The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) is building 32 low-cost homes in Swakopmund for people who have been living in shacks. Recently the ground breaking was done for the latest batch of homes on the property between the Hanganeni and DRC informal communities.
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The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) is a Namibian network of saving groups comprised of over 916 distinct organisations with over 28 000 members around the nation.
They were founded in 1998 and have since saved over N$32,5 million and constructed over 7,000 dwellings in Namibia.
In the Erongo area, there are 206 groups with a total population of 6 558 people, and 714 homes have been built.
66 SDFN houses will be completed in Swakopmund soon.
According to Heinrich Amushila of the Namibia Housing Action Group, which assists the SDFN, one of the 32 houses being built will be for non-clerical Standard Bank employees at the Swakopmund branch. Non-clerical Standard Bank employees will have their first house here.
The SDFN’s revolving fund is funding the remaining 31 houses, with 16 coming from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and 15 from the SDFN’s revolving fund. The land was given to the federation by the Swakopmund municipality in 2018.
Members of the Federation paid for the land survey and maintained it. Members will also construct their own residences.
At the groundbreaking event, Johanna Nembungu, the SDFN’s Erongo area coordinator, said the one-bedroom homes cost N$50 000, with members repaying N$500 each month at a low-interest rate 0.5% over 11 years.
The SDFN, according to Erongo governor Neville Andre, is a model that needs attention because of its cost-effectiveness and the fact that the building is completed quickly without sacrificing quality.
Swakopmund alone has a 17 000-house backlog.
Andre praised the federation for its dedication to providing low- and ultra-income people with cheap homes and appropriate sanitation.
He encouraged local officials in the Erongo region to provide SDFN members with inexpensive land.
