WALVIS BAY – Walvis Bay councillor Ryan Gordon is advocating for plots to be made available for low-income-earners as they are not catered for by mainstream financial institutions.

Gordon tabled a motion during the last council meeting, in which he wanted council to make extension 11, Erf 4608 and Erf 4609 in Narraville available to low-income-earners. The size of the plots is 8.4 hectares in total.

More than 50 000 of the town’s inhabitants are living in shacks and rental properties due to a shortage of land and affordability of land.

 He stated that people are aware that they cannot afford houses or access finances, hence they do not want houses, but want land that they can pay off and build on in their own time.

 “I can assure you that taxi drivers, domestic workers, petrol attendants, security guards and others with low salaries would be able to pay a deposit on a piece of land, and continue to pay it off in instalments. Our people do not need houses, but just a piece of land”, Gordon explained to New Era yesterday.

 According to him, most of these workers did not have an opportunity to finish their school career due to a lack of finances, and cannot further be burdened by exorbitant home loan instalments.

 “For people with little or no possibility to empower themselves economically, land is the ultimate resource. Hence, owning a piece of land means that they have a place to call home. That is the desire of every Namibian overall,” he reasoned.

He said the Namibian constitution advocates for access to secure land tenure, while it also speaks about accelerating access to the delivery of secure tenure in informal urban areas to people without any rights to the land they are presently occupying.

 “Plots become houses, and houses are turned into homes. We are aware of the shack fires, and loss of lives and personal belongings that go hand-in-hand with such fires. Therefore, we really want our people out of shacks and into their own houses”, Gordon added.

According to him, the purpose of his motion is for council to step up and restore the dignity and lives of the town’s residents.

Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes said housing is a nationwide problem, and it is council’s ultimate vision to make access to housing and land easier for its residents.

The motion was passed unopposed by council.

- edeklerk@nepc.com.na