Rural housing and rural development in Northern Namibia

Abstract

When Namibia became independent in March 1990, the new government pledged to alleviate poverty, unemployment and to improve the living standards of the formerly disadvantaged groups in the country. Rural development was presented as one of the priorities because the majority of the people live in or still have strong ties to the rural areas. Rural housing and rural development consist of a number of components. Both have similar objectives, inter alia, the improvement of living standards. Development efforts are often impeded by an urban bias in government policies and projects. In the case of Namibia, certain areas do not even have a formulated policy to guide developments, especially in communal areas with a high population concentration. This study explores to what extent the government has realised rural development policies and in particular rural housing in Northern Namibia as a means to improve living standards.