Keetmanshoop
Only about 320 people will get land soon out of the 1 200 applications that are currently with the Keetmanshoop Municipality.
The 320 will get land and houses through the mass housing scheme as the final list is being compiled that will then be sent to the Ministry of Land Reform for the final selection.
About 800 applicants will have to keep their fingers crossed and wait longer for new plots to be serviced and be considered on a first-come first-served basis.
This was revealed by the municipality’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Desmond Basson, at a public meeting hosted by the Keemanshoop Municipality to engage the community and update them on the status of the developments in the town.
Basson explained that the suspension of the mass housing project will not have any effect on the 320 houses that are already completed and thus people are busy being identified to get the houses.
The meeting attended by Keetmanshoop Mayor Moses Titus and other councillors focused on the status of the town’s infrastructure, roads, water supply, and sewerage system and service delivery in general.
It was revealed at the meeting that the new land applications from the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement have pushed the number to about 1 200 after receiving about 500 new applications, however, the Keetmanshoop Municipality will first cater for the 672 applicants that were received over the years before attending to AR applications.
Members of the public who attended the meeting raised questions regarding mass housing and the criteria used to allocate the houses, sports facilities at the town and the cleanliness of the town.
A concerned resident wanted to know how the mass housing project caters for the people who earn less than the current N$3 500 that is set as the minimum requirement to be considered for a house.
“You say the houses are for low-income earners, now what about us that earn below N$3 500?” she queried.
Another female resident expressed concern over the cleanliness of the town and urged her fellow residents to do more to stop pollution and not just sit and wait for the municipality to do everything.
“Our town is very dirty, to keep our town clean should start with us as we can’t run to the municipality all the time,” she said.