Mass Housing grinds to a halt in Narraville

The completion of 61 credit-linked houses which are part of the national Mass Housing Programme being built in Narraville, in Walvis Bay, by 7 Sirs has ground to a halt due to lack of funding. “This construction process stopped due to lack of funding and cannot be completed due to the suspension of government funding for the construction of credit-linked houses under the Mass Housing Programme,” acknowledged the 7 Sirs Company Director Alvin Naidoo. Naidoo did not want to shed more light on the suspension of funds for the construction of credit-linked houses saying he regarded the topic as speculation since his company has to been contractually advised by the NHE on how to proceed and that he had not received any formal notification on the issue. “Our progress in Narraville is, however, on hold until further directives are issued and it is a challenge for the company to pay workers’ salaries. The rest of the project is progressing well in Walvis Bay and we are waiting for more land to be availed,” he commented. 7 Sirs was awarded a tender to construct 1 594 houses in Walvis Bay of which approximately 61 credit-linked houses are being built in Narraville and about 80% have been completed. About 218 houses of which 33 are credit-linked houses have been built in Kuisebmond by more than ten small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Walvis Bay sub-contracted by 7 Sirs. The construction commenced in March last year. Naidoo suggested that conventional houses be replaced with government subsidised Core 5, 6 and 7 houses in future and that the NHE should look for a plan to secure funding from commercial banks. NHE Walvis Bay Regional Branch Manager Karl Schroeder says no legal action has been instituted against the NHE in Walvis Bay for outstanding payments owed by the NHE to 7 Sirs or Power Oyeno the two main contractors working on the Mass Housing Programme in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund respectively. Power Oyenu was awarded a tender to construct 2 334 houses and 1 000 additional houses are being constructed by Delta in Swakopmund. Approximately 700 houses have been completed and 420 are credit-linked houses. Pro Housing CC has been tasked with building 80 houses in Henties Bay. Schroeder explained that the credit linked houses are part and parcel of the mass housing program but this category of houses is being funded either by bank financing or the NHE and the funding of these houses are not subsidised by Government. “Credit-linked houses include the Core 8, Core 9 and Conventional types. The construction of double brick houses is primarily financed by banking institutions and single brick houses are being financed by the NHE. An amount of N$2 billion is needed to ensure the successful completion of credit-linked houses nationally. Government availed a guarantee and the onus is with NHE to source funding and adhere to directives to ensure the successful completion of the project. Core 5 and 6 houses are subsidised with 50 % and funding for this contingent would be availed by government,” Schroeder explained. WALVIS BAY OTIS FINCK