Windhoek housing targets under scrutiny with one year left before 2027 goal
With less than a year remaining before the end of the City of Windhoek’s 2022–2027 strategic plan, questions are emerging over whether the municipality is on track to meet its ambitious housing and land servicing targets.
The City of Windhoek Strategic Plan 2022–2027 outlines plans to service hundreds of residential plots annually and expand affordable housing construction as part of efforts to address the capital’s growing housing demand and informal settlement expansion.
According to the report, the municipality set a target to service 700 erven annually in greenfield developments, while gradually expanding brownfield development projects across existing areas.
The plan further projected that brownfield developments could reach as many as 3 150 serviced erven in later years of the strategy, particularly in areas such as Havana, Otjomuise, Groot Aub, Mix Settlement, and Goreangab. In addition to land servicing, the strategy set targets for expanding council-backed affordable housing.
The corporate scorecard in the report indicates that council-funded housing construction was expected to grow steadily, reaching up to 600 houses by the 2026/27 financial year. Another programme aimed at informal settlements projected the delivery of around 300 affordable houses annually in areas including Havana, Otjomuise, and Groot Aub.
The report states that these initiatives fall under the city’s broader objective to “provide basic services, land delivery and upgrading of informal settlements” as part of efforts to improve residents’ quality of life. However, with 2027 approaching, the municipality is now reviewing the progress made under the five-year strategy.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya said the municipality is currently assessing implementation of the plan. “The review is currently underway, and the update can be provided once that is done,” she said.
The strategic plan was designed as a blueprint guiding the municipality’s service delivery and infrastructure development priorities between 2022 and 2027. It also aligns the city’s development agenda with national frameworks such as Vision 2030, the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), and the Harambee Prosperity Plan II.
Among its priorities are the upgrading of informal settlements, installation of communal water and sanitation infrastructure, and the expansion of basic services and road networks in growing residential areas. Windhoek has experienced rapid urbanisation over the past decade, placing increasing pressure on housing supply, land availability, and municipal services.
The city’s strategic plan identifies housing delivery, informal settlement upgrading, and basic service expansion as key components in responding to these pressures.
