Venaani bemoans Namibia’s ‘shack crisis’

McHenry Venaani, leader of the official opposition, asked Parliament to interrogate the reality that lowest paid Namibians – such as domestic workers – cannot afford decent housing.He mentioned that many members of parliament are ‘squatting’ in Okahandja and renting in the city, where renting a double garage for housing would fetch N$4 000 rent.He also compared the current situation to apartheid, when domestic workers could own municipal housing, while now, in an independent Namibia, shacks have become the average housing solution.According to the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) politician, access to finance remains the biggest challenge in Namibia for market entry and the scalable growth of businesses and housing, adding that the answer lies in removing the monopoly over servicing land as a competitive market.He said there is an urgent need to review the financing model of housing in Namibia, emphasising that international charters such as the International Labour Organisation gives everyone the right to a standard of living adequate to health and well-being.“Around 70% of Namibia’s population cannot access traditional, collateralised home loan facilities since they do not have a title deed to the land they live on, either because it is communal land in a rural setting or the land is situated in an urban informal settlement.“Secondly, most citizens - even if gainfully employed - simply do not have the financial means to enter the formal property market. Average housing prices even for small properties far exceed affordable costs for most Namibians,” he said.“Finally, lower-income groups have very few or no housing options and the supply of genuinely affordable low-cost houses is extremely limited.”‘Distressing’Venaani added that the housing situation in Namibia can be described as ‘distressing’, and cuts across society but is more pronounced amongst the urban poor who largely find themselves in information settlements.“A staggering 40% of those residing in urban households throughout the country are in informal settlements. Currently, there are 285 informal settlements in towns across Namibia, meaning 40% of its urban inhabitants or 216 000 urban households are informally settled, which is indicative of the high urbanisation rates across the country.“The living conditions in these informal settlements can at best be described as shocking, deplorable and intolerable. “Residents of informal settlements often live without water, sanitation facilities, without security of tenure, and in constant fear of eviction,” Venaani said.jemima@namibiansun.com

Venaani bemoans Namibia’s ‘shack crisis’

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-20

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Venaani bemoans Namibia’s ‘shack crisis’

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-20

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