NAMIBIA CONNECTS | NAMIBIA SEEKS FASTER, CHEAPER HOUSING SOLUTIONS - nbc

[00:00:00]What support did you receive from the ministry to get this endorsed and what's needed next uh from the government?

[00:00:07]>> Yeah, the support that we had is obviously them seeing what we have to offer.

[00:00:13]Um my partner who actually patented the the technology has worked on this for almost what 7 years. Um to a point where this has been fully approved in South Africa um with the regulatory bodies including the banks and it was a bit of a hassle to get it on board in Namibia because I think red tape and here back and forth. So, what I did really to we came on board is to now get government to first see it. And that's how we managed to now uh get the support by the the line minister visiting what we have and a full presentation, technical presentation um and also the sample that we have put together. So, the government was very excited about that and then um they now say, "Please, let's roll this out." So, and what is expected from them basically now is to uh avail uh land because what we want to do besides our affordability is the subsidized uh land availability [snorts] because then that makes it more even exciting and make it more affordable basically.

[00:01:20]>> Can you explain what makes the alternative housing uh different from the traditional brick and mortar houses?

[00:01:26]>> Yeah, what makes it different basically is alternative building material. It's fiber and uh other technologies that are in it. What makes it different also is the fact that it is really more cheaper.

[00:01:37]Look, the reality is that this has been in existence uh all over the world. In America, they actually don't build with brick and mortar. They because of their climate situation, they build with uh wood and so many others alternative and that's everywhere in Europe basically, you you know. So, it's something that I think for some for a long time we were very stuck to the brick and mortar uh methodology because of perhaps not wanting to take risks and and and and so forth. But what what had happened with this now is that it's an Namibian patent the the patent owner is an Namibian.

[00:02:13]He stayed in Europe for about eight years. So he developed something tailor-made for Namibia for Southern Africa for our weather and for you know so what makes it different is a really just a house similar house except it's not with brick and uh you know >> Speak to us about the materials that are used to make this house.

[00:02:33]>> Yeah.

[00:02:34]It's fiber basically it's fiber that is put together as panels is fiber in panels that are put together. Um you know that has gone through a rigorous testing methodology uh that has passed the normal traditional house same test that is done in SA to get the agreement um certification which we now have which is all your normal test fireproof accidents um storm whatever you whatever we have gone through that. So that's what goes in it. It's actually just panels um and fiber and then your um your RBS roof sheeting you know on on on so it's it's just alternative same house to say >> Okay. So how much cheaper is this alternative housing compared to a conventional house and what price range are we looking at?

[00:03:24]>> It is way cheaper. We have managed to halve really uh your traditional housing you know costs um your average three bedroom will be less than 600,000 dollars. That's how cheap and affordable it is. Your your we we start at a range of 150 to 250.

[00:03:45]So it is really really affordable because it it doesn't cost much to put it together and that's why we decided also as a as a company responsible for meeting government halfway in the backlog of housing is that we don't want to maximize on that, you know. So, ours is cost recovery. We also then the good thing about it is that the factories will be set up in the country. And I think yeah, I'll touch on that a bit later. So, it's it's a technology made in Namibia for Namibians and actually for Southern Africa because there's already interest uh uh outside the country, but we we said, "Hey, let's roll it out in the country first."

[00:04:25]>> What financing options will be available for low- and middle-income families?

[00:04:30]>> That's a very good question because what we decided to do also is the fact that as opposed to you now going to the traditional banking uh you know, market that we feel has been responsible for for the longest time in making housing unaccessible to especially your very lowest income uh brackets, which is your cleaners, your petrol jockeys, your uh your vendors, you know, Kapana vendors and so forth. Um we have now decided to we we we have a funding model where you are able to pay off um between 5, 10, 15 years maximum.

[00:05:04]Um you have an option of buying your plot up front um and then include on the option of the house that you want whether it's a one-bedroom or two-bedroom. We also introducing um a rent-to-own model uh basically because it it's exactly the same. Uh other than the rent that you're paying 3,800 now to someone, you can be paying towards actually owning your own house. It's exactly the same methodology. And this is where I think um it's not going to be good news for land barons because a lot of people have been benefiting from renting to young professionals, the sole dealers, the civil servants. The rent that you are paying you can now paying towards your very own property, your very own house uh where you are. So, we will it's an in-house financing, in-house transfer, did everything owning. So, everything is in-house, including the servicing thereof if the land is not serviced, but we already received um promise of we're busy enough analyzing land that is already serviced and available where we'll be rolling out.

[00:06:08]>> How quickly can one unit be built from start to finish?

[00:06:12]>> 1 week.

[00:06:13]If I tell you 1 week >> 7 days. All you do is the concrete. The concrete as soon as the concrete is dry, the house is up because it's it's panels that are tailor-made suited to the specific house. If you want a two-bedroom, you know exactly how many panels that you need, the windows, everything. So, that it get dropped right there.

[00:06:34]So, and once the concrete is dry, um 7 days is actually even more. It can be up in 3 days, basically. So, 7 days maximum, you have a house.

[00:06:44]>> I can believe that because I saw that in the World Cup in Qatar, they they they had built such a stadium and they had taken the stadium away within less than 2 days. Absolutely. So, where will the first projects be rolled out and how many units are targeted in the next 2 years?

[00:06:59]>> Yeah. We starting with five towns that identified because this are also government's priority areas in terms of backlog, Rundu, Walvis Bay, Oshakati, Windhoek, and uh and Walvis as as mentioned Walvis Bay.

[00:07:13]>> Yes.

[00:07:15]>> What is that? Kitmans in Kitmans. So, we already starting with that. We starting with about 1,000 unit per town.

[00:07:22]That is 5,000 units that already that we it's a pilot that we are rolling out. Uh with an envisaged 300,000 units, basically. The backlog is about 500 to 600,000. Then they said, "Hey, look, are you guys ready?" I said, "No, look, from our end, one factory can service We're also we're up two factories, one in Oshakati, one in Okahandja that will service the areas.

[00:07:46]Um as the demand goes up, we set up more factory. So, the more the factories, the more you can actually roll out. So, we are more than ready and capable to deliver on the the backlog assistance.

[00:07:58]>> Now, someone is watching at home, Moses, and they're saying, "Well, let's talk about uh safety, durability, and climate standards for Namibia in terms of this home." Talk to us about that.

[00:08:09]>> As we said, we have the one of the most rigorous certification body in South Africa, the Agrément uh certification.

[00:08:17]This is very rigorous. Very rigorous.

[00:08:19]They it went through the fire testing, went through the storm, went through any possible uh you know, kind of weather. Now, the good thing is that uh in Namibia, because, you know, we it's one of the laws that we we are still stuck to the South African version of it. So, if you have the Agrément uh certification in South Africa, it's as good in Namibia. That's currently the the arrangement, but we did engage already the local authorities here. We engaged the councilors, uh who are very much on board, who saw this.

[00:08:49]Um so, it's really really And the nice thing about it is the demo school that we currently have in Walvis Bay. It's so beautiful that when the minister went over and the team, we took the mayor of uh Oshakati, Outapi, Ondangwa, as well as Walvis. Uh in in summer, it's cool it's cool inside.

[00:09:08]When it's cold, it's warm, actually.

[00:09:10]It's it's it exists there. It's real.

[00:09:12]So, it it fits all of that.

[00:09:16]>> What is the expected lifespan and maintenance requirement for these houses?

[00:09:20]>> It's your normal house. That the what the That was the first query from the minister when he we first submitted the presentation, he said, "Ah, you know, because everybody came with different uh methodology. They say, 'Yeah, but this one last 5 years. What happens after 5 years?'" This have been tested to last as good as your your normal house, basically. So, you're looking at at least up to 40 years. 40 years should be more than enough. But then again, remember, as we said, it fits the uh the certification. It doesn't mean you should now run your car into the house to test whether it will last that long.

[00:09:53]So, you know, but in terms of your what we can guarantee is that it's just as good as any house. And as I said, we have a school that is already existing in Walvis Bay. Uh which we use as our demo. We're setting up now more demos of these uh you know, facilities.

[00:10:10]It's there. It's standing the longest time.