E/C.12/NAM/CO/1 Right to adequate housing 56. The Committee, in spite of the National Mass Housing Development Programme, is concerned at the acute shortage of affordable housing in the State party. The Committee also expresses concern that a quarter of the State party’s population lives in poor-quality housing in informal settlements without security of tenure or access to water, electricity and sanitation facilities, in spite of the investment of resources in land-servicing in urban areas (art. 11). 57. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt immediate measures to alleviate the acute shortage of affordable housing, including that it: (a) Invest further in land-servicing and upgrading of informal settlements wherever habitability and access to water and sanitation may be secured; (b) Accelerate the process for conferring legal security of tenure to those currently lacking such protection, in genuine consultation with affected persons and groups, including informal settlement dwellers; (c) Ensure that titles granted under the Flexible Land Tenure System guarantee security of tenure; (d) Expedite the adoption of amendments to the Consumer Protection Bill to protect tenants against unreasonable rent levels; (e) Eliminate the resources and procedure-related bottlenecks of the Build Together Programme; (f) Assess the impact of existing housing subsidies on the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing by the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. 58. The Committee refers the State party to its general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing. Forced evictions 59. The Committee notes with concern that forced evictions carried out by the State party have rendered a number of informal settlement dwellers and tenants in rent arrears homeless (art. 11). 60. The Committee recommends that the State party bring its enactments and practices on forced evictions into line with international standards, especially those on due process. The Committee also urges the State party to cease all forced evictions that may render individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions and the basic principles and guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement. Rights to water and sanitation 61. While noting with appreciation the State party’s rights-based water and sanitation policy, the Committee is concerned that the responsibility for collecting water in rural areas falls mostly on women and girls, who have to walk a long distance to access water points. The Committee is also concerned at the rising number of persons who cannot afford to pay their bills and that a large proportion of the population does not have access to adequate sanitation (arts. 11 and 12). 10