Reinvest GIPF funds for homes – governor

Erongo governor Nathalia /Goagoses has called for money advanced by the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) for housing developments to be repaid and reinvested into new projects, while urging authorities to ensure buyers receive title deeds once they have settled their housing loans.The remarks were made during the handover of houses at Kuisebmond Extension 16 in Walvis Bay on Friday, where deputy minister of urban and rural development Evelyn !Nawases-Taeyele also called for faster housing delivery.The development by PAM Tree Investment was financed by GIPF, Königstein Capital and KAHF.!Nawases-Taeyele said unnecessary bureaucracy at local authorities was delaying housing delivery despite the urgent need for homes.“People are yearning for houses. People are in dire need of houses,” she said.The first phase of the development, comprising 79 houses, had already been fully taken up, while the project had created opportunities for local contractors, suppliers, workers, SMEs and young entrepreneurs, the deputy minister said.Invest in our communities/Goagoses suggested that developers should repay GIPF after selling the houses so the money could be used to finance further housing developments.“Please, please let the money that GIPF advanced to you because you sold the houses, go back to GIPF so that we can build more houses,” she said.GIPF’s investments in housing should be viewed as investments using Namibians’ own funds and called for the money generated through the sale of houses to return to the fund, the governor added.“They are just administering our money, it’s our funds,” /Goagoses said.“If money is invested in our communities by our own funds, it’s something really worth celebrating.”/Goagoses also raised concerns about beneficiaries who had bought houses but had not yet received title deeds, saying ownership should be transferred once buyers had fulfilled their financial obligations.“We don’t want stories after coming here and celebrating and doing what we are doing here and eventually the beneficiaries are not yet the owners of these houses,” Goagoses said.The governor said decent housing should not be limited to wealthy Namibians but should form part of efforts to provide all citizens with a dignified standard of living.Start smallAccording to Johannes Mbango of PAM Tree Investment, all 185 houses in the development have been sold.“The demand for housing is there. Our people want homes. They want quality, but the price must also make sense.”He added that the sewer infrastructure was designed with additional capacity to accommodate future development in the area.“We also honoured our social responsibility commitments, in line with our agreement with the Municipality of Walvis Bay under which we received the land, which is to give 20 fully serviced residential plots to the municipality.”Reflecting on the development, Mbango added: “In 2014, we were small builders working from a bakkie, helping others to build their projects. Now we are standing in a development that started as an idea and has become a home for many Namibians. Our message to young Namibians and small businesses is to not be afraid to start small.”

Reinvest GIPF funds for homes – governor

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-07

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Reinvest GIPF funds for homes – governor

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-07

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