ONGWEDIVA – In its quest to drastically reduce informal settlements, the Oshakati Town Council has committed itself to relocate all the residents at Eemwandi informal settlement to the Onawa Township.
To this end, council has thus reserved N$22.5 million to service plots at Onawa and Ompumpu townships to enable the relocation.
Altogether, 514 plots have been serviced at Onawa Township and some people have been relocated already.
The council has given itself until end of May to relocate all the Eemwandi residents.
The revelation was made by the mayor of the town, Angelus Iiyambo during a budget presentation for the current financial year recently.
Iiyambo further announced that 44 percent, translating into N$106.9 million is this year reserved for capital projects.
As part of its capital projects money, council has reserved N$26 million to tarring roads at the town, while N$58 million is reserved for other infrastructural development such as a water tower, sewer pump station and surveying amongst others.
Amidst the financial crises being experienced globaly, the council aims to increase its revenue at least by five percent from expected sales of erven and rates and taxes and other services rendered by the council.
The council has projected its revenue to slightly increase from N$228.73 million from the previous financial year to N$241, 1 million in the current financial year.
To further boost its finances, the council will direct efforts to collect all debts owed to the council by its residents.
Iiyambo thus urged the administrators to enforce the council’s Credit Control Policy.
“Debt collection is and will remain a council priority and it is in this regard that I would like to urge each and every resident, business, government departments to honour their commitments towards council by paying their bills on time and if possible always in full,” Iiyambo said.
He said collecting debt will put council in a better position to broaden its revenue base, which in turn will allow council to deliver better services and improve on infrastructural development and stimulate economic development at the town.
In addition, the mayor also appealed to the council to tackle challenges of unemployment at the town.