N$358m debt swap opens land pipeline

A Cabinet-approved debt swap between the City of Windhoek and central government is set to convert N$357.8 million in municipal liabilities into 423 hectares of land, unlocking more than 6,000 erven for housing and other national projects in the Khomas region.

The agreement is also expected to restore the city's borrowing capacity and strengthen service delivery, according to the Khomas Annual Regional Report for the 2025/26 financial year, presented to the National Council.

Phase One of the deal will release land in Havana and Groot Aub, while Phase Two will cover the Independence Stadium precinct for future sports infrastructure.

The agreement comes as housing delivery in the region remains constrained by a shortage of serviced land, high land-servicing and construction costs, limited funding and lengthy development processes.

The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) completed two housing projects in Khomas during the last financial year, producing two housing units at a combined cost of N$1 million.

One unit was delivered under the Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme in Greenwell Matongo, while the other was a building-loan unit in Khomasdal.

For the 2026/27 financial year, NHE has planned N$82 million in capital projects in the region, comprising 73 new housing units in Otjomuise, Goreangab and Khomasdal.

The report also said 380 erven were developed, with civil and electrical services designed at Otjomuise. Informal settlement upgrading covering 22 units across Windhoek's informal settlements was also completed.

However, the report identified several structural constraints to housing delivery, including the scarcity and high cost of serviced land, high land-servicing costs, beneficiary creditworthiness, lengthy township establishment processes, rising building material costs, limited funding for serviced land and housing, and protracted contractor procurement.

The debt swap is positioned as a potential turning point in addressing some of these constraints by converting municipal liabilities into land that can be used for housing and infrastructure development.