Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has said the government is working around the clock to address the housing backlog in Namibia.

Speaking during the handover of 219 houses in Oshikuku on Monday, Uutoni acknowledged that the journey to homeownership may at times take longer than anticipated, but gave his assurance that the government is working diligently to tackle the problem.

The 219 houses were developed through various housing programmes.

Seventeen of the houses were constructed under the Build Together programme, while 63 were built by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) in collaboration with their community savings schemes. The remaining houses were the result of a public-private partnership between the Oshikuku Town Council and Easy United Holdings.

Uutoni said the town council recently availed over 30 semi-serviced erven to SDFN and 10 fully serviced erven to Build Together beneficiaries, allocating a budget provision of N.dollars 800 000 for the 2023/24 financial year.

“Government remains committed to addressing the housing shortage regardless of socioeconomic status,” he said.

Furthermore, the minister stressed that at all levels of government, there is a steadfast commitment to fostering an enabling environment and creating opportunities for all, particularly those residing in informal settlements who currently lack adequate housing.

He appealed to the private sector to continue collaborating with government and its agencies, meeting halfway in the collective effort to provide housing solutions.

Johanna Amutenya, a member of SDFN, spoke of the federation’s role as a people’s movement for saving in Namibia, with 937 groups and a total of 31 650 members across the country.

In the Omusati Region, Amutenya reported the existence of 56 groups comprising 1 504 members who have collectively saved N.dollars 3.1 million. Notably, a total of 339 houses were constructed in the region at a cost of N.dollars 8.5 million, with N.dollars 6.9 million already repaid.

“The Oshikuku network has 217 members organised into three saving groups, of which 61 are homeowners,” she said, adding that their combined savings amounted to N.dollars 513 067.85.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency