The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development held its fourth decentralization consultative forum with key stakeholders in the capital.

Minister, Erastus Uutoni, reminded the stakeholders that bringing services closer to the grassroots level remains one of the government's top priorities.

The forum will discuss best practices, and progress made over the years and will collectively devise strategies on how to overcome existing stumbling blocks.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has handed over eight houses under the Affordable Housing Pilot Programme of the Windhoek Municipality.
Uutoni encouraged the councillors to work together regardless of their political differences.

The Mayor of Windhoek Joseph Uapingene commended the contractors for completing the construction within the stipulated time frame.

Khomas Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua is impressed with the progress made so far and called for the introduction of more similar initiatives.

The Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein, says his ministry will first monitor the current boreholes at Groot Aub, which are said to be without water, before considering other options.

This follows complaints by residents about the lack of water at the settlement in the Windhoek Rural constituency.

Schlettwein and the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, were in Groot Aub on a familiarization trip to see the situation on the ground.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has given the Municipal Council of Windhoek until March to sort out their differences and complete the process of electing members of the Management Committee.

Uutoni held a meeting with the Councillors on Thursday, after which they agreed to convene on the 9th of February.

But, the Minister says he is cautious with their deadline as he observed that the Councillors are still divided over who should serve on the Management Committee.

Stakeholders in the electricity distribution industry are in talks to determine whether or not to establish a central regional electricity distributor. 

The Central Red would cater to Windhoek and surrounding areas. 

Even though some stakeholders agree that REDS come with added benefits, others are not so convinced. The stakeholder consultations will allow the participants to scrutinize and provide counter recommendations.

The slow pace and cost of land servicing and shortage of capacity are obstacles in fast-tracking housing provision in Namibia, particularly in urban areas.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni says the situation is also worsened by a lack of affordability for low and ultra-low-income households.

This he says is due to the impact of the economic downturns and budgetary limits which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uutoni says about 230 000 families in Namibia reside in shacks.

The Rundu Town Council has backtracked on its intention to terminate its three-year debt collection agreement with RedForce Debt Management Services. 

Rundu Mayor Gabriel Kanyanga was quoted in a local daily newspaper early this month saying the council had resolved to terminate the agreement. 

Kanyanga had cited a breach of the agreement by RedForce, on the advice of the Attorney General, as it failed to meet its five-million-dollar monthly collection target. 

Delivering affordable housing remains a key government agenda item.

As such, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, says his ministry avails millions of dollars towards the construction of houses to improve the living standards of Namibians.

Uutoni said this when he handed over more than 40 new houses, constructed at a cost of N$11 million at Otjiwarongo. 

These houses were constructed by the National Housing Enterprises after the Otjiwarongo Municipality made available land in 2021 to set up affordable units.