Patience Makwele
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has warned that it would be “so unfortunate” if her administration fails to deliver 50 000 houses by 2030, as she personally financed two N$200 000 homes to test whether prefabricated construction can help accelerate Namibia’s response to its housing crisis.
Nandi-Ndaitwah made the remarks on Friday during the handover of two houses built by Namibian-owned Yambuka Housing, saying she wanted to establish whether the company’s construction model could deliver on its promises before it was considered as part of a wider housing response.
“It will be so unfortunate if 2030 comes and I have not delivered 50 000 houses,” she said, referring to the administration’s target of adding 50 000 houses over five years, beginning in 2025.
The President said she had been monitoring progress towards the target and questioned whether the country was on track to meet its annual goal of constructing 10 000 houses.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of an estimated national housing deficit of 500 000 units, a shortage that continues to leave thousands of Namibians without adequate shelter.
The two houses which were handed over to Menesia Ngunovandu in 8ste Laan, Otjomuise and Johana Kambwela in the Kilimanjaro settlement in Katutura, were personally financed by the President at a combined cost of N$400 000.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said she decided to fund the houses after learning about Yambuka’s model and seeking to establish whether the company could construct a two-bedroom house with a toilet and shower for N$200 000 within a week.
“I don’t want to talk about things I have not seen,” she said, explaining why she chose to finance the two homes before making broader conclusions about the technology.
In an attempt to test the efforts, the President said the initiative was not intended to establish Yambuka as the sole provider of affordable housing, but to demonstrate whether alternative construction methods could contribute to addressing the national shortage.
“These first two were donations, because I wanted to confirm that it’s done,” she said, adding that the wider programme should accommodate Yambuka and other providers capable of contributing to affordable housing delivery.
She also said she had asked the Namibia Statistics Institution (NSI) to assess the houses against applicable standards, raising the question of whether alternative construction technologies could meet the requirements governing housing in Namibia.
Nandi-Ndaitwah argued that the country needed to reconsider its reliance on conventional building methods and ensure that regulations did not unnecessarily obstruct innovation.
She cited prefabricated houses used in other countries as evidence that the approach was not new, while stressing the need to establish whether the local model met the required standards.
The President said housing was not simply about infrastructure, but also about dignity, security and the right to shelter.
She urged Namibians to take greater responsibility for national development, saying the government could not address the country’s challenges without cooperation from citizens and the private sector.
Twapewa Kadhikwa, Yambuka Housing’s founder and director, said the company’s vision had started in 2015 and argued that Namibia needed to move beyond conventional thinking about housing if it was to address the growing number of people living in informal settlements.
She questioned why the country continued to struggle with housing despite years of policy discussions and changing political leadership, saying the consequences extended beyond shelter to people’s dignity, productivity and quality of life.
Kadhikwa said Yambuka’s prefabricated panel technology offered an alternative that could be deployed more quickly than conventional construction, although the model’s wider affordability and suitability would depend on the costs and requirements involved.
She also challenged businesses and financial institutions to do more to support solutions to the housing crisis, arguing that the private sector should contribute more directly to addressing the needs of ordinary Namibians.
The company’s model will now face scrutiny over its compliance with national standards and its potential to deliver homes at scale.
While the handover has provided two households with permanent shelter, the broader test will be whether alternative construction methods can be made accessible to more Namibians and contribute meaningfully to the country’s 2030 housing target.
