Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged municipalities to refrain from allocating serviced land to the private sector, encouraging them instead to ensure that such land is allocated to residents who wish to build their own homes.
“First, we have some municipalities which are really a good example – Otjiwarongo is one of them – where they give land to their residents. They build their houses, and then services are provided. What we have decided now, and what will be in our policy, is that we should no longer allow municipalities to give serviced land to the private sector. The private sector should be given virgin land, and the land that we are servicing as a government must be given directly to individuals who can build their houses,” the president said.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah made these remarks in Parliament following the official presentation of her State of the Nation Address (SONA), in response to questions posed by McHenry Venaani regarding housing and access to land in the country.
The president added that, to address the shortage of housing and land, the government also intends to work towards establishing an institution to assist people in financing the construction of their homes.
She explained that the government is specifically exploring ways to make affordable alternative construction materials available. Referring to a visit she made to Okahandja Park in March, she highlighted that she saw a house constructed using Alternative Building Technology (ABT) panels, which impressed her.
“They are telling us that the durability is just the same as bricks, and that they are cheaper. The house that I’ve seen is a two-roomed house with a toilet and shower, which they built in five days, because the first two days are spent laying the concrete, after which it is allowed to dry, and then they put up the house in two to three days. It was done,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She pointed out that houses constructed using alternative technologies are significantly more affordable, with the one she inspected being sold for around N$30,000. However, she added that this affordability cannot yet be guaranteed, as the building materials currently have to be imported from South Africa. For this reason, the president stressed that the government also plans to establish a factory to produce the required materials locally, to ensure faster construction and more affordable prices.
“Now they say it is expensive because the materials are made in South Africa, but land has been found in Otjiwarongo so that the factory can be brought to Namibia. So once we bring the factory, then it will be cheaper. So we are doing all these things so that people can have access to land to build their houses,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah added.
