Feature: Lack of housing thwarts Namibian slum dwellers

Namibia has over the years seen a rapid growth of rural-urban migration, as rural dwellers move to cities and towns with hopes for improved livelihoods. Faced with a lack of accommodation and soaring housing prices, more dwellers are settling in informal settlements.

On a Monday afternoon, wind swiftly blows in the densely populated Havana informal settlement in the suburb of capital Windhoek. It is here where 35 years Joel Kaaya settled when he moved to the city in 2013.

Following the negative impact of climate variability on his village farm, Kaaya migrated hoping to find a job and better housing. "But instead I ended up staying in a shack with limited access to water, poor sanitation and electricity connectivity," he said on Monday.

With only a secondary school certificate, to make ends meet, he found a job to transport dwellers. "I found a job as a taxi driver, but my income could still not afford me a conducive environment to stay," he reported.

With limited income, three years later, he still stays in the same shack, and his living conditions have not improved much.

Kaaya's life story is a common tale of many dwellers who migrate to urban areas hoping for better living conditions.

Selma Tweya too lives in Havana informal settlement. Like Kaaya, her habitat is compromised. "We have to walk a long distance to fetch water, cut firewood and access other services. It is even harder now as over the years the trees have been fading because a growing population turn to them for energy sources," said Tweya. As a result, degradation of the environment is also at risk.

Like many rural-urban migrants hoping to transform their lives in the city, the urban dream remains elusive as a severe lack of housing forces many into sprawling informal settlements. But in the midst of the challenges and squalor of informal settlement, rural-urban migrants in Namibian Capital, Windhoek area are maximizing on their inhabitation.

"I continue to work in the transport field, while I hope for a better living condition," Kaaya said.

The official 2011 National census shows that urban population increased from 33 percent in 2001 to 47 per cent in 2011.

Of the 325,858 people living in Windhoek, 113,074 people are living in informal settlements in the capital with an estimated 100,000 people living in wood and zinc structures in Havana alone, according to recent records by Namibia Statistics Agency.

As the demand for affordable housing soars, in efforts to accelerate the provision of housing in Namibian urban areas, the private sector is meeting government half way to afford citizens good homes in urban areas to stay in.

One such is the Standard Bank's Buy-a-Brick initiative, aimed at addressing the unavailability of housing for less privileged communities throughout Namibia.

In 2015, the bank raised 1.4 million Namibian dollars (100,000 U.S. dollars) which was handed over to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and that is evident through the construction of the 40 houses in Rehoboth in the southern Hardap region.

As Namibia joins the rest of the world in commemorating the 2016 World Habitat Day, which falls on Oct. 3, Kaaya hopes and prays for luck, so that he would benefit from initiatives such as the "Buy-a-Brick", move out of his shack to more suitable and conducive environment in future.

The 2016 World Habitat Day campaign aims to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing for all in urban areas, towns and cities. Endit