Stakeholders in the provision of Land and Housing need to join hands and ensure that the right to decent housing is fulfilled and not compromised by greed and selfishness, maximizing profits over the dignity of the Namibian people.
These were the sentiments of the Swapo Party Secretary General Sophia Shaningwa at the official launch of the Zebra Holdings PTY Limited housing project at Osona Village.
Zebra Holdings PTY Ltd is an Investment arm of the Swapo Party established to venture into a wide range of business disciplines in the areas of fishing, manufacturing, training, hospitality, and property development among others.
Shaningwa highlighted the housing challenge facing Namibia, saying every citizen has the right to dignified shelter.
"We must, therefore, relentlessly work towards restoring the dignity of our people through the provision of land and adequate housing. The Swapo Party has categorically made it clear that we shall provide land and housing to the people of Namibia, this is not only a political rhetoric but today, we have gathered here to witness the practical results of what we have promised to our people. Today, decent houses have been constructed and are ready for occupation by our people. We believe that every Citizen in this country has a right to a dignified shelter, and we are busy honoring our promises."
The inception date for the housing project was November 2018, with the project planned to run over two phases.
Phase 1 was for the construction of single housing units, and was completed two years ago.
Phase 2 are double-story units that were completed this year around February 2023.
Ndangi Katoma, current Chairman of Zebra Holdings PTY Ltd noted that the Housing project spent slightly over N$20 million on constructing 17 housing units, targeted at low- and middle-income earners.
"To date, half of the units are bought or reserved with a rent-to-buy option. As I said it was not easy, there was a challenge of COVID-19, a period that made business difficult such as a challenge restriction on imports, materials went up and affected the bill of quantities."