Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has requested for the collaboration of all stakeholders to ma achieve the country's aspirations and goals, such as the much needed housing delivery.

The minister, during the handover ceremony of 108 houses constructed under the Mass Housing Programme at Swakopmund on Friday, emphasised that decent shelter is a basic necessity of life.

'Government believes that it is justified for the citizens as the sovereign to expect to have a place that they call their own and to meet their dwelling and survival needs. In keeping with this reality and our commitment to the people of Namibia, housing remains one of our key development priorities as clearly articulated in our national development frameworks, namely; Vision 2023, national development plans and the Harambee Prosperity Plan 2,' Uutoni stated.

He further highlighted the importance for government to ensure that its approach and strategies are holistic and integrated in nature and that all housing development initiatives in the country are properly coordinated to ensure the desired impact.

'One of the principals that ensure those desired impacts is sustainability and integration. It is critical that our housing delivery process is politically, economically, socially and fiscally sustainable and this among others, requires a balance between end-user affordability, the standards and number of housing units required, as well as the required and available resources and capacity,' the minister said.

Erongo Governor, Neville Andre Itope, stressed that although there is still a huge backlog of housing that needs to address, the little steps of housing delivery by government should be commended as they bring a huge relief to the backlog and liberation to the beneficiaries who finally have a place to call home.

The 108 houses are part of the 319 houses which were handed over to New Era Investment in October 2022 to complete, after being abandoned for over five years by another contractor.

The remaining 208 are at roof level and the contractor is attending to the final finishes, such as plumbing and electrical works, Itope revealed.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency