GOBABIS - Land surveying of the Kanaan C informal settlement in Gobabis is projected to incur a total cost of N$900 000.

This is according to Jacob Tjinae, the secretary of the Kanaan C Upgrading Committee.

He said the specified amount will be sourced from over 4 400 households residing in the settlement. Each household is mandated to contribute N$210.

“We have communicated to our community the necessity of contributing funds to facilitate our development. This entails a contribution of N$210 per household, adding up to over N$900 000. These funds will be allocated for the engagement of a land surveyor,” said Tjinae.

He said the community will have to cover these expenses from their own resources.

“Currently, this is the challenge we are grappling with. We have established an account managed jointly by two committee members and one municipal representative,” he said.

According to Tjinae, they need half of the required amount for commencing the land surveying. The contributions have thus far reached N$380 958.96, and the community has called on the municipality to extend its support.

“We are pleading with our municipality to assist us in this regard, we tried our best to meet them halfway. We know there is always a budget allocated for such projects from the government’s side, they could even lend us the money and we can refund this amount after the completion,” Tjinae said.

Gobabis Municipality public relations officer Frederick Ueitele, however, clarified that the project is a community-driven initiative. 

He said the municipality’s involvement will follow the completion of the land survey and said the surveyor is scheduled to commence work at the end of this month.

“The surveyor will be on site in November, as the deadline for payments is 31 October,” said Ueitele.

Ueitele also indicated that failure to make the N$210 contribution will not lead to eviction or relocation but will instead result in a penalty of N$40 or more. - Nampa