By: Staff writer
Minister of Urban and Rural Development Erastus Uutoni, has issued a warning to companies that tender for construction of houses but do not deliver.
Uutoni sounded the alarm as he was handing over 108 houses under the government-funded Mass Housing Development Programme in Swakopmund on Friday, emphasising that decent shelter is a basic necessity of life.
The 108 houses are part of the 319 houses which were handed over to New Era Investment in October 2022 to complete, after being abandoned for over five years by another contractor.
“I wish to address the issue of delays in the execution and completion of national projects such as this namely, actions of some private contractors who tender for and get work opportunities from the government but do not honour their contractual obligations in completing projects on time and on budget,” he said.
Uutoni highlighted this results in an increase in costs and unwarranted blames on the government while the fault is actually on the part of the defaulting contractors. “This is unacceptable and I am calling for stern action against such contractors including black-listing them,” Uutoni warned.
Last year, Prime Minister SaaraKuugongelwa-Amadhila, stated there were only 891 houses which remain unoccupied in the mass housing initiative as they are incomplete. This number was divided into 24 in Opuwo, 505 in Swakopmund and 362 in Windhoek.
“Our chances for greater success in our quest to achieve our national aspirations and goals such as housing, requires unity of purpose and collaboration between the government at all levels, members of the community, the private sector, notably the construction industry and financial institutions as well as non-governmental partners,” Uutoni stated.
“Government believes it is justified for the citizens as the sovereign to expect to have a place that they call their own and to meet their dwelling and survival needs. In keeping with this reality and our commitment to the people of Namibia, housing remains one of our key development priorities as clearly articulated in our national development frameworks, namely; Vision 2023, national development plans and the Harambee Prosperity Plan 2,” Uutoni stated.
He further highlighted the importance for government to ensure its approach and strategies are holistic and integrated in nature and that all housing development initiatives in the country are properly coordinated to ensure the desired impact.
“One of the principals that ensure those desired impacts is sustainability and integration. It is critical that our housing delivery process is politically, economically, socially and fiscally sustainable and this among others, requires a balance between end-user affordability, the standards and number of housing units required, as well as the required and available resources and capacity,” the Minister said.
The Governor of Erongo, Neville Andre highlighted Erongo still has a huge housing backlog, however, “these little steps of housing delivery bring a huge relief to the housing backlog and a smile to the beneficiaries, who finally have a place they can call home.”
New Era Construction is currently busy with service connections for three houses, while the remaining 208 of the 319 houses are at roof level and the contractor is attending to the finishing touches, such as plumbing and the installation of electrical connections.
These houses are slated to be completed and handed over to the beneficiaries later this year.
