WALVIS BAY – The Walvis Bay Municipality will transfer the Tutaleni housing units situated on the outskirts of the town to their current tenants, said the Mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, on Sunday during a Swapo Party rally held at the town.
The mayor also said that plans are underway to relocate some backyard squatters at the town to another area early next year.
“Some of our residents in Tutaleni and backyard squatters will be relocated by 2014. Also the formalisation of ownership for Tutaleni and the hostel re-development will also be completed next year,” Nambahu told the rally.
The Walvis Bay Municipality built Tutaleni in 2000 in an effort to curb the growing number of shacks at the town and to move squatters to a hygienic area with basic services.
The Tutaleni housing units comprise of a platform with a sink and a bathroom and tenants were required to put up their own structures with material approved by the municipality.
One large area was divided into 289 plots. Four housing units were set up on one such plot.
The concept earned the Walvis Bay Municipality the Dubai Award for Best Practices in 2002.
The initial idea was that Tutaleni would remain the property of the Walvis Bay Municipality and that residents would simply just rent the plots for about N$170 per month. Approximately 4 000 people currently reside in Tutaleni.
The Housing and Properties Manager at the Walvis Bay Municipality, Jack Manale, during an interview said the ownership cannot be given to tenants at this stage, as the size of the plots are smaller than what is stipulated by the local government act.
“Therefore, investigations are currently being conducted to formalize the area in terms of the size and then give ownership to current tenants,” he explained.
He went on to say the current option is to combine at least two units per person.
“Then we will relocate the remaining people to another area,” he said, and further revealed the relocation will only be conducted after the planning process and the new area to which the tenants will be relocated are identified.
Two new extensions have also been identified for special housing already and council is currently awaiting approval from the relevant ministries to set the process in motion. He could however not say how much the projects would cost the municipality.
By Eveline de Klerk