Windhoek not built for half a million people - Matyayi

Windhoek's population has swelled to about 500 000, more than six times the 80 000 the city was originally designed to accommodate, and infrastructure has failed to keep pace, City chief executive Moses Matyayi says.

The pressure is increasingly visible in informal settlements, where the population has grown by about 66 715 people in six years, from an estimated 183 285 in 2020 to roughly 250 000 this year.

In an interview last week on Nampa's ‘Behind the Wheel’, Matyayi said the city's growth had put infrastructure built for a much smaller population under increasing strain.

"… in the initial years, maybe 30 years ago, we were supposed to be just 80 000 people," he told Nampa.

“We are currently at 500 000. So have we been able… to develop at the same scale and rate of expansion? Definitely not."

Matyayi said the mismatch was evident on Windhoek's roads, some of which were built to carry far lower traffic volumes.

"… because the population has increased, a road meant to carry just ten cars now carries 50 or even 100 cars," he said.

Inadequate maintenance over the years has also left roads more vulnerable to deterioration, he said, and funding for upkeep had fallen short, forcing the City to supplement it with revenue from other services.

“The money we used to receive was probably, definitely not enough. We had to cross-subsidise that service from other services. That cross-subsidisation actually is also just not enough,” he admitted.

An assessment of the past 11 years showed about 12 000 people a year, or roughly 1 000 a month, had moved to Windhoek, Matyayi said.

“Now, that already tells you, for us as a city, we also ought to have delivered 12 000 plots per annum for us to be able to catch up to that population growth,” Matyayi said.

Some people move to Windhoek for education and later leave, while others arrive looking for work and economic opportunities. Matyayi said many could not afford to enter the formal housing market.

“A number of them cannot afford it. They create what we call informal settlements. They settle anyway,” he said.

Expanding informal settlements

Just under half of the city’s population, or 46%, now live in informal settlements, Matyayi said.

City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya yesterday said the estimated 250 000 figure was consistent with 6% annual growth.

Matyayi warned that the expansion must be contained.

The latest estimate points to a substantial increase in the informal settlement population over the past six years.

A 2020 City rapid-numbering exercise counted 48 233 informal structures, accommodating an estimated 183 285 people.

The 2023 Population and Housing Census subsequently recorded 224 150 informal settlement residents in Windhoek.

Matyayi's latest estimate of about 250 000 suggests another 25 850 people have been added since then and about 66 715 since 2020.

That represents an increase of about 36% in six years, although Matyayi's 250 000 figure is an estimate rather than an official population count.

City hurdles

Matyayi said urban land has to go through statutory planning and township establishment processes before it can be surveyed and serviced with infrastructure such as water, sewerage, electricity and roads.

The City's attempt to upgrade existing informal settlements has itself encountered funding difficulties.

Matyayi said Windhoek submitted a comprehensive document to central government setting out what was required to address informal settlement upgrading. Following discussions with government, N$750 million was allocated to Windhoek because the capital accounted for the largest concentration of informal settlement residents.

He said the City submitted documentation, attended meetings and had moved into procurement processes, but statutory approval requirements became one of the impediments to accessing the funding.

“There were activities happening, but unfortunately, as per the discretion of the authority, that fund was reduced and reallocated to some other local authorities,” Matyayi said.