Opuwo in serious need of housing, serviced land

Opuwo Town Council chief executive Matjandjara Tjihuura-Katurota says there is a serious need for housing development and serviced land at the town.

She says many of the residents are in dire need of their own decent housing and serviced land.

Tjihuura-Katurota said this in an interview with The Namibian at Ondangwa last week.

“There is a serious need of housing at Opuwo. Many low- and middle-income earners want to buy their own houses but due to a lack of housing development projects at the town, many are subjected to renting and staying in makeshift structures.

The issue of serviced land is also another challenge the town council is faced with due to lack of funds,” she said.

Tjihuura-Katurota added that most people in need of housing at the town are government workers and self-employed individuals.

She said the town council intends to go into a partnership with the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) to construct affordable houses for low- and middle-income earners in the informal settlements.

NHE and the Opuwo Town Council have entered into an agreement to intensify the Informal Settlement Upgrading Project (ISUP) at the town.

NHE chief executive Gisbertus Mukulu says ISUP has been a resounding success in Windhoek over the past five years, where close to 800 housing units have been constructed.

He says the success of ISUP in Windhoek ignited thoughts to implement the project on a national scale, which has commenced at towns such as Swakopmund and Otjiwarongo.

“Houses constructed under this project are meant for ultra low- and low- income earners, and these houses are not constructed with all the finishes to make it more affordable.

The basic structure goes for N$90 000, a one-bedroom house costs N$120 000 and a three-bedroom house costs N$350 000.

The government will subsidise this programme because they are pumping in money for NHE to construct the houses,” he says.

He further urges the Opuwo Town Council to make subsidised land available to allow NHE to stay in the threshold of the unit pricing.