OSHIVELO -The owner of Oshivelo Farm, Jan Harm Cronje has promised to provide staff housing if land is to be made available and if the need arises among his employees. 

Cronje said, he weeps to note many people are without a piece of land to call home.
“People do not need a big place where they can farm, even if you resettle these people, the land is still not theirs. All what people need is something that they can confidently and proudly say is theirs. Therefore, if land is to be made available, I am willing to build for my employees a house that can range between N$150 000 and N$250 000, of which the cost can be shared over time,” said Cronje who runs a horticulture farm near Oshivelo.

“I will still craft my proposal which I can formally forward to council for consideration to either provide serviced plots or alternatively virgin land that I can service at my own cost for such development. If I service the land, at least regional council can takeover to provide electricity,” he added. 

Cronje is a fulltime career farmer, and started operations in 2012 at a 500-hectare piece of land, a portion he leases from Onguma farm.

Meanwhile, the control administration officer for Oshivelo, Maria Shipanga said there is an area earmarked for residential plots but it is not yet serviced. 

“Perhaps once this area is serviced we might consider your proposal or it can be integrated within that area. Land might seem to be there but it’s never available because even empty land is owned by someone, so acquisition is a challenge,” she noted. 
The multiple-award winning farmer, further said he has plans to bring more development in Oshivelo, revealing that he has N$100 000 set aside for the construction of a soccer and netball field. “Money is available for this purpose, it’s just a matter of acquiring land. Once land is allocated, we will kick-start immediately,” he vowed.