… N$2.7 billion needed to service land in informal settlements
The City of Windhoek requires N$7.8 billion to service land to meet growing demand, as the capital’s population is projected to reach 500,000 this year.
According to Windhoek Mayor Ndeshihafela Larandja, N$2.7 billion is specifically needed to service 12,000 erven in the city’s informal settlements, which are expanding at a rate of 6.1% per year.
“Informal settlements are growing at a rate of 6.1% per annum, with a doubling time of 11 years, compared to the City’s overall population doubling time of 21 years,” Larandja said.
Currently, around 200,000 residents live in 130 informal settlements across the city. In response to this rapid expansion, the City Council approved a development and upgrading strategy for informal settlements in 2019, initially requiring N$400 million in seed capital.
Windhoek Acting CEO and Strategic Executive for Housing, Property Management, and Human Settlement, Faniel Maanda, explained that the 2019 strategy relied on a cross-subsidisation model to fund housing development in the absence of government support.
“We revolve the fund. We target high earners, middle income, and then go back to the informal settlement. The City has refrained from putting all its money on the informal settlement because whatever you put there, you don’t get back because the default rate is around 30%,” Maanda told The Brief.
In 2021, the City adopted an affordable housing policy as part of its efforts to provide low-income housing. Under this initiative, the council utilized its capital budget and a revolving fund, reviving the Build-Together housing programme in Windhoek.
“In there, we have about N$17 million, and we just need to grow it. We have received over N$100 million through this revolving fund government and we have built over 500 houses through that assistance, so payment comes back to us and it revolves,” Maanda added.
As part of its ongoing efforts to tackle the housing crisis, the City unveiled 700 low-cost housing units in informal settlements in 2023 at a cost of N$120 million.
With government funding remaining scarce, Larandja emphasized the importance of engaging stakeholders to secure financial support for the City’s projects.
She announced plans to host a mayoral meet-and-greet event to introduce investment opportunities.
“This will also open up investment opportunities to our stakeholders and also create jobs for the community. It should not only be seen as the government’s responsibility to fund local councils,” she said, urging stakeholders to identify projects they can support and take over.
