NHE challenged with 120 000 on waiting list

WINDHOEK: The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) has a housing backlog of 300 000, with 120 000 applicants on its waiting list since 2005. NHE Chief Executive Officer Gisbertus Mukulu while speaking at the Government Information Centre here on Tuesday said the Khomas Region's waiting list stands at 33 000 followed by Erongo with 35 000, while there are 22 000 applicants on the waiting list in the northern regions. In the southern and north eastern regions, there are 15 000 applicants on the waiting list. Mukulu said since its inception in 1993, the NHE has constructed 21 545 houses. He noted that 40 to 45 per cent of Namibians are unable to afford houses, therefore the company has come up with deliberate interventions which include building houses that do not have finishes such as tiles, amongst others, to accommodate ultra-low and low-income earners. He noted that the design of houses without finishes include bachelor flats costing N.dollars 70 000 to N.dollars 80 000, one-bedroom houses costing N.dollars 100 000, two-bedroom houses costing N.dollars 120 000 and three-bedroom houses that cost close to N.dollars 200 000. 'This is the type of house that most Namibians can afford and the reason we cut out some of the finishes is simply to make it more affordable. The inhabitants will then be able to expand that house as soon as the financial situation of that individual has improved, instead of providing a house that is expensive and out of reach,' he explained. Mukulu also noted that NHE does provide houses for middle-income earners and above, noting that other services include providing building loans to clients who own plots, or existing clients who want to expand their houses. He indicated that the biggest challenges NHE faces include scarcity of serviced land, the high cost of serviced land; the credit readiness of clients, and the increased cost of building materials, as well as limited funding. Source : The Namibia News Agency