Thursday, April 21, 2016 - 08:00
Thinking outside the box and the implementation of new ideas hold the key to the accelerated supply of affordable housing and land for the people of Namibia.
During a second visit to the coast in as many weeks, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Sophia Shaningwa, said that countrywide more than 27 000 erven has been serviced and are available to be distributed to people. Shaningwa made the remarks during a consultative retreat held in Swakopmund. She said that more than 80 000 erven are in the process of being prepared for distribution to the landless people of Namibia.
The retreat was aimed at providing a platform for the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to jointly review its performance on critical issues in its sector and to craft strategies and plans on how to address identified developmental priorities in the current fiscal year.
The retreat was attended by regional governors, chairpersons of regional councils, mayors of towns from all over Namibia, chief regional officers and chief executive officers of local authorities.
“As a strong believer in teamwork, I believe that effective teamwork requires information sharing and consultations amongst team members. This is in line with the spirit of Harambee and inclusivity as passionately advocated by President Hage Geingob,” Shaningwa said.
The minister added that the ministry is expected to deliver at least 5 000 new houses, 6 500 new residential plots and the eradication of the bucket system by the end of 2017. At the same time, 50 000 rural toilets will have to be built during the years of the implementation of the Harambee plan.
“This is daunting task which will require our joint action and contribution as a sector and at all levels. This includes the ministry, governor’s offices, regional councils, local authorities, the National Housing Enterprise Agencies and private sector role players in the land, housing and rural development sectors.”
She said everyone involved is expected to work out a plan of action as a matter of urgency in order to deliver on the targets set for them.
Addressing the backlog in the supply and access to affordable serviced urban land and housing, the minister said, “We continue to have the ugly situation where a large section of the population still live in poverty and informal settlements and have no access to basic services. This requires us to revisit our approach and intervention mechanisms with a view to accelerate the development, supply and affordability of housing products and serviced land in the country.”