As a Namibian entrepreneur, I welcome President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s determination to deliver 50 000 houses by 2030. More importantly, I welcome the manner in which she is approaching at least one part of the challenge: she is testing an idea rather than dismissing it.
The President personally financed two houses built by Yambuka Housing to establish whether a two-bedroom house, with basic amenities, could genuinely be constructed for N$200 000 and within a remarkably short period. That is a refreshing approach to public leadership.
Too often in Namibia, we debate solutions in conference rooms, produce policy documents, launch programmes and make speeches without first asking the most important question: does the solution actually work on the ground?
The President appears to have asked that question.
That should be applauded.
But if the Government is serious about achieving 50 000 houses by 2030, we must also be honest about the enormity of the task. The reported national housing deficit of about 500 000 units means that even achieving the 50 000 target would address only a fraction of the problem.
And this is precisely why the Government cannot do it alone.
The President herself has acknowledged this, calling for greater participation by citizens and the private sector. That recognition must now become the central principle of Namibia’s housing strategy.
Government’s role should not necessarily be to become Namibia’s largest homebuilder. Government’s most important responsibility may instead be to create the conditions in which thousands of homes can be built by thousands of participants.
There is a fundamental difference.
Government has resources and instruments that entrepreneurs do not. It controls, directly or indirectly, access to public land, planning frameworks, building regulations, municipal infrastructure, public procurement and many of the institutions that determine how quickly a housing project can move from an idea to a completed home.
Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, bring something equally important: innovation, speed, risk-taking, technology and the willingness to challenge established ways of doing things.
The housing crisis requires both.
If a Namibian company can genuinely construct a decent, safe and compliant home at N$200 000, then Government should be asking how that innovation can be replicated, financed and improved — not whether Government itself can build the same house.
But we must also resist the temptation to turn Yambuka into a silver bullet.
One successful demonstration does not, by itself, prove that a particular construction model can solve Namibia’s housing crisis. The technology must be independently assessed. Its durability, safety, maintenance requirements, energy efficiency, insurance implications and compliance with national standards must be properly established.
Most importantly, the N$200 000 price tag must be interrogated carefully.
Does it include land?
Does it include water and electricity connections?
Does it include roads and other municipal infrastructure?
Does it include professional fees, approvals and transport?
And, perhaps most importantly, can an ordinary Namibian earning a modest income actually obtain financing to buy it?
These questions matter because Namibia’s housing problem is not simply a shortage of houses. It is a shortage of affordable, serviced and financeable housing.
We should therefore stop measuring success merely by counting houses.
A house standing in an informal settlement without adequate sanitation, roads, electricity, water and secure tenure does not represent the same outcome as an integrated, serviced and financeable home.
The private sector also needs to look at itself in the mirror.
It is easy for business to complain that Government is not doing enough. But Namibia’s entrepreneurs, developers, banks, pension funds, insurers, manufacturers and professional institutions have a role to play in finding commercially sustainable ways of solving this crisis.
Housing should not be viewed exclusively as a government expenditure programme. It can also become one of Namibia’s most significant economic-development programmes.
Think about the employment created by construction. Think about local manufacturing of building materials. Think about transport, engineering, architecture, plumbing, electrical work, furniture, security and property management.
A serious housing programme could create an entire ecosystem of Namibian enterprises.
But private capital will not enter this space at scale simply because Government asks it to.
There must be viable business models.
Banks must be prepared to develop products for lower- and middle-income households. Pension funds and institutional investors should be exploring appropriate long-term housing investments. Government could consider mechanisms that reduce risk without taking the entire financial burden onto the taxpayer.
Municipalities, too, must become central players.
The private sector cannot build affordable houses efficiently if obtaining land, zoning approval, services and other permissions takes years. Every unnecessary delay ultimately becomes another cost added to the price paid by the homeowner.
This is where Government can make its greatest contribution.
It can make it easier, faster and cheaper to build.
The President’s 50 000-house target should therefore not be seen as a target belonging to State House, the Ministry responsible for housing or the public sector alone. It should become a national economic project.
Imagine if Government established a transparent platform through which different technologies and developers could compete to provide affordable housing. Imagine serviced land being made available in large enough quantities. Imagine municipalities accelerating approvals for compliant developments. Imagine banks competing to provide affordable mortgages. Imagine local manufacturers scaling up production of locally made building components.
Then 50 000 houses would no longer be merely a Government construction target.
It would become an industry-wide target.
The President deserves credit for putting a number on the table and, importantly, for demonstrating personal commitment to finding practical solutions. But political will must now be matched by institutional reform, private-sector participation and financial innovation.
There is also a danger in making 2030 the only measure of success.
We should not arrive at 2030 having technically achieved 50 000 houses while thousands more Namibians remain unable to afford a home. The objective must be to establish a housing system that continues to produce affordable homes long after the current administration’s target has been reached.
That requires us to think beyond the number.
The question should not simply be: Can Government build 50 000 houses?
The bigger question is: Can Namibia create a system capable of building 50 000, then another 50 000, and another 50 000?
That is the real test of leadership.
And perhaps that is why the President’s experiment with two houses is important. It represents the beginning of a different conversation — one based not only on promises, but on testing, evidence and innovation.
Now the country needs Government to take the next step.
Test the technology. Test the financing. Remove unnecessary regulatory obstacles. Release serviced land. Bring municipalities into the equation. Challenge banks and institutional investors. Give Namibian entrepreneurs a chance to compete.
The Government cannot build Namibia’s way out of the housing crisis alone.
But it can create the conditions under which Namibians build their way out of it together.
That would be a far greater legacy than 50 000 houses.
