Towns must tackle housing crisis

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Sophia Shaningwa, yesterday implored local authority leaders to urgently look at tackling the housing backlog in the country, adding that she has signed a ministerial performance agreement to that effect.
The country’s housing backlog stands at over 100 000 units and Shaningwa has committed to have it reduced with the help of local authorities.
“I have signed off the performance agreement with the president on your behalf and it stipulates what our sector must do. I signed this on your behalf because the only responsible person to sign that agreement is your sector minister and I just did that yesterday (Tuesday),” she said during the opening of the Association for Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN) congress at Oshakati.
“As per this agreement we are expected to reduce the current over 100 000 housing backlog units. This means we are expected to build over 6 000 houses every year.
“We are also expected to implement a master waiting list within our offices to be able to control land and housing allocation. These will be a best option because we are able to record who has received land and who is still in need of land,” she said.
Shaningwa told local authorities that land servicing and housing are priorities in the performance agreement and should be handled in a transparent manner.
“All the names of those who need land or housing must be registered into the master waiting list and every time a person is given land his or her name must be marked. This will prevent us from being labelled corrupt,” she said.
ALAN is expected to elect a new president. Its former head, Agnes Kafula, vacated the position when she became a Swapo member of parliament.
Besides electing new leaders during the three-day congress, ALAN members are also expected to discuss pertinent issues such as mass housing and mass land servicing, rapid urbanisation, drought and water scarcity.
ILENI NANDJATO