Windhoek
The municipalities of Windhoek and Oshakati, where government plans to start servicing thousands of residential erven, say the State would have to finance the mass land-servicing project.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Joshua Amukugo says it is the government’s responsibility to service land under the mass land-servicing scheme. Oshakati too, says it does not have the necessary funds.
Amukugo said – following the official announcement that the government plans to service 200,000 residential plots – it is now central government’s responsibility to service the identified areas, as the municipality does not have the needed equipment, given that they generally outsource this function to private contractors.
There are at least 2,000 hectares of land available in Windhoek, which includes serviced land, but Amukugo says, even if people avail caterpillars and bulldozers for clearing land, engineers will still be needed for this specialised job.
He further said the municipality could create new suburbs and include space for institutional zones, such as health centres, playgrounds, churches and schools, amongst others, but these would also require space.
“We need to change our mindset. People want huge plots for houses, but sectional titles like flats can accommodate many people. New graduates should consider that while aiming for a huge house.”
He believes it is now up to the government to make a final decision on the way forward.
During President Geingob and Urban and Rural Development Minister Sophia Shaningwa’s visit to Oshakati, a total of 6,171 un-serviced erven were identified, measuring between 300 and 600 square metres each.
Oshakati Town Council CEO Werner Iita says during the visit they were asked how much it would cost to service the land, but they would only be able to provide feedback to the government by Tuesday. Iita said he instructed an engineer to come up with an estimated cost, but noted that the local authority does not have the necessary funds to service the erven: “Honestly, we don’t have money and we are waiting for central government to avail funds.”
“What we need is a storm water channel. Oshakati has been flooded in the past although it is on high land,” he said, adding that they need bulk servicing for sewer pipes, water, electricity and roads. He further added that at least 72 homeowners in traditional homesteads would have to be compensated, as they will have to move.
At Walvis Bay 10,000 plots are immediately available for servicing, 350 of which are reserved for use by the municipality. Walvis Bay CEO Muronga Haingura said the plan for servicing the land has not been finalised, as they will need to sit with relevant stakeholders, such as the line ministry, finance ministry and municipality, to agree on how the process will be facilitated.
He said in the case of Walvis Bay, the process involves servicing and not clearing land, but they will have to level and stabilise the dunes. “It’s quite a process,” Haingura said, noting that it involves installing sewerage and water pipes and electrical supply lines. The process would include importing other types of sand, to be used for stabilising the ground, as well dewatering, because there is water near the surface of the harbour town.
“To say whether it is costly or not will depend on the input cost, which will be determined by the type of work put into servicing,” he remarked. Haingura also said government requested them to provide a cost estimate.
The mass land-servicing project was announced after a high-powered delegation led by President Hage Geingob met Job Amupanda and eight representatives of Affirmative Repositioning (AR) at State House last week to discuss the emerging housing crisis.
Among the resolutions taken was that government would immediately embark on a project to service 200,000 plots countrywide to counter the high prices and shortage of residential erven. In response, the AR delegation announced that they would call off the mass land grab they had planned for today.