Community Group Savings Crucial to the Provision of Affordable Houses-Namibia Govt.
- By solomon2day
- On 25/03/2019
- In News
The Government of Namibia has said that community group saving schemes was crucial to affordable housing in the country.
This disclosure was made, recently, by the the Deputy Director in the Ministry of Urban Development,, Naomi Simion at an event in Windhoek.
The program in named Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.
Simion, who doubles as board member of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) and the Namibia Housing Action Group, also stated that the government decided to provide an annual grant to the federation at independence through the Build Together Programme.
“The government has since recognized the critical role of community-based group saving schemes such as the Shack Dwellers Federation as a viable and sustainable solution to informal settlements and the provision of affordable housing,” Simion disclosed.
The government has spent $59 million for the construction of 2 , 284 housing units nationwide in the past 19 years.
Also speaking at the event, First lady, Monica Geingos, said people must speak the language of humanitarianism to address the housing situation in informal settlements.
“I think what we forget when we look at informal settlements, into slums and we see these shiny zinc boards is that there are people inside,” the First lady stated.