Staff Writer
The German government will contribute over N$220 million towards addressing the country’s informal settlement problem.
The funding will be provided under a wider N$700 million grant aimed at improving the living conditions in the country’s sprawling informal settlements. It will also seek to improve access to land title for the residents.
“To address the urgent need for action in the informal urban settlements, Germany also committed N$100 million for technical cooperation for sustainable and inclusive urban development as well as N$120 million for financial cooperation (grants) for the promotion of urban infrastructure. These projects are aimed at supporting the Namibian Government and selected communities to provide access to secure land titles and to noticeably improve the living conditions of low-income households.”
According to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, about 70 percent of urban dwellers are living in 308 informal settlements. This means that there are 228,423 shacks. The majority of the inhabitants form part of the 89 percent of the population that cannot afford commercial market related land and shelter options.
The funding agreements which were signed by the Director-General of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Obeth Kandjoze and Ellen Gölz, Chargés d’affaires Ad Interim of the Federal Republic of Germany, will also cover programs addressing challenges in sustainable and inclusive development with focus on governance, climate change, biodiversity, agriculture, food security and urban development valued.
As part of the funding, close to N$179 million will be applied to the technical cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism implemented by GIZ for the “Climate Change and Inclusive Use of Natural Resources” project. This project is aimed at fostering income generation and employment creation through the sustainable use of natural resources and at promoting alternative livelihoods in conservancies.
“Namibia’s natural resources and biodiversity offer high potential for the country’s socio-economic development. But Namibia’s unique ecosystems are increasingly threatened due to unsustainable practices like overgrazing or deforestation as well as climate change.”
An additional N$100 million in grants will be provided to the University of Namibia’s Department of Wildlife Management and Ecotourism department to develop study programs and research capacities to meet the growing demand for specialists in the sector.
Under the agreement, over N$165 million will be channelled towards creating food security for the country.
“The latest drought was a harsh lesson on how vulnerable agriculture and food security in Namibia are to climate change. Farmers need to adopt climate-resistant farming practices as well market-oriented approaches to create income and employment in rural areas.
According to the agreement, “To continue the ongoing cooperation of GIZ with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform new funds of N$120 million Euros will be provided to increase the competitiveness of Namibian agriculture while at the same time improving food security and climate resilience.”
In an effort to comply with the principle of “leaving no one behind”, N$40 million will be provided to support the integration of the UN’s Agenda 2030 priorities in the monitoring, planning and budgeting processes in Namibia.
“The 17 SDGs of Agenda 2030 emphasize a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development for all. In that spirit, in 2017 Germany and Namibia launched a dedicated “SDG-Initiative” to support the integration of the Agenda 2030 national priorities. Germany will provide 2 million Euros to continue this joint initiative of the NPC, Ministry of Finance and the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).”
Since independence in 1990, Germany has provided development funding to Namibia amounting to more than N$15 billion.
