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NHE hands over 131 houses in Okuryangava

Michelline Nawatises

The National Housing Enterprise (NHE), in collaboration with the City of Windhoek, the ministry of urban and rural development and the Khomas Regional Council, recently handed over 131 houses built under the Informal Settlement Upgrading Affordable Housing Pilot Project.

The event took place on 19 July at Onyika No. 2 in Okuryangava, Windhoek.

Khomas governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua said the unexpected spread of Covid-19 had taught the nation a hard lesson, which made housing provision more essential than ever.

“It is imperative to know that we are living in a world of booming challenges with extremely limited resources at our disposal, but the increasing cases have made this service more essential,” she said.

The governor added that the beneficiaries had indicated that they were happy with the project.

The minister of urban and rural development, Erastus Uutoni, applauded these agencies for joining hands.

“I want to reiterate that the need for improved coordination and a collaborative approach has become even more important in the face of obvious increased challenges of low economic growth and reduced fiscal space, which have been worsened by the huge negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Uutoni said.

The ministry was also pursuing other interventions to scale up tenure security, proper sanitation and housing, he said.

It has directed all local authorities to undertake similar affordable urban land and housing projects through initiatives such as the Build Together housing scheme and partnerships with community organisations such as the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.

The government also continues rolling out a flexible land tenure programme which confers land ownership more simply and enables people to build homes at their own pace and according to their affordability levels.

The minister further promised that the ministry would continue providing the needed support to families to acquire affordable land and shelter, and to benefit from infrastructural development, especially in the informal settlements.