Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has lamented the infighting at local authorities, stressing that the political discord is hindering development and service delivery in many towns.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative workshop on the revision of the national housing policy and the development of the implementation strategy here on Tuesday, Uutoni said councillors are attending to their own political interests at local authorities instead of addressing development agendas and municipal services.
“People are fighting and there is no space for them to concentrate on their jobs. This year I have seen and observed some local authorities… Nothing could be seen as an achievement and if you look at what they have been doing is fighting… Push out, suspend. There is no peace at these institutions,” he stated.
The minister revealed that over 300 000 ultra-low and low income Namibians cannot afford conventional credit facilities to access the formal housing market, noting that approximately 230 000 families live in shacks in informal settlements countrywide, most without security of tenure and with little services available to them.
He stressed that access to land, housing and sanitation continue to be among the top priorities in the national developmental policies and strategies, noting that the slow pace and cost of land servicing, capacity shortages at all levels of implementation, coupled with high input costs in the formal housing sector have resulted in low annual housing output.
“The larger crisis of affordability is compounded by the continued economic downturn. While the government is expected to take the lead in creating an enabling environment, it is a known fact that government alone will not be able to address the housing shortage. It requires team effort. The government, private sector and civil society must put all hands on deck,” Uutoni said.
Presenting the draft national housing policy, Head of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Phillip Luhl said the policy aims to outline an overarching human rights-based enabling framework for a focused, affordable and pragmatic approach to adequate housing.
He indicated that for ultra-low income earners, monthly income is up to N.dollars 5 000, while low-income earners earn between N.dollars 5 000 and N.dollars 10 000 monthly, and are unable to afford or secure houses through the banks.
He further noted that there is a need for the policy to address and clearly indicate the affordability level of housing provision, allowing for housing mechanisms to be matched to specific policy target groups such as ultra-low and low income earners.
“Affordability is defined as housing-related expenditure (for rental or homeownership) not exceeding 30 per cent of household income. The multi-dimensional nature of the housing and urban development challenge requires the comprehensive realignment of relevant policies in order to achieve broader impact and more environmentally, economically, socially and spatially sustainable and inclusive human settlements in urban and rural areas,” Luhl said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency