Around 26 000 people are currently on the waiting list for housing in northern Namibia, National Housing Enterprise (NHE) Chief Executive Officer Gisbertus Mukulu has said.Mukulu during a media engagement at Ongwediva on Sunday said the national waiting list stands at over 100 000 applicants.He said while the housing backlog is substantial, NHE is doing its best to address the issue.'We are really not meeting the demand for housing, but we are doing our best to meet demand as the housing backlog cannot be addressed over a short period,' he said.To date, the National Housing Enterprise has constructed 18 000 houses countrywide. Over 3 000 of these houses have been handed over through the Mass Housing programme after the organisation was given the mandate to participate fully in the programme.Mukulu noted that there are currently no vacant, fully constructed houses available nationwide.He however stated that 505 houses are under construction in Swakopmund. Of these, 111 houses have been completed, while the construction of the remaining 394 is ongoing.'We are making progress and slowly but surely, Government is gaining confidence in us,' he added.NHE is scheduled to hand over 50 houses in Omuthiya on Monday, followed by 24 houses in Ondangwa on Tuesday and 70 houses in Okahao on Thursday.Source: The Namibian Press Agency