WINDHOEK: Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni on Wednesday said 60 per cent of informal settlements will be formalised under the housing project plan for the year 2024/2028 countrywide.
Uutoni made these remarks during a Cabinet Committee Briefing on the housing challenges currently faced in the country.
He noted that within the ministry, the staff have organised themselves to come up with an initiative known as the National Housing Policy which will act as a guiding tool to help the ministry evaluate the steps taken and whether the policy is beneficial to the Namibian people.
“This is a policy established in recent years, it has been revised in 2009 since 1991. We still see a lot to be done, challenges are still going up hence this year we have re-organised ourselves and reviewed this policy. We further engaged the relevant stakeholders to give input on how we can solve the problems concerning the housing issue,” the minister said.
Furthermore, he said the ministry is expecting about N.dollars 750 million from the government to help execute the housing policy and initiative for the next five years.
Uutoni noted that in the past, the policy focused more on contractual land delivery of housing, however the approach the ministry is taking at the moment is to provide adequate housing for the larger majority by providing housing opportunities and basic services.
The policy will focus on the upgrading of informal settlements and establishing the structured housing subsidies framework focusing on public expenditure towards low-income groups.
“We need to prioritise and distribute State resources towards the lowest income group of the society. That is the main focus of this strategy,” he noted.
He said an estimated 347 000 plots will be delivered within the five-year housing plan.
“This requires the efforts of everyone, and this can only be achieved if each and every one participates, just like the Shack Dwellers houses were built with the help of the communities. Over 221 00 new houses should be delivered in the expected time of this project, with additional finances where needed,” Uutoni promised.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency