By William Mbangula Ondangwa About 16 homeless residents of Ondangwa will soon be proud owners of roofs over their heads, following financial support granted by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) and the National Housing Action Group (NHAG). The project, worth close to N$300ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000, was launched by the newly-elected Mayor of Ondangwa, Naftali Andimba, on Tuesday, May 22. Andimba called upon prospective investors to make use of the ample land available in Ondangwa to support the expansion of the town and development of its infrastructure. He said: “I wish to assure all our potential investors in Ondangwa that my council is very willing to work together with you in the upliftment of the living standards of our people. “We have enough land for expansion and labour force, hence I am calling upon all other prospective financiers to come and invest in Ondangwa.” Speaking to New Era at the launching site, Martha Kaula of the SDFN said all the beneficiaries are members of the King Kauluma Saving Scheme which is affiliated to the SDFN. Having saved about N$40ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 altogether, each of the beneficiaries qualified to receive a loan of N$20ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000. Apart from the loan from the SDFN, the home-owners, who are expected to make bricks and build the houses themselves under strict guidance, were provided with a biogas system – believed to have a duration of 10 to 20 years and worth N$15ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000, by the SDFN. The SDFN and NHAG have a cooperation agreement with Standard Bank whereby members of the shack dwellers group are allowed to invest money at favourable rates in Standard Bank.