Tuulikki Abraham
Lüderitz-Lüderitz Mayor Hilaria Mukapuli says the town council faces the perennial challenge of residential housing caused by slow land delivery due to budgetary constraints.
She said the situation is exacerbated by the topography of Lüderitz, which is quite a challenge as it is expensive to install services on the rocky land the town sits on.
Mukapuli told New Era that with the little they got from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development the town council managed to complete the upgrading of the one-kilometre road to Diaz School, along which they installed interlocks, as well as construction of a fire station. The council only managed to service 60 erven.
She said that during 2017 the town council organized the celebration of the 10th Lüderitz Crayfish Festival, which she stressed was very successful and that they also revived the Lüderitz Mayoral Trust Fund and promoted Lüderitz as a town.
In 2017, the first ever Harders Cup was launched, which was a community event, and the town council established the Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) at Area 7, which is expected to be operational by next month.
On the lack of housing, she said housing and land delivery exceed supply, as the council sits with a backlog of 4,000 people who urgently need a house.
Makapuli stated that in order to address these challenges the council has made provision to construct houses through public-private partnership (PPP) joint ventures. Lüderitz Town Council will market Lüderitz aggressively for investment, she added.
In 2018 the council plans to start the process to formalise Area 7 informal settlement. Also, they plan to service land belonging to members of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.
This financial year the town council will focus on construction of housing, especially to finalise the projects that were delayed due to the new Procurement Act, she emphasised.
Mukapuli said 2018 will be a year of reckoning for Namibia and this includes Lüderitz, and in this vein she urged all Lüderitz residents to be part of the team in building the Namibian House as President Hage Geingob has expounded time and again.
“It is only through teamwork that we can realise our goals and objectives because there is power in unity,” stressed the pragmatic Lüderitz town mayor.
Similarly, she commended Lüderitz Town Council employees for their inputs, which translated into what Lüderitz is today.
“In 2018, let us strive for excellence as a team in unity and in respect, in order to serve the community to the best of our ability,” stated Mukapuli.
Mukapuli invited the Namibian nation to come and celebrate with them the 11th Lüderitz Crayfish Festival, which will be celebrated under the theme ‘Our Ocean Our Treasure’ from April 26 to May 2, 2018.