. Join us in this noble fight against homelessness and the mushrooming of shacks across Namibia”, Mungunda added.

Thinus Smit, MTC acting managing director, called the Buy-A-Brick initiative one of “the most innovative, sustainable and successful campaigns that have ever been launched in Namibia”, and that MTC is proud to have been associated with this initiative this year with an investment of N$800 000.

“I wish to commend the dedication of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia network, a network of visionaries, dedicated men and women who have decided to fight the housing crisis in Namibia. I wish to assure them that they are not alone because we have now joined this fight,” Smit said.

The deputy minister of urban and rural development, Derek Klazen, thanked Standard Bank and said the government will continue to support families to acquire shelter, access to affordable land, and to benefit from infrastructural development, especially in informal settlements.

He also commended the initiative and the stakeholders for their contribution to the cause.

Standard Bank Namibia, together with its partners, has managed to raise over N$7,1 million since the Buy-A-Brick initiative was launched.

The funds have been used to provide housing to 98 beneficiaries and their families at Rehoboth, Berseba, Otjinene and Windhoek, while another 101 new houses for disadvantaged communities at Mariental, Otjiwarongo, Aminuis, Gobabis and Okongo are currently under construction.

The lack of decent housing continues to be one of the most contentious issues in Namibia, which is currently facing a housing backlog of 100 000, a number which continues to grow by 3 700 every year.