Maria David
AS part of its current five-year strategic plan for land and housing, the Oshakati Town Council has diverted its focus on catering to low and ultra low-income earners, with 16 000 people on the current waiting list.
According to town spokesperson Katarina Kamari, the council has put aside N$20 million for the servicing of Ehenye extension 11 and a portion of extension 12 for the 2021/22 financial year.
In addition, N$1 million has been availed for the servicing of Onawa extension 8 and the Build Together programme. The area will be occupied by residents relocated from the Oshaimbangu informal settlement.
Council has entered into an agreement with an NGO, Development Workshop Namibia (DWN), and availed land to be serviced collectively.
The serviced land will be allocated to residents of Oshakati in the ultra low-income earners category.
Kamari said formalizing informal settlements is also part of ensuring that people who live there have access to full council services such as water, electricity, sewerage and roads.
“Even though Oshakati has aimed to service of land over the past seven years now, the serviced erven mainly catered to the high and middle-income earners,” Kamari said.
The Council established a land allocation committee comprising technical experts in land and housing fields from the Council as well as some from other institutions in the community.
“This land committee oversees that the allocation of land is indeed transparent and fair in all aspects,” Kamari said.
Regarding the 16 000 names on the waiting list, people who already own land are not allowed to apply anymore.
“We make use of our waiting list database to determine who already has property registered under their name. Some of those people are the ones making the waiting list so long and do not qualify to be awarded land again,” Kamari said.
