By John Muyamba
RUNDU – The centre for the visually impaired at Sauyemwa has requested the Rundu Town Council to give it land to build a proper centre.
Currently the centre operates from a piece of land that still belongs to the town council.
Kangenengene Immanuel who is the founder of the centre told New Era they have been living at the plot since 2008 after requesting to be settled there by the town council.
He says they want a permanent plot of their own as they fear being evicted.
They have also appealed for financial assistance as they are “really in need”.
“When we came here there were a lot of bushes and shrubs but the town council said we could use the plot on condition we cleaned the area and put up a proper structure,” said Kangenengene.
Kangenengene said that over the past few years they received numerous promises of asssitance to improve the centre but their potential benefactors were constrained by the fact that the land targetted for a new modern centre belongs to council.
This prompted Kangenengene and a group of other virsually impaired people to seek an audience with the council to request land.
The CEO of Rundu Town Council, Romanus Haironga, said the council was looking into the issue.
“They asked for the land in 2008 and the town council leased them the plot,” Haironga stated.
“I later realised that people like them really need assistance,” he said.
He said the council earlier this year sent a team to assess their water, food and sanitation needs and to gather information on how best it could assist them.
“I have received some feedback on that and will look at the matter with the council,” said Haironga.
On the issue of land, he said council’s major concern was that the centre was not yet registered and that giving them land could result in such land being registered under the name of an individual.
Haironga said currently the centre leases the land but that council wouldl look into the issue of exempting it from paying for the lease and land tax. The centre wouold also have to be registered through the Ministry of Trade and Industry as a non-profit making entity.
The centre shelters people who are visuaslly impaired, both male and female.