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Notes on the Housing Situation and
Housing Policy in Namibia
Ruth Bogosi
April 1992
NEPRU WORKING PAPER NO.15
Tr EeER
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NEPRU Library
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c Copyright 1992 by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit.
First published in 1992 by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit,
P.O. Box 40219 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek, Namibia.
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
5. 1
5.2
6.
Introduction
An Historical Background . . . . . . . .
Housing Conditions in Independent Namibia
The Government's National Housing Policy
The Role of Non-Governmental Organisations
The Saamstaan Housing Cooperative . . . . .
The /Khara Tsasib Building Cooperative and Credit
Conclusion
Union
2
3
5
5
5
6
1. Introduction
This working paper was prepared as a contribution to a National Conference
organised by Operation Masakhane for the Homeless held in Johannesburg,
South Africa, in April 1992. The paper is divided into three parts. The
first presents a brief historical background to the current housing
problems experienced by the Namibian population. The second part goes on
to give an overview of the situation regarding housing in the urban and
rural areas. In conclusion the paper outlines some of the measures being
taken by both the government and non-governmental organisations to address
the problems in housing in Namibia.
2. An Historical Background
Namibia has inherited an acute housing shortage from the South African
colonial administration. South Africa's policy of apartheid prohibited
Africans from staying in urban areas. Africans were only permitted to come
to urban areas when and where their labour was required.
Given this situation, housing has al~ays been a politicised issue and
struggles arising out of housing issues played a role in the development
of the liberation movement. This is evidenced by the "old location"
massacre in 1959 which marked the culmination of mass protests against
the policy of apartheid in housing being introduced in Namibia by South
Africa. The white-run municipal authorities viewed the "old location" as
a shanty town and decided to move people to newly built houses in
Katutura. The basis to the new township was ethnic zoning and the
outlawing of black ownership of land or houses.
Houses in the "old location" had, however, been built and were owned by
the people themselves. Furthermore houses in the "old location", unlike
the new houses in Katutura, catered for extended families while the size
of the houses in Katutura was determined by the government. As a result,
the colonial state had to use force to implement its apartheid housing
policy.
Throughout this period Africans were prohibited from owning land in the
urban areas. This legislation was only repealed by the "interim
government" in 1978.
The provision of family housing was deliberately restricted. The result
was that immigrants to the urban areas had to stay in the only other forms
of accommodation provided - hostels and single quarters. "Permanent
residents" could qualify for rented housing which was owned by the
municipal authorities. This was provided at a subsidised rate.
Qualification as a permanent resident was, however, extremely difficult
to obtain. Under the interim government of the 1980s subsidised rents were
abolished.
The interim government also attempted to move away from formal apartheid.
The repeal of laws previously used to control the number of blacks in
urban areas saw a large influx of people from the rural areas into the
Housing in Namibia
towns. Rapid increases in urbanisation aggravated an already severe
shortage of housing in the urban areas, particularly in Windhoek.
3. Housing Conditions in Independent Namibia
Rapid urbanisation resulting in problems of "squatting" is one of the most
critical factors informing the formulation of low-income housing policies
throughout Africa.
About a third of Namibia's estimated 1 400 000 inhabitants live in the
urban areas. There are 57 recognised urban areas of which Windhoek is by
far the biggest, with a population higher than the combined population
of the ten next largest urban areas.
There are hundreds of "squatter" settlements countrywide, of which the
great majority are in the north (Kaokoland, Ovambo, Kavango and Caprivi).
The total number of squatters in Namibia is estimated at 22 000
households, or nearly 110 000 people.
About 60% of the urban population lives below the primary household
subsistence level (estimated at R6 840 per annum or R570 per month). Thus
almost 60% of the urban population cannot afford to pay any of the costs
of their required housing. About 78 000 urban families are housed in low-
income areas in 33 000 housing units, of which 60% comprise rental stock
still owned by local authorities, while the remainder are housed in
privately owned houses.
Hostels and single quarters still exist in most urban areas. The
conditions in these forms of accommodation are generally very poor. The
incidence of squatting has greatly accelerated over the last decade, not
only in the northern communal area, but also in the smaller urban areas
of the south. Overcrowding, which is a less visible form of squatting,
has been prevalent in Windhoek for many years, but informal squatter
settlements are becoming more and more evident in and around the capital.
In the last decade the National Building and Investment Corporation of
Namibia, now the Namibia Housing Enterprise (NHE), provided most of the
new conventional housing. The NHE was established in 1978 by the previous
administration with the objective of overcoming the huge housing shortage.
The NHE's mandate is to provide for the housing needs of the inhabitants
of Namibia. This mandate is carried out in terms of the government's
National Housing Policy and with financial assistance from central
government. As a parastatal, the NHE is accountable to and owned by the
government. The first houses constructed by the NHE were completed in
1982. Since then, more than 6 500 dwellings have been built or financed
by NHE.
Houses built by NHE have, however, been designed and built with m1n1mum
finishes and in accordance with minimum space standards in order to cut
costs and make them more affordable. They have been severely criticised
2
Housing in Namibia
by the general public who see them as poor value for money and generally
inferior.
The existing system of planning, land proclamation, building codes,
development control and tendering are inefficient, inappropriate and tend
to disregard the requirements of the majority of the population in terms
of living habits, affordable material and traditional construction
practices.
The living conditions of the poor in rural areas are worse than those in
urban areas. Those living in the communal areas have no access to decent
housing or any government support to build houses. On commercial farms
accommodation for labourers is provided at the discretion of the farmer.
Many farmers provide little or no accommodation.
The following problems and constraints relating to housing existed in
Namibia at the time of independence:
* The cost of serviced land, under the present delivery system, is un-
affordable to most low-income groups.
* Processes involved in the planning, sub-division, survey, proclamation
and conveyancing of land are slow and cumbersome.
* The service charges levied by the municipalities are not related to
actual maintenance and running costs. Thus charges for small plots
in low-income areas seem to be disproportionately higher than those
levied on large plots in high-income areas.
* The local authorities cannot raise funds for infrastructural
development independently. They are dependent on allocations from
central government's capital budget and cannot plan projects until
their budget allocations are announced.
* Land speculation by developers leads to scattered development,
escalates prices and makes it difficult for bona fide low-income
developers to gain access to reasonably priced land.
* Local authorities do not use a uniform method in setting the prices
of serviced residential plots.
4. The Government's National Housing Policy
Housing has been declared a priority sector by the government. The
government's stated emphasis is on "affordable housing for the
disadvantaged". The main government objectives for housing, as stated at
the New York Donor's Conference in June 1990, were:
* The construction of affordable but not necessarily low-standard
houses.
Housing in Namibia
* The prioritisation of development of the rural areas in order to
prevent slums, squatting and peri-urban settlements.
To meet the housing demands of Namibia, the Ministry of Local Government
and Housing (MLGH) aims at facilitating the production of over 100 000
houses by the year 2000 through community and private sector
participation. The government aims to withdraw from direct involvement
in building houses. It sees its role as being to facilitate the efforts
of other agencies from the private sector, public corporations and the
community. The bulk of its effort will be geared towards directing housing
production towards low and middle-income urban housing schemes.
The Ministry is also committed to settlement upgrading, site and service
schemes, low-cost local building materials production and other
improvements in housing conditions in the rural areas.
The Ministry's Basic National Housing Programme emphasises the need for
private sector investment in housing and encourages the use of local
building materials.
Central government has assumed the responsibility for providing housing
the estimated 64 000 civil servants. At present there are only 6 000
government houses available. In order to cope with this shortage a loan
guarantee scheme with building societies and commercial banks has been
implemented in order to provide accommodation for selected categories of
civil servants such as the police or others at institutions where staff
must reside on the premises, or in places where they cannot buy privately
or rent reasonable accommodation.
Some of the major challenges which the MLGH has dealt with in the
·preceding year include:
* The provision of serviced plots, initially to squatters. Some 300
sites have been developed in Ombili with the assistance of the Centre
for Research Information and Africa Action (CRIAA), a French non-
governmental organisation. Ombili was designed to provided squatters
formerly living in a river bed and a cemetery with upgraded living
facilities. By April 1992 the first phase will yield 100 completed
houses. The scheme draws on both building contractors and participants
from the community. Phase two, scheduled for completion in 1993, will
result in an additional 200 houses.
* 35 house units were completed by May 1991 as part of a continuation
project. The work is complete with the exception of some minor defects
which are being attended.
* The Global Housing Project was allocated R22. 4 million in the
1991/1992 budget and contracts have been allocated in five priority
places.
4
Housing in Namibia
* In Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa (in the north) a total of 530
houses are under construction. The work is being carried out by five
separate building companies, each constructing between 40 and 150
units on existing serviced sites. The programme is on schedule and
within the budget of R22.4 million. Work should be completed by the
end of March 1993. But provision has been made for a slight overrun
of approximately R 250,000 for possible delays.
* A contractor has started work on thirteen housing units in Okakarara
(in the north east). The budget is R 410,000. Progress is about 10%
at this stage and completion was scheduled for April/May of 1992.
* Approximately 45 house units were started in December 1991 in Gibeon
in the south. A local consortium of building contractors have been
allocated a budget of R 1,180,000. The project was to be completed
in April/May 1992.
5. The Role of Non-Governmental Organisations
5.1 The Saamstaan Housing Cooperative
Since 1987 Saamstaan (Afrikaans for "stand together") has led the struggle
to find a community-based answer to homelessness.
This organisation is open to anyone earning less than R500 a month and
helps people join forces and build their own houses. Members are required
to attend brick-making on Saturdays and a members' meeting every two
weeks, to support fund-raising activities and to save regularly with
Saamstaan's credit union. There is a five months' probationary period for
new members.
Once members have succeeded in buying a plot of land, they are entitled
to loans at a one percent interest rate to build their houses. A building
team of Saamstaan members does the work, at the same time an experienced
foreman and two semi-skilled women give on-the-job training. So far, 25
new homes have been built in this way, and the organisation intends
building at least eight more each year.
However, the organisation faces financial difficulties as it does not have
enough outside support. Even the relatively high level of members' savings
at the credit union cannot cope with the needs and expectations of the
community.
5.2 The /Khara Tsasib Building COOperative and Credit Union
Saamstaan has inspired other community projects to tackle the housing
problems. The /Khara Tsasib Building Cooperative and Credit Union is based
in Mariental and was founded in 1987. As in the case of Saamstaan, people
build homes collectively.
5
Housing in Namibia
Housing for the black people of Mariental's Aimablaagte township is even
worse than in Windhoek. Mariental, 270 km south of Windhoek has a
population of 1 0, 000 people. It is small and dusty - the English
translation of its Nama name is "dustpan". Most blacks are employed on
the surrounding mainly white owned farms.
Conditions have deteriorated in the area since independence. Unemployment
has increased in the region. Aimablaagte has become a "dumping ground"
for the unemployed and their families while housing problems have
escalated with people living in tents, crowded emergency shelters or
simply out in the open.
/Khara-Tsasib has 75 members. Their only outside funding was a small
donation from Oxfam Canada with which they bought a brick-making machine.
They have not started building houses yet. Through the credit union and
their own fund-raising efforts they have bought nine cheap housing sites
from the municipal authority. On Saturdays, 44 members participate in
making bricks. Members join workshops and committees, and learn management
skills to take responsibility for projects. A fortnightly members' meeting
has the authority to make policy decisions for the organisation. The board
of directors and elected committees are directly accountable to this
forum.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion then, it can be seen that the housing crisis facing Namibia
today has its roots in Namibia's history of colonialism. More particularly
it is the product of the short-sighted policy of racial segregation in
housing that was imposed upon the people of Namibia by South Africa.
However, after nearly two years of independence Namibia's housing problem
is if anything greater.
This paper has not attempted to provide the answers to the Namibia's
housing problems. However, it is evident that the problem can not be left
to the state alone. The private sector needs to play a crucial role in
addressing urgent social needs. Non-governmental organisations can also,
as in the case of Saamstaan and /Khara Tsasib, play a role both in
providing houses to the most underprivileged but perhaps more importantly
in providing this section of the community with the necessary skills and
confidence to meet the problems facing them today.
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