The Deputy Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Natalia |Goagoses, has urged beneficiaries of the Build Together project at Swakopmund to commit to repaying the housing loans they received from the municipality.

|Goagoses, who was speaking at the handover ceremony of 70 houses under the programme in Swakopmund on Friday, told the beneficiaries that this would further enable more people who are in need of shelter to benefit from the project.

“Make every possible attempt to repay the loan because the Build Together scheme is a revolving project in a sense that once you are done repaying your loan after 3-4 years, we will bring new people onto the list,” she noted.

She further advised that beneficiaries should set up small businesses such as tuck shops and salons at home, as these would benefit their families and help them pay off their loans faster.

“We do not want drugs and other evil activities that will distract the community in these houses. They are heavily subsidised by the municipality, therefore we can regulate what activities take place,” the deputy minister cautioned.

The houses, which range between N.dollars 120 000 and N.dollars 140 000, were all directly funded by the municipality and beneficiaries are only expected to pay back N.dollars 80 000 of that amount.

The construction for phase one, which consisted of 30 houses valued at N.dollars 3.5 million, commenced in May 2020 and was completed in April 2021, while the second phase with 40 houses, commenced in February 2021 and was completed December 2021 at the cost of N.dollars 5.3 million.

Speaking at the same event, chairperson of the local Build Together Group Committee, Jeanette Fredericks, said owning a house is multi-faceted, as it not only provides shelter but also restores individual dignities, saves families and provides children with secure environments to study freely.

“The Build Together programme is a great example of the successful implementation of upgrading informal settlements and we are very happy to be beneficiaries of this project and it is our wish that once we are done paying our loans, another group of people will benefit too,” she stated.

A total of 79 more houses are in the process of being constructed.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency