Tsumeb
It was a very happy day for many elderly residents of the town after they received from the town council the house they have been staying in for decades.
Speaking at the official handover of contractual agreements to some of the elderly, Tsumeb Mayor Ndangi Shetekeela said he was very delighted to witness such a memorable day.
Shetekeela said that for the past ten years residents have been calling for the alienation of houses as most of them have stayed in the houses for close to forty years. He said the municipality first had to look at reducing the debt before considering to donate the houses to them.
A total of 195 houses in Nomtsoub residential area were signed off to residents.
“We took the decision to alienate the houses after writing off pensioners’ debts amounting to N$11 million,” he said.
The beneficiaries will only be expected to pay the legal costs for having the house registered in their name.
He however warned residents not to try to sell the houses.
“We have included in the agreement that the owners of the houses are not allowed to sell them for the next five years and beyond.”
He said the first alienation was done in 1992. He could however not state how many houses were alienated back in 1992.
The chief executive officer of the Tsumeb Town Council Archie Benjamin noted that the municipality has negotiated with local lawyers to charge not more than N$2 000 for transfer costs.
“We have made it less expensive for people who have to pay legal costs but if they really cannot pay we will look into helping them,” he said
Benjamin says the houses are valued at between N$10 000 and N$40 000 each.
About 280 houses will be donated towards the end of the year pending ministerial approval.
New Era spoke to 73-year-old Magdalena Naris on how she felt about the donation.
“I am so pleased and happy that my grandchildren will have a house after I die one day,” she said
Naris said it was a good step towards economic development for the poor as they now have ownership of the houses they have occupied since the colonial times.
The 93-year-old Alfons !Noabeb also said he was happy that he now owns a house after spending so many years in the house.
“My children’s children now have a house that they can stay in when I pass on,” he said.