Construction of 3 000 houses hampered by ageing sewer systems

Urban and rural development minister Sankwasa James Sankwasa says ageing sewer systems and land servicing hindered the construction of 3 000 new houses across Namibia as directed by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during the 2025/26 financial year.

This is in the minister's 2026/27 budget motivation speech, which he was scheduled to deliver in parliament on Tuesday, but could not following the death in an accident on Friday of former Otjozondjupa governor and Swapo member of parliament James Uerikua.

Although Sankwasa did not say when Nandi-Ndaitwah gave the directive, he revealed that about 80% of Namibia’s 59 local authorities are operating with dilapidated sewer infrastructure that cannot accommodate new developments.

He said the current estimated cost of upgrading such bulk infrastructure is N$2.5 billion, none of which is funded in the urban and rural development ministry's N$1.9 billion 2026/27 budget allocation.

“The sewer capacities of local authorities such as Okahandja, Rundu, Grootfontein, Ongwediva, Oshakati, Ondangwa, Katima Mulilo, Eenhana, Mariental, Tsumeb, Okahao, Opuwo, Windhoek, Henties Bay, Omaruru, Usakos and Walvis Bay all urgently require bulk infrastructure,” Sankwasa said.

The minister said many of these systems were built during the colonial era for far smaller populations that have since grown significantly, in some cases tripling the original design capacity.

Sankwasa warned that without urgent investment, both land servicing and housing construction will remain constrained, with potential health risks in areas where infrastructure is already under strain.

He stressed that upgrading sewer systems is a prerequisite for expanding housing and improving conditions in informal settlements.

“As a country, we need to appreciate that most of our sewer systems in local authorities were constructed during the colonial period for a smaller number of residents, whose population size has now, in some cases, tripled, thereby overwhelming the sewer capacity of such local authorities.

"It is worth stating that the construction of new house units and upgrading of informal settlements, which is a must for our development, highly rests upon the much-needed upgrading of the sewer system to avoid health hazardous situations in our local authorities,” Sankwasa said.

He called on local authorities to explore alternative funding options beyond the state revenue fund, while engaging the National Planning Commission and the finance ministry for additional resources.

Concerns persist

In April last year, Khomas governor Sam Nujoma defended the government’s ambitious plan to construct 5 000 houses in the region within the current financial year, saying the initiative hinges on leveraging multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve what analysts have called a near-miraculous target.

Despite rising criticism over the government’s decision to initiate new housing projects while over 2 000 mass housing units in Windhoek remain unoccupied, Nujoma described the approach as a multi-pronged response to a crisis that demands urgency and scale.

Responding to Namibian Sun, Nujoma acknowledged that the abandoned units are “a concern” but emphasised that the scale of the housing crisis, particularly in informal settlements, requires broader, more immediate interventions.

“The unoccupied mass housing units are indeed a concern, and the government, through various key institutions, is actively consulting and working to address this issue by expediting the servicing and allocation of those units,” he explained.

“However, the scale and urgency of the housing crisis, especially in the informal settlements, require a multi-pronged approach. With nearly 47% of Khomas households residing in impoverished housing units in informal settlements, delivering 5 000 new serviced plots and housing units responds directly to this pressing need," he stressed.

"The initiative does not replace efforts to utilise the existing stock of structures but rather complements them to ensure a comprehensive solution to urban housing challenges,” Nujoma added.

When The Namibian approached Nujoma for comment on his promise in November last, Nujoma said: “Let me clarify something: that 5 000 housing units is not my promise, it’s a government promise (from the Swapo manifesto).

"The 5 000 was promised long before I became governor. So we are just responsible for the implementation plan,” says the governor.

Swapo deadline

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development also confirmed that the Swapo Party’s manifesto promise to complete and hand over all houses under the Mass Housing Development Programme (MHDP) by December 2025 was not met due to a range of legal, technical and planning challenges.

The commitment was contained in the Swapo 2025–2030 manifesto implementation plan, which pledged to complete all outstanding MHDP houses by the end of last year.

Executive director in the ministry, Dr Wilhelmine Shivute, told Namibian Sun two months ago that while 4 826 housing units have been completed and handed over nationwide since the programme’s inception in 2013, the remaining 572 houses, located in Opuwo, Swakopmund and Windhoek, are yet to be finalised.

“The delay in completing the remaining commenced-but-not-completed houses by the set date of November 2025 is regrettable.

“However, several factors beyond the ministry’s control contributed to this outcome,” Shivute said, adding that despite this, the ministry remains committed to completing the outstanding projects.

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