The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development says it is at an advanced stage to procure the services of a multi-disciplinary team of engineers to design and oversee the installation of essential services at incomplete housing units in Otjomuise Extension 10.
The 362 units that include free-standing houses and apartments, which are now prone to vandalism, were constructed under the Mass Housing Development Programme (MHDP), but have not been certified due to missing services.
To date, a total of 4,239 housing units have been built and handed over since the programme’s inception in 2014, from an initial target of 185,000 houses in 18 years, which were estimated to cost N$45 billion.
The engineers will also supervise the construction process of bulk services that include sewer lines, water and electricity.
Ministry of Urban and Rural Development Executive Director, Daniel Nghidinua, said they are undertaking this process with support from the Ministry of Works and Transport.
“Without these bulk services connections, the houses are not ready and fit for occupation as the occupants will not have access to such critical services. The Government is doing everything possible to expedite the remaining processes so that the project can reach practical completion and for the houses to be ready for occupation in the shortest possible time,” he said.
The Otjomuise project which formed part of the MHDP launched in 2013 by former President Hifikepunye Pohamba, and rolled out in 2014, was scheduled to reach practical completion in December 2017.
The project could not be completed due to a legal dispute between the parties to the project, the contractor and the government.
The dispute ended in court, and so far, the parties have since engaged bilaterally and through the courts over the past years to secure a solution.
“The last engagement through the court was in November 2023, at which the court directed the Ministry to work out and submit, before May 2024, a variation order detailing all the works and cost estimates for the outstanding critical works that need to be done for the project to reach practical completion. This exercise requires the services of a multi-disciplinary team of engineers,” said Nghidinua.
He added that the houses and dwelling units in the apartment blocks have reached reasonable stages of completion construction-wise, but are not ready and fit for occupation due to missing bulk services.
The houses have in recent years been prone to vandalism from some notorious quarters of society.
The prolonged situation in completing the houses has also birthed illegal mass occupation from disgruntled landless people.
While bemoaning the acts, Nghidinua said it was still the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that the site and properties are protected as they have not yet been handed over to the government.
“As such, the contractor is responsible for the security of the site and the houses in their custody. In keeping with this contractual obligation and responding to noted vandalism and trespassing, the contractor erected a razor wire fence around the site. Unfortunately, this has not prevented unknown people from causing damage to some of the houses,” he said.
In addition, the Executive Director said the government remains committed to creating opportunities for decent housing for needy Namibians directly through the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, local authorities and regional councils as well as through agencies and partners such as the National Housing Enterprises (NHE), the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and public-private partnerships.
“Various land and housing development initiatives are in place and being implemented in various local authority areas in the country, with specific focus on the needs of the ultra-low and low-income segment of our population. One such initiative that is running in Windhoek is the Informal Settlement Upgrading Housing Project, which is jointly funded by the Ministry, Khomas Regional Council, NHE and the Windhoek Municipality,” he said.
