The Namibia Statistics Agency and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development have launched the pilot Namibian Housing Information System.

The aim of the system is to make housing and land data readily available in the country.

The housing statistics in Namibia are now available immediately by just clicking a button, following the launch of the Housing Information System.

The centralised system will have all housing information in the country as provided by, among others, regional councils and local authorities to guide policymakers.

The Housing Information System contains housing needs per locality, enabling free monitoring of what housing activities are happening in all localities.

NSA's Statistician-General, Alex Shimuafeni, says uncoordinated statistics have been making data collection difficult and unreliable.

The system is made up of four main models of information.

These include housing stock, which gives the total number of houses in a defined area; land use stock, giving information on the human use of land; housing needs stock, with the number and types of housing units required in the market; and the informal settlement model, containing information on unproclaimed settlements.

Both land house applications can be done online, and the system will have the capacity to detect if the applicant already owns a house elsewhere.

The Urban and Rural Development Minister, Erastus Utoni, says the creation of the system was born out of deliberate policy decisions.

For the system to serve its purpose optimally, it needs to be fed with accurate information. Hence, partners and users are urged to submit timely and reliable information to the system.

Training will be given to all local authorities to ensure the smooth capture of data as soon as it is available or requires an update.