WALVIS BAY - The Walvis Bay Municipality says that it currently has about a 100 unoccupied houses in Kuisebmond and Narraville that were built through the affordable housing programme at the town.
This was announced during the budget consultative meetings held by the municipality late last week to update residents with the latest developments before the tabling of the 2019/2020 capital budget.
According to the municipality’s Community and Economic Development Manager Augusto Victor, the housing project, for which the municipality partnered with local contractors, is a huge success as it caters for middle-income earners as the prices range from N$380 000 up to N$500 000, depending on the size of the plot.
The municipality availed serviced plots to local contractors for the construction of the houses, which in turn are sold to qualifying residents.
He says that the unoccupied houses were previously allocated but challenges such as credit worthiness of concerned individuals resulted in the process not being finalised.
He added that the houses would eventually be allocated as equal opportunity should be granted to all those on the waiting list.
“Above all, we really did a good job in meeting the demands of our residents as this is one of the projects regarded as a success story,” he explained.
Councillor Romeo Goseb also explained that a total of 721 affordable houses were built under the scheme, 503 in Kuisebmond and 218 in Narraville during the current financial year.
About 36 houses are yet to be completed.
“Council is currently looking at other ways to meet the demands of its residents in terms of the provision of housing. Hence we are consulting with residents to obtain valuable contributions and guidance not only on housing but other projects that council should focus on,” Goseb said.
According to him, it is important that council also discuss matters that concern all residents, so that they become well aware when it comes to the preparation of the municipal budget.
“The budget is one example of council’s determination of working towards the improvement of Walvis Bay in all respects. While council have to work carefully with the limited resources at our disposal, we nevertheless try to accommodate everyone’s needs as far as possible. Despite the fact that times are not easy right now, it is still very necessary to emphasise that one’s municipal bills should always enjoy priority. That is the only way that Walvis Bay will be able to sustain itself over the long term,” Goseb said.