Southern towns provide low-cost housing

Keetmanshoop and Oranjemund aim to address housing shortages by providing quality accommodation for residents.

The two municipalities in the //Kharas region are dusting off the Build Together low-cost housing programme in conjunction with the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.

The Keetmanshoop municipality intends to construct 30 houses for low-income residents in the town’s Extension 7 area.

The initiative aims to not only provide houses but restore the dignity of residents who have either been renting or living in corrugated iron shacks in the informal areas.

Keetmanshoop mayor McDonald Hanse, speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, said the council is confident in its ability to address the housing backlog, which currently stands at 4 000.

“This ceremony is part of accommodating the homeless through the Build Together scheme. It is not required from identified beneficiaries to pay an upfront deposit, while the cost involved, amounting to N$80 000, will be expected to be paid back in agreed-upon instalments,” said Hanse.

The council anticipates receiving a further N$2 million allocated to the Keetmanshoop municipality by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development in the current financial year to construct more houses.

Due to the high unemployment rate at the town, the council has opted to utilise a local contractor, JMH Trading Enterprises, to construct the houses.

The council is confident that all the houses will be completed this year.

JMH Trading Enterprises owner Michael Humphries said the company was initially awarded a construction tender for two houses.

“We take this opportunity given to us wholeheartedly as it will help the company to grow. Currently, we are employing four unskilled labourers and two qualified builders. The competition is tough with all the big companies out there with the needed experience and funding. So we are thankful that the council is considering us small contractors to build these houses,” said Humphries.

He is hopeful of making a success of the first two houses in order to be awarded tenders to construct more houses.

At Oranjemund, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development also approved the Oranjemund Town Council’s low-cost housing scheme, with 56 houses set to be built in phase one.

This initiative will be fully funded with N$6 million from the Oranjemund Town Council.

Oranjemund mayor Elias Kasembe said the work being done in housing development is not just about constructing buildings but about building hope, stability and opportunities for families.

“These developments are part of the broader informal settlement upgrading and decongestion plan designed to address housing and decongestion challenges at Oranjemund,” said Kasembe.

The municipality has appointed the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia for the construction of these houses, Kasembe added.

Last month, the council also handed over 50 houses built in partnership with the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.

Kasembe said the town council has further serviced 327 erven in Extension 10, with 227 erven designated for residential use to alleviate overcrowding and offer new housing prospects.

The council has also received support of N$10 million from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and approximately N$1,9 million from the National Planning Commission in the 2023/2024 financial year for Extension 11, designated for low-cost housing, comprising 288 erven.