Governor of the Bank of Namibia, Ebson Uanguta, has warned that rapid urbanisation and the expansion of Namibia’s emerging oil and gas sector are placing growing pressure on the country’s housing delivery systems, serviced land supply and municipal infrastructure.
Uanguta said urbanisation, now estimated at around 50%, together with industrial growth linked to the energy sector, is already straining infrastructure systems and could worsen if planning and service delivery fail to keep pace.
“If urbanisation continues to outpace infrastructure delivery, serviced land provision and integrated spatial planning, Namibia as a country risks a future marked by expanding informal settlements, widening inequality, increased pressure on public services, and rising social and economic vulnerability,” Uanguta said.
He said industrial expansion linked to the oil and gas sector is expected to further increase housing demand in coastal towns and key economic centres, adding pressure to already constrained urban systems.
Deputy Director of Policy Research at the Bank of Namibia, Abigail Nainda, said the country’s housing supply gap continues to widen as demand accelerates.
Data presented by Nainda showed that about 217,000 households, representing roughly 30% of the population, are currently living in informal dwellings, affecting an estimated 650,000 people nationwide.
“Housing supply has not kept up with demand unfortunately. The backlog has widened significantly,” Nainda said.
She said around 40.2% of informal dwellings are located in urban areas, with approximately 11,000 new shacks added every year.
According to the data, Namibia’s national housing backlog has increased from about 80,000 households in 2007 to nearly 300,000 housing units by 2025.
Executive Director at the National Planning Commission, Sylvester Mbangu, said affordability challenges, rising construction costs and continued migration to urban centres are placing increasing strain on housing delivery systems.
“Rapid urbanisation, rising construction costs, affordability constraints, and sustained migration to urban centres are placing increasing strain on housing delivery systems across the country,” Mbangu said.
Project Lead for Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit Namibia, Martin Jimmy Namupala, said municipalities remain constrained by inadequate funding structures and limited implementation capacity.
“Another important finding is that increasing funding alone is not enough to scale housing and upgrading initiatives. The research consistently highlighted the importance of implementation capacity, especially at local authority level,” Namupala said.
