Ex-NHE boss questions plan for 5 000 houses a year

Mike Kavekotora, the former CEO of the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), has criticised government&#039;s pledge to construct 5 000 houses in the Khomas Region within the next 12 months, saying such an ambitious project risks a misuse of taxpayers’ money if planned poorly.This comes after Khomas governor Sam Nujoma recently announced that the initiative forms part of a broader effort to formalise informal settlements across the country.Kavekotora warned that government often announces its intentions without offering practical implementation plans. “A housing project of such magnitude requires the proclamation and demarcation of land, the servicing of that land and the actual construction of houses,” Kavekotora noted.“As a former NHE CEO, I don’t know whether the new governor had an opportunity to study the mess created by the mass housing project and the abuse of taxpayers’ money due to poor planning – or whether he wants to create yet another political project to milk the government,” he said.“The president must summon Nujoma to explain the complete scope of the project – with timeframes, deadlines, targets and budgetary requirements and how those resources will be sourced and utilised," he urged.Kavekotora added: "He must explain to the appointing authority how all those phases will be executed within 12 months. In the absence of that, I will consider this yet another ill-intended political pronouncement."Staggering promiseThe scale of the target is striking – particularly when compared to government’s previous mass housing programme, which delivered just 4 380 units over a decade.Between 1993 and 2024, the NHE constructed a total of 18 304 houses. According to 2023 data, approximately 47% of households in Khomas – representing around 231 970 people – live in improvised housing units or shacks.In 2020, the ministry of urban and rural development pledged to “expedite” the completion of hundreds of houses built under the Mass Housing Development Programme (MHDP) that had been abandoned for years.That same year, the ministry admitted that 1 122 of the 3 958 houses built before the programme stalled were still incomplete. Then-executive director Nghidinua Daniel said the ministry would oversee the completion of the 1 122 houses and that the NHE would allocate completed units to avoid further damage.Daniel said NHE would arrange for buyers to take occupancy without delay. At the time, 2 836 houses were already occupied.‘Temporary hiccups’Last year, media reports indicated that government plans to resume the mass housing programme after legal delays.During a site visit in Windhoek last year, Daniel said the programme had been held back by legal issues but would resume.“As a committed government, we have dedicated ourselves to completing this project. There were temporary hiccups with the legislative aspects, and as a country led by law, we had to allow the due process to take place,” he said.The mass housing project was launched in November 2013 by former president Hifikepunye Pohamba as his ‘legacy project’. A ministerial committee chaired by Pohamba was established to oversee the initiative.NHE was tasked with developing a concept paper, and a blueprint was adopted by Cabinet in July 2013 – five weeks after the project was conceived.The blueprint outlined a plan to build 185 000 affordable houses by 2030 at a cost of N$45 billion, with 10 278 houses to be constructed annually over 18 years, requiring an annual investment of N$2.5 billion.The project was kick-started with a two-year pilot phase from 2014 to 2016, aiming to build 5 000 houses per year – or 10 000 in total.Due to high input costs, government committed to subsidising 40% to 60% of the costs, pricing houses at an average of N$220 000, with smaller units costing under N$90 000.Following Pohamba’s launch of the programme in November 2013, tenders were invited, and construction was expected to follow an “accelerated and rapid approach”.A total of 216 companies applied. By January 2014, NHE had signed contracts with 25 companies for housing construction and 11 for land servicing. By February 2014, all contractors were on site and construction had commenced.nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

Ex-NHE boss questions plan for 5 000 houses a year

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Ex-NHE boss questions plan for 5 000 houses a year

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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