Ongwediva
The Outapi Town Council has accused the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) of failing to develop 78 plots that it was given in 2005.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Outapi, Nashilongo Ananias, the Outapi council has a public-private partnership within the housing scheme.
The joint partnership consists of the NHE, Shev Properties, OB Davids Properties, Auas Properties and Camelthorn Joint Venture.
“NHE has disappointed us because we gave them land in 2005 which costs N$1 per square metre. The land has 78 plots which are still undeveloped,” said Ananias.
The CEO noted that the need for houses in Outapi is increasing and more people want to settle in the town.
“We as a council contacted NHE in 2014 to remind them of the matter but nothing has been done until now. Other developers want to develop the land and the demand for houses in Outapi is high,” the CEO explained.
When New Era contacted the Manager of Corporate Communication and Marketing at NHE, Eric Libongani, he alleged that NHE initially bought three portions of land from Outapi Town Council in 2005, with a total of 217 plots.
“On the two portions NHE constructed a total of 137 houses. The other 80 plots were bought as virgin land and needed to be planned. That process took some time and was only finalised in 2014,” Libongani said.
According to Libongani, during the process, NHE earmarked the 80 plots to be developed under the mass housing development programme, which was launched in November 2013.
“In 2014, NHE’s mandate to service land under the mass housing programme was redirected to local authorities. Going forward, the 80 plots will be developed in the 2016/2017 NHE financial budget which starts on July 01, this year,” Libongani further stated.