Koes signs up for NHE informal settlement upgrading with 300 brick houses targeted
Written on
The Koes Village Council and the National Housing Enterprise have signed an agreement at Keetmanshoop that brings the village into the National Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme, with construction of about 300 brick houses expected to start before the end of the year.
The Koes Village Council and the National Housing Enterprise have signed an agreement at Keetmanshoop in the ||Kharas region for the village to participate in the National Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme, with the community targeting 300 brick houses under the scheme.
The programme is a government initiative spearheaded by the National Housing Enterprise in partnership with local authorities and ministries including the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development. NHE southern branch manager Ambrosius Khachab confirmed that assessments of clients' affordability have already begun, with construction expected to start before the end of the year.
"The NHE has identified several extensions for the National Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme. Koes village is one of the settlements that have shown administrative readiness, with a waiting list and clients with affordability," Khachab said.
The model pairs NHE building equipment, institutional funding and alternative designs with the village's available land, while the housing designs offer a basic structural shell without expensive final finishes, bringing down input costs. Beneficiaries pay mainly the capital cost of the house, with central government and the NHE having waived interest, which the NHE says targets low-income residents who do not qualify for traditional mortgages. About 70 percent of the local population cannot meet the strict credit requirements of commercial banks.
Other settlements identified for the programme include extensions 4 and 11 at Nkurenkuru, Okahao, Okashenda Proper, the Ongulumbashe and Saamstaan extensions at Usakos, Choto Proper and Choto extensions 1 and 2 plus Butterfly at Katima Mulilo, Tsaraxa-Aibes at Otjiwarongo, DRC, Ombili and Orwetoveni extensions 8 and 11, Oshikuku extensions 5 and 9, Opuwo Extension 7, Aimablaagte extensions 2 and 3 at Mariental, Donkerhoek and Henties Bay.
Koes faces severe land-servicing constraints because of outdated and failing utility infrastructure, and sits on a shallow water table with water as little as six metres underground, complicating foundations and sewage disposal. Acting chief executive Johan Brandt welcomed the partnership, saying demand for low-cost housing in the village is high and that the NHE's more flexible credit and affordability assessments make the burden lighter for residents, and urged beneficiaries who have been allocated plots to approach the nearest NHE branch or local authority.