Windhoek
The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) has called on all their members, plus alumni and the community, to support the massive urban land servicing project, which officially starts today in Goreangab Extension 4.
“We call on young engineers, plumbers, artisans, electricians, those that just graduated from the institutions of higher learning to assist government efforts in this regard, to avail their skills and expertise as we secure homes for our parents of students,” stated Nanso’s secretary for information communication and technology, Vincent Shimutwikeni.
He said their call is for all connected to Nanso to assist government’s efforts either through monetary means or human capital.
On Tuesday, President Hage Geingob with top government officials started the process of identifying land in Windhoek that will be cleared and serviced, before he proceeded to Walvis Bay and Oshakati respectively.
This comes after a meeting between government and the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement held in Windhoek last Friday, where it was agreed that as from this week local authorities nationwide would identify land to be cleared, serviced and divided into 200 000 plots. During that meeting Geingob called on the public to voluntarily assist the land servicing project.
Yesterday land activist Job Amupanda said they held the first meeting of the Joint Technical Committee comprising of government and AR land surveyors to implement the servicing of 200 000 plots.
Amupanda also indicated that the technical committee went to Goreangab Extension 4 to put up markings for roads and where bulk services will be installed.
He says the 200 000 plots will result in the shelter of more than one million people “if we work on an average of five people per house”. “Before we are students we are, first and foremost, members of the community. We call on those whose schoolbooks are in order and have free time to assist where possible, not only in Windhoek, but all the towns. Whether it’s pushing a wheelbarrow, raking a portion of land, or fetching water for those working, every contribution is valuable.
“Let us work together with our government on this massive urban land servicing programme as we strive to build what we can finally call home,” he urged.
During May, Nanso released a statement affirming their position on the land debacle across the country.
“We believe that as we continue to propagate the idea that education should be geared towards the overall development of our country and enhance the social progress of the Namibian people, adequate housing indeed plays a vital role in this process as every Namibian student needs a comfortable home to study.
“The President indeed represents the needs of Namibians through promoting the values of inclusiveness, representation, transparency, innovativeness, effective problem solving and practical ways of addressing issues faced by the nation,” Nanso said.