KATIMA MULILO – Prospective homeowners of Katima Mulilo’s Green Valley Development have voiced their disappointment over delays from the developer in completing the construction of their houses.
Construction at the new suburb, which also promised a shopping mall, started in November last year, more than a year after the groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 2019. Phase one was expected to be completed in June this year.
However, the developers are yet to deliver on their promises, and this has left their clients fuming.
In a letter dated 6 November, signed by 27 prospective homeowners calling themselves the Green Valley House Owners’ Concerned Group and addressed to the developers, they stated their disappointment with the slow progress in completing the houses while deductions have already started.
“The house owners are in a big financial crisis due to double payments being incurred on the Green Valley housing expense and the rent expense at the current residences,” reads the letter. They further complained that the construction has gone beyond the promised completion date, while no construction is happening at the site.
In an interview, the chairperson of the concerned prospective homeowners Martin Lubanda said they have approached the developers on many occasions, but they have not received satisfactory answers.
“They initially promised us that the houses will be completed in June. June ended, and they said August, which also ended. They then said October, and it has also come and passed. Now, they promised us that they will finish in December. However, from the look of things, there is no progress at the site. Those houses will not be completed by December,” charged Lubanda.
“From my side, they started with deductions in August, and they are deducting the whole amount, including the subsidy. Our concern is that we are paying for houses in which we are not staying. For some members, deductions started in February, while others are seeing deductions for a house with only a foundation.”
Vice chairperson Oliver Simasiku shared similar sentiments, and stressed that the group feel they are being swindled in broad daylight.
“We feel as if they are stealing from us. My house is below the window level, but they started deducting in July already. My understanding is that a house should be a completed structure, not just bricks,” stressed Simasiku. In a response dated 10 November, Kayunyi Investments said the delay to complete the houses has been caused by challenges beyond their control.
“A very slow pace of property registration with the banks and attorneys for more than two years on some applications, led to a random selection of houses to start construction on at the developers’ own risk. This has further led to a waste of valuable time on a property, where some clients’ loans have been declined by their banks after capital had been invested in the construction of the houses,” the developer explained.
The letter further states that “the slow pace of property registration has also led to an increase in building costs due to individual house construction instead of bulk construction, which was the intention in making the development as economically feasible for our clients as possible, whilst still maintaining a proper standard of construction.” These issues were resolved and construction was to resume on 15 November, the company said. Efforts to get comment from Kayunyi Investments’ representative, one Ronald Kisting, proved futile as his mobile phone was not answered and he did not respond to questions sent to the mobile phone and/or email.
The Green Valley suburb is located near the Shackdwellers and Cowboy locations, and promises units ranging from N$461 440 for two-bedroom houses and N$768 320 for three-bedroom houses, excluding transfer and land costs.