Critical Factors affecting housing provision in Namibia
It is high time we stop referring to houses that cost N$500 000 and above as affordable.
In the Namibian context, the true definition of affordable housing is what the masses can afford, these are normally houses ranging between N$90 000 and N$400 000. It is a known fact that housing projects in these brackets are not appetising for profit-driven entities such as private property developers, therefore, such projects are in most cases best executed by civic organisations, self-help groups or with deliberate public-funded housing programmes aimed at delivering social housing units (ultra-low-cost housing bracket for low earners which are the masses).
Civic organisations like the Shack Dwellers Federation that have models and programmes to deliver houses at costs of N$60 000 are a good example that providing affordable housing in the true sense in not a farfetched dream.
Also, organisations like the Institute of Social Development, the only institution in the country which supplements the private and public sector when it comes to infrastructure development agenda also play a vital role in this regard. Since 2016, the institute boasts the enviable record of executing projects worth N$100 million at no cost as well as projects over N$40 million on cost-recovery basis. The institute is administered by in-house town planners, engineers, project managers, land surveyor and architects.
It is thus imperative for local authorities and the line ministry to consolidate civic organisations and organisations that have big corporate social responsibility budgets to channel some of those funds towards the housing sector, similar to what entities such as MTC, Standard bank and the Pupkewitz Foundation are doing.
This consolidation will surely supplement government efforts and boost capacity to ensure that, as a country, we deliver at least 30 000 houses per annum as a measure to tackle the mammoth housing backlog. If we fail to explore and devise measures to address the housing crisis, we will be in for a rude awakening in the near future.
Official figures indicate that, at the current rate of housing delivery, it will take Namibia at least 100 years to clear the backlog. In terms of funding, Namibia will need at least N$76 billion to clear the backlog.
As a nation we are on a critical path that requires us to do more with less, new innovation and not being conditioned to what we know already.
After years of intensive research on the history of informal settlements, international case studies, national case studies, not limited to planning for informal settlement upgrading were conducted. Social strategies around environmental sustainability, integration of informal settlements with urban areas have also shown us that we can devise practical and technical solutions to all housing challenges as part of our housing intervention programmes.
The forces of these two noble innovations, namely the recently held Economic Association of Namibia’s Housing symposium and the National Alliance for Informal Settlements need to be combined to yield greater results.
The forward-looking urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni also demonstrated, since taking over the ministry, that a result-driven housing regime is needed to consolidate the political muscles with practical and technical solutions if we are to win the housing war.
Below are some housing provision limitations that are hindering the efforts to fight the scourge of housing shortages:
1) Unemployment and low income.
2) Lack of credit and financial support for low-income earners
3) High cost of land planning and servicing
4) Restrictive Land Allocation policies and legislation
5) High Development cost of houses
6) Bureaucracies in land proclamation processes
7) Funding of alternative building methods by our local financial institutions.
8) Funding of starter pack housing (un-full finishers housing) by our local financial institutions.
9). Greed and speculative pricing of housing by developers.
10). Revenue trading commodity on value added land only.
In the Namibian context, the true definition of affordable housing is what the masses can afford, these are normally houses ranging between N$90 000 and N$400 000. It is a known fact that housing projects in these brackets are not appetising for profit-driven entities such as private property developers, therefore, such projects are in most cases best executed by civic organisations, self-help groups or with deliberate public-funded housing programmes aimed at delivering social housing units (ultra-low-cost housing bracket for low earners which are the masses).
Civic organisations like the Shack Dwellers Federation that have models and programmes to deliver houses at costs of N$60 000 are a good example that providing affordable housing in the true sense in not a farfetched dream.
Also, organisations like the Institute of Social Development, the only institution in the country which supplements the private and public sector when it comes to infrastructure development agenda also play a vital role in this regard. Since 2016, the institute boasts the enviable record of executing projects worth N$100 million at no cost as well as projects over N$40 million on cost-recovery basis. The institute is administered by in-house town planners, engineers, project managers, land surveyor and architects.
It is thus imperative for local authorities and the line ministry to consolidate civic organisations and organisations that have big corporate social responsibility budgets to channel some of those funds towards the housing sector, similar to what entities such as MTC, Standard bank and the Pupkewitz Foundation are doing.
This consolidation will surely supplement government efforts and boost capacity to ensure that, as a country, we deliver at least 30 000 houses per annum as a measure to tackle the mammoth housing backlog. If we fail to explore and devise measures to address the housing crisis, we will be in for a rude awakening in the near future.
Official figures indicate that, at the current rate of housing delivery, it will take Namibia at least 100 years to clear the backlog. In terms of funding, Namibia will need at least N$76 billion to clear the backlog.
As a nation we are on a critical path that requires us to do more with less, new innovation and not being conditioned to what we know already.
After years of intensive research on the history of informal settlements, international case studies, national case studies, not limited to planning for informal settlement upgrading were conducted. Social strategies around environmental sustainability, integration of informal settlements with urban areas have also shown us that we can devise practical and technical solutions to all housing challenges as part of our housing intervention programmes.
The forces of these two noble innovations, namely the recently held Economic Association of Namibia’s Housing symposium and the National Alliance for Informal Settlements need to be combined to yield greater results.
The forward-looking urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni also demonstrated, since taking over the ministry, that a result-driven housing regime is needed to consolidate the political muscles with practical and technical solutions if we are to win the housing war.
Below are some housing provision limitations that are hindering the efforts to fight the scourge of housing shortages:
1) Unemployment and low income.
2) Lack of credit and financial support for low-income earners
3) High cost of land planning and servicing
4) Restrictive Land Allocation policies and legislation
5) High Development cost of houses
6) Bureaucracies in land proclamation processes
7) Funding of alternative building methods by our local financial institutions.
8) Funding of starter pack housing (un-full finishers housing) by our local financial institutions.
9). Greed and speculative pricing of housing by developers.
10). Revenue trading commodity on value added land only.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article