NHE housing backlog hits 120 000

More than 120 000 people are on the National Housing Enterprise’s waiting list.

NHE chief executive Gisbertus Mukulu revealed this at an information-sharing session in Windhoek yesterday.

He said the overall housing backlog in the country remains steady at 300 000, which makes the provision of housing a “mammoth” task.

“The housing backlog is mostly in the ultra-low and low-income segments of the Namibian population,” Mukulu said.

He said to try and remedy the situation, the NHE has come up with deliberate interventions, of which one is to build houses that are more affordable.

This includes designing houses without pricey finishes such as ceiling boards, tiles and geysers.

“This is because the majority of Namibians are not able to afford a house that is too expensive. Clients can then expand their house as soon as their financial situation has improved,” he said.

Mukulu said the NHE sets cheap prices for their houses because it has the mandate to provide houses to low, ultra-low and medium-income earners.

The NHE has one to three bedroom houses, which can range from between N$80 000 and N$200 000 per house.

Mukulu said the NHE has launched a five-year strategic plan which kicked off this year.

The plan aims to increase the firm’s loan book, and improve its service delivery.

“Looking at the entire five years, the NHE is aiming to build 8 000 or more houses. We will need financial resources to do so,” he said.

The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, through the NHE, handed over 119 houses at Swakopmund to new owners last month. The houses are part of 505 units that have been standing idle at the town’s Matutura Extension 9 area for years due to a legal dispute between the main building contractor and subcontractors.

The NHE plans to prioritise the completion of the remaining 572 uncompleted houses.

These consist of 186 units at Swakopmund, 362 at Otjomuise Extension 10 in Windhoek and 24 at Opuwo.

A total of 4 446 housing units have been handed over under the mass housing development programme since its implementation in 2014.

Since 1990, the government has built 81 291 houses through the Build Together programme, the informal settlement upgrading programme, and the NHE, among others.

The Namibian reported in March that 67% of the urban population still live in informal settlements, meaning approximately 979 762 Namibians are still living in shacks.

This represents 231 831 households in 299 informal settlements.

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CONCERNING

Meanwhile, Nafimane Hamukoshi from the Economic and Social Justice Trust says poor housing provision is concerning.

“The staggering figure of 120 000 individuals on the waiting list and a persistent housing backlog of 300 000 highlight a critical social justice issue that disproportionately affects marginalised communities, who are often the most vulnerable in housing instability,” he says.

Hamukoshi says the NHE’s plan to construct only 8 000 houses over the next five years is insufficient to meet the urgent demand and does not address the systemic barriers that perpetuate this crisis.

“To effectively tackle this issue, a multifaceted approach is necessary, increasing funding for affordable housing projects, implementing policies that prioritise equitable access to housing for low-income families, and having inclusive advocacy efforts to ensure the public voices are heard in decision-making processes.”

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