Swakopmund
Discussions about creating a new suburb for very low-income residents of Walvis Bay are at an advance stage. The new suburb, to be called The Green Village, will also cater for those who currently reside in backyard shacks at the town.
The village will be located at Farm 37, situated about 5 km outside Walvis Bay, en route to Utuseb.
Construction of the village will be a collective voluntary effort, similar to what founding president Sam Nujoma championed during the construction of the Tsumeb-Oshikango railway extension project.
This is according to Governor of the Erongo Cleophas Mutjavikua, who addressed various councillors, mayors, chief executive officers and other high ranking government officials in the region during his state of the region address in Swakopmund on Friday.
Mutjavikua said cutting bureaucracy would play an important role in delivering The Green Village and also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to providing affordable housing for the people.
The governor said the construction of houses at The Green Village would be a collective effort and that the brick-making machines donated last year by the Turkish Embassy would be roped in, along with volunteers to make the project a reality.
“Farm 37 is the answer to eradicating shack dwellings in Walvis Bay. We will make use of the brick-machines and alternative building materials, while residents themselves will be part of the construction process,” he said.
He added that it would be a community effort in order to stabilise the cost of housing at the town. “Former president Dr Sam Nujoma showed us during the construction of the railway. Therefore, we must emulate the process also with the construction of the low-cost houses,” he explained.
According to the governor, alternative building methods would also be considered and residents will use their own labour to build proper houses, as well as pave the roads, and dig water and sewerage lines to reduce the prices.
Mutjavikua also said he is currently engaging the regional council and Swakopmund Municipality to emulate the example of Walvis Bay and to also come up with an “ultra low-income suburb” east of the Democratic Resettlement Community in Swakopmund.
“The metropolitan areas of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund are growing at an alarming rate and more residential erven should be made available. We must pull in the same direction in the spirit of Harambee. Only then we will be able to reach the targets, as stipulated in the Harambee Prosperity Plan and also stabilise our housing market,” Mutjavikua said.