The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) says it has invested N$124 million towards the building of 652 ultra-low-income houses in Windhoek since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The state-owned enterprise handed over 53 houses to residents of the Samora Machel Constituency in Windhoek.
The houses were developed as part of the ongoing informal settlement upgrading project which was jointly launched by the National Housing Enterprise, the City of Windhoek, and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.
“This will ensure that the ultra-low-income earners are provided with a chance to own houses which serve as a platform for economic emancipation through housing bonds,” NHE Board Chairperson Toska Sem said.
Sem further explained that all the houses have been built and processed at a cost that is lower than N$200,000 per unit to ensure that citizens are offered affordable housing.
“We are trying to provide affordable shelter by removing the decorations of the building units. When we talk about the decorations, we exclude ceilings, cupboards, and tilings, because you would agree with me that these costs have an impact on the final price,” Sem said.
Sem also said the Enterprise is looking into the feasibility of expanding the project to all 14 regions of the country. She said plans are at an advanced stage of launching a project that will see the development of over 600 housing units in Otjomuise at a projected cost of over N$150 million.
“That is a transformation process that NHE is dwelling into to ensure that we increase the number of units. We try to address the social concerns amongst our community to ensure that each eligible Namibian has the right to own a house,” she said.
The houses’ costs range from N$91,000 to N$167,000 and are available to residents of informal settlements that are legible.
The City of Windhoek alone is estimated to have about 55,000 individuals on its housing waiting list.
