Eight parallel sessions addressed thematic areas such as Urban Land Reform, Tenure Options and Land Administration, as well as Design, Construction and Sustainable Social Processes.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. Sophia Shaningwa, noted that land provision and adequate housing in particular, are multifaceted issues that cannot be resolved easily in a short period of time. “Although government will not be able to build a house for every Namibian household, it can enable the conditions for Namibians to access adequate housing through various win-win initiatives such as Private and Public Partnerships that the government fully supports,” she added.
NUST works closely with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development by taking part in initiatives such as the Massive Urban Land Servicing Programme Committee meetings. Furthermore, the University recently signed an agreement with the Ministry to develop a Strategy for the Implementation of the Mass Housing Programme.
Making reference to this, Dr Tjama Tjivikua, the NUST Vice-Chancellor said: “NUST is happy to involve many of its academics, students and alumni in this important project for the development of Namibia, and is particularly proud to have established a competent team, including experts from the University of Namibia and the private sector.” The Forum was convened by NUST, the Ministry, the Namibia Urban Design Institute, the Namibia Institute of Architects and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
