Windhoek
The City of Windhoek is set to put on tender more than 440 serviced residential plots but maintains it will consider special categories of landless Namibians when deciding whom to sell the land to.
However, the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement has cautioned the City to ensure that it is only those deserving and really in need of land that should be considered.
These plots are however not part of the Mass Urban Land Servicing Project agreement entered into by the government and AR movement with the aim of servicing 200 000 residential plots.
According to the City’s spokesperson Joshua Amukugo, the City has not started to service any plots under that agreement, despite being named as one of the three pilot towns for servicing of plots mid-last year.
Amukugo was briefing New Era on the City’s ongoing land delivery efforts and gave an update on the marriage with AR.
“We are trying our level best and under the Mass Urban Land Servicing Project there are heavy discussions in the technical committee comprising of us, government and AR,” Amukugo said.
“[Meanwhile] we have been servicing plots in Khomasdal, Otjomuise, Kleine Kuppe and Hochland Park which will be up on tender very soon.”
He added that 407 plots would be sold at Khomasdal, 37 at Kleine Kuppe while a few others can be found at Otjomuise and Hochland Park.
“The person buys a form from us to which a map of all available erven and their prices will be attached. And they can then say how much they are willing to pay for the plots. Those who are desperate might add more.”
“After we collect all the offers we will add up all the amounts together and divide them by the number of applicants to determine the price per plot.”
He indicated that those already having a plot or house will be disqualified while the previously disadvantaged, people with disability and women will be given priority in the process of determining who gets the land.
“We are not going for the lowest or highest bidder, we are going for the medium price.”
Amukugo also explained that before the end of the year, the City would kick-start the servicing of plots under the agreement with AR and government.
On why these plots that will be up for tender were not absorbed under the agreement with AR and government, Amukugo said: “AR agreement did not mean we had to surrender our existing programmes. These are not new projects. We were not sleeping before the AR.”
AR land activist Dimbulukweni Nauyoma said there is a crisis of land and housing in the City and any effort to address that crisis should be applauded.
“We are urging the City to avoid the Academia situation from happening with these 440-something plots.”