The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) on Wednesday said it has invested over N$268 million in the past nine years towards the construction of affordable housing in the Erongo Region.
The Fund said it was motivated to invest in the housing sector after realising that poverty and a lack of financial resources were major constraints for many people to acquire decent houses in Namibia.
According to GIPF, the country’s mortgage market is generally focused on the middle and high-income segments of the market, excluding most Namibians.
“It is with this background that the GIPF invested N$14.5 million in the first phase of KwaNkomo housing development through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) managed by Old Mutual which to date has seen the development and construction of 122 houses, while 8 are currently under construction and 20 are yet to be constructed,” said David Nuyoma, GIPF CEO and Principal Officer.
“The GIPF’s investment into affordable housing has proven to be sustainable as the Fund takes a portion of members’ contributions and invests it in housing which the members then occupy. This formula is a win-win, as it is designed to benefit the members and their families by giving them a roof over their heads while benefiting communities through job creation.”
On completion, KwaNkomo Village in Kuisebmond, a suburb situated north-west of Narraville and lying just along the new Oil Container Terminal jetty, next to Independence Beach, will be home to approximately 2,500 people.
“A development of this magnitude gives me immense gratification as our members who are civil servants can now own homes with a sea view,” he said.
Infrastructure Development Company Managing Director, Lorraine Masiza, who is a KwaNkomo Village property owner, said the project will bring relief to people who have no houses.
“Amidst the economic turbulence brought by the COVID-19 lockdowns, the successful completion of this development is a befitting accolade and tribute to the legacy of the late Advocate Shakespeare Masiza who was the visionary of this ‘decent but affordable housing’ project and the project manager Mr. Christo Van Wyk who both succumbed to COVID-19 this year, without living to see the fruits of their labor. We dedicate it to these fallen giants of Erongo,” she said.
Walvis Bay is Namibia’s second largest city and home to 62,096 residents.
