KEETMANSHOOP – The //Kharas Regional Council, in collaboration with the Keetmanshoop Municipality, on Monday broke ground for the envisaged Keetmanshoop urban brickmaking project. 

The regional council has earmarked N$400 000 for the project, while the municipality has provided the land which is at Camp 60, about two kilometres outside Keetmanshoop. 

The project is set to kick off in two weeks’ time, and will give jobs to 20 unemployed youth. It aims to accelerate job-creation in the Keetmanshoop area, and produce and supply bricks to housing projects in Keetmanshoop and the region. 

Keetmanshoop mayor McDonald Hanse said the project is crucial in providing communities with access to safe and affordable housing, adding that the project will also create job opportunities for residents. 

“I commend the regional council for your commitment to ensuring that residents of this region can access quality building materials. We are leasing this land to the regional council, and this collaboration shows a strong dedication from all stakeholders to support our community,” he said. 

Hanse said as the world changes, so does the cost of living, making housing increasingly unaffordable for many – a situation that forces many citizens to resort to substandard housing. This not only compromises their safety, but also poses serious risks such as fire hazards, leaving families vulnerable and without shelter. 

“This is evident through all the shack fire incidents experienced in various towns in Namibia. It is with all these interpretations that proper housing has become an urgent need for each Namibian,” he added. 

||Kharas Regional Council chairperson Joseph Isaacks said their revenue stream is very limited, but they are trying to go above and beyond. 

“Two years ago, we received money from NamRA, and we took a resolution as council to divide the funds in all constituencies and I came up with this project. We know councils can only raise revenue from the settlements, the 5% from the town councils and NamRA. In our region our settlements are not that economically viable. They cannot give us meaningful revenue because of high unemployment and poverty in those setups.” -Nampa