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Media Monitoring on Urban Development in Namibia

Media Monitoring on Urban Development in Namibia is a service provided by Development Workshop Namibia (DWN), a Namibian NGO with a focus on sustainable urban development and poverty reduction. DWN is part of a world-wide network of Development Workshop (DW) organisations with centres in Canada, Angola and France, and offices in Vietnam and Burkino Faso. It was founded in the 1970s by three architect students in the UK and has been funded by non-governmental organisations, private citizens, and national and international development organisations. In Namibia, DWN’s activities focus on urban related research, effective urban planning for the urban poor, solutions to informal settlements, water & sanitation, and projects specifically targeting disadvantaged segments of the urban youth. Through 40 years of engagement on urban issues mainly in Africa and Asia, the DW network of organisations has acquired significant institutional knowledge and capacity and is well integrated in regional and international networks. The Namibian media provide an important source of information on urban development processes in the country, highlighting current events, opportunities and challenges. The media further provide insight into the different views and perceptions of a variety of actors, be it from government, non-government, private sector, and individuals that reside in Namibia’s towns and settlements. It is therefore hoped that DWN’s Media Monitoring service will provide insights into those different views, with potential use for a variety of institutions and decision-makers that work in the urban environment in Namibia. The Media Monitoring service is currently provided on a monthly basis and monitors the following newspapers: The Namibian, Republikein, Namibian Sun, New Era, Windhoek Observer, Confidente, and Informante. The articles are grouped into following categories:

Compiled by: Esleen Guriras & Alina Nambuli Edited by: Beat Weber Produced by: Development Workshop Namibia Address: 18 Nachtigal Street PO Box 40723, Ausspannplatz Windhoek, Namibia 081 627 92 53 b.weber@dw-namibia.org

With support from: Namibian Chamber of Environment

1. Urban Planning, Land & Housing

2. Urban Infrastructure and Services

3. Livelihoods and Urban Economy

4. Environment & Human Health

The text of the news articles has not been altered and thus reflects the opinion of the respective media outlets, and not that of DWN. We hope you find this service useful and interesting. DWN is keen to improve the service and welcomes suggestions and comments. Yours sincerely, Development Workshop Namibia

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Index

1 URBAN PLANNING, LAND AND HOUSING ......................................................................................... 3

1.1 Geingob postpones second land conference .......................................................................................... 3

1.2 Katima land grabbers given ultimatum ................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Shaningwa hands over 29 houses in Opuwo ........................................................................................... 4

1.4 Local authorities discuss options for urban land delivery ....................................................................... 5

1.5 Venaani blasts Govt over land conference postponement ..................................................................... 5

1.6 Swakop deals with Build Together issues................................................................................................ 6

1.7 Karibib's Harambee community in limbo ................................................................................................ 7

1.8 Polycare ready for Nam housing crisis .................................................................................................... 8

1.9 Groot Aub incorporated into Windhoek ................................................................................................. 8

1.10 Landless at Walvis served with eviction notice ................................................................................... 9

1.11 NHE fails to build houses ................................................................................................................... 10

1.12 NHE: Geskil oor massabehuising duur voort: aksie teen Hailulu beweer ......................................... 11

1.13 Delays slow development ................................................................................................................. 12

1.14 NHE bou geen huise: huise oral onbewoon ...................................................................................... 13

1.15 Harambee Valley will be a 'smart city' .............................................................................................. 14

1.16 1 000 apply for land at Okahao ......................................................................................................... 15

1.17 Town planners criticise govt ............................................................................................................. 15

1.18 A canopy is where home is ................................................................................................................ 16

1.19 Land-a-Dollar campaign money unaccounted for ............................................................................. 17

1.20 Tsumeb council addresses land issue ................................................................................................ 18

1.21 Unam defends Land-a-Dollar ............................................................................................................ 19

1.22 Karasburg houses vacant .................................................................................................................. 19

2 URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES ....................................................................................... 20

2.1 Drie kinders verkool in hutbrande: Vyfjarige meisie doen erge brandwonde op ................................. 20

2.2 Nuwe aanleg sit wind terug in Blikkiesdorp se seile ............................................................................. 20

2.3 Wind to power informal settlement ..................................................................................................... 21

2.4 Water shortages cripple Rundu ............................................................................................................ 21

3 LIVELIHOODS AND URBAN ECONOMY ........................................................................................... 23

3.1 Learner turns hobby into income source .............................................................................................. 23

3.2 Vendors unhappy with market facelift .................................................................................................. 23

3.3 Oshikango market opened .................................................................................................................... 24

3.4 The 'normal' job at the dumpsite .......................................................................................................... 25

3.5 Helao Nafidi Council closes Katwitwi business centre .......................................................................... 25

3.1 Kahungu turns to help bereaved Havana resident ................................................................................ 26

3.2 Surviving on selling poles ...................................................................................................................... 26

3.3 Mee Ndeshi is mother to all .................................................................................................................. 27

4 ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH ........................................................................................... 29

4.1 Katima dumpsite a health hazard for locals .......................................................................................... 29

4.2 Teaming up to keep Katima Mulilo clean .............................................................................................. 30

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1 Urban Planning, Land and Housing

1.1 Geingob postpones second land conference

The Namibian|01/09/2017 President Hage Geingob yesterday said he was postponing to next year the much-anticipated four-day second National Land Conference which had been scheduled for 18 September. Geingob said this at State House yesterday when he met The Namibian's founding editor and executive chairperson of the Namibia Media Trust Gwen Lister, who handed over the Windhoek Declaration on Press Freedom. He said various parties involved, among them the Namibian Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof) and the Swapo Party Youth League had raised concerns about the insufficient time for consultations ahead of the conference. During a Swapo meeting last month, Geingob also informed central committee members that the land conference had been postponed after some civil society groups had complained about inadequate consultations. Nangof executive director Uhuru Dempers said they wrote two letters to the President, asking him to cancel the disputed land conference. “In the letters, we detailed our reasons for the postponement of the conference, including the fact that we might not hold a successful event because there were no proper consultations,” said Dempers. In his response to Nangof's letter, which The Namibian has seen, Geingob said the government was open to considering the viewpoints of all stakeholders. “I, therefore, note your motivations and recommendations to postpone the second National Land Conference to next year,” the President wrote back in a letter dated 29 August. “Taking into consideration the time constraints and other factors involved in ensuring that we hold an effective and successful land conference, the government is ready to put the conference on hold to allow all stakeholders adequate time to prepare,” he wrote. In the letter, Geingob further said that he would appoint an independent individual with a reputable character and credentials in public service administration to spearhead the organising committee. “I would like to point out to you that this conference is being organised by government, which was elected by 80% of the Namibian people and therefore has the full mandate to organise, chair and preside over all matters concerning the conference,” he stated.

1.2 Katima land grabbers given ultimatum

The Namibian|01/09/2017 Katima Mulilo chief executive officer Raphael Liswaniso has given land grabbers at the town two months to vacate their plots. The council has so far identified 133 illegal land grabbers. More than 100 people in the town have been grabbing unserviced land that is between Choto and Cowboy settlements since June this year. Liswaniso yesterday urged the land grabbers, most of whom have taken land at Macaravani West, Cowboy, Mahohoma and New Cowboy areas, to take the eviction notices served to them on Tuesday seriously. “We, as the council, have followed the law and issued eviction notices to the identified land grabbers in those informal settlements. “They have two months to vacate the land, or the council will take legal action to demolish their structures,” he warned, adding that the council has been civil with squatters over three years. Liswaniso said they have already had more than three meetings this year with the land grabbers, but their numbers continue to swell every day and they are now erecting structures during the night. “We have exhausted all the options to resolve the matter peacefully, but it persists at an alarming rate. “During the meetings, we advised them to register with the suburb committee members so that council can start determining where to place them procedurally,” he further said. He added that due to lack of cooperation from the squatters, the council had been forced to hand over the matter to the police leading to the recent arrest of some squatters. “As long as you can prove that you are a Namibian and that you do not have land, we will not hesitate to register and give you land legally. “However, some of the land grabbers are not even Namibians, but they want land. “People should also know that providing land is a process as the land

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has to be identified and serviced, which is costly,” he noted. He warned people who are registering with the suburb committees not to pay any fee because the council has not authorised anyone to collect money during the registration process. According to Liswaniso, people must report to the police those who ask for payment. “The council will only collect money from people once they have received the deed of sale,” he explained. Betty Simasiku (43), who was served with an eviction notice on Tuesday, told The Namibian yesterday that police forced them to sign the eviction letters or face arrest. “Police forced us to sign those eviction letters without allowing us to read them. “I do not know where the Katima Mulilo Town Council wants us to go as they are not providing us with plots. “In 2015 we were told to register, and we paid N$3 000, but until today we do not have plots, and we did not get our money back,” she claimed. Another woman, Josephine Mufwanzala (55), who was also served with an eviction notice, said she would not go anywhere. “I will not leave the house that I have built; they can demolish my house while I am inside because it seems I am not a Namibian. “I have been registering for the past four years, but they failed to provide me with land now they are chasing us (from here) like dogs,” she lamented.

1.3 Shaningwa hands over 29 houses in Opuwo

The New Era|04/09/2017 Urban and Rural Development Minister Sophia Shaningwa on Friday handed over 29 houses to new homeowners in Opuwo. The 29 complete houses handed over are among the 53 houses to be built under the mass housing development programme in Opuwo. The government took a decision to provide affordable houses to the low and medium-income groups, thus reducing the price for the houses for ultra-low and low-income groups to as little as N$70,000 per house, which is lower than the actual construction cost of N$199,561, and with a monthly instalment of N$550 per month. Shaningwa said the houses are made for first-time buyers and she urged those who already have houses to give a chance to those who do not have. She also urged those responsible for the construction of houses and people responsible for the allocation of houses to the beneficiaries or screening the beneficiaries to redouble their efforts to avoid situations of houses standing unoccupied and being at the risk of being vandalized. The minister urged the beneficiaries to honour their home loan payment obligations to the government and banks so that the money they are paying can be used to build more houses for other needy Namibians. Shaningwa also stressed that the government will continue its efforts towards scaling up the delivery of affordable houses in the country with a special focus on the housing needs of first-time homeowners, especially in the low and medium-income groups and those living in informal settlements. She urged the local authorities to avail land and service the land for residents to have decent shelter. She expressed dissatisfaction with some local authorities that are delaying the provision of both land and houses to people, saying this attitude holds back national developmental aspirations. Shaningwa urged beneficiaries to take care of the houses and not change ownership of the property for the next ten years, as is policy. She also told them not to put up corrugated-iron shacks around the new houses. Despite the 29 out of 53 houses being completed in Opuwo, Shaningwa expressed her disappointment with the contractor for the delayed delivery of the houses due to the poor relationship between the main contractor and the sub-contractors. She urged this poor relationship to come to an end to speed up the provision of houses to people who need decent shelter. One of the beneficiaries expressed her gratitude towards the government for ensuring that they got decent shelter at an affordable price. The mass housing development programme was launched in November 2013 by former president Hifikepunye Pohamba as an intervention aimed at reducing the backlog in housing in the country especially for the ultra-low, low and middle-income groups. As stipulated in the Harambee Prosperity Plan and Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), the provision of affordable houses in Namibia should ensure that no one in the Namibian House is left out. Opuwo is one of the local authorities in Kunene Region that benefitted from this programme among Khorixas and Outjo, which will see a total of 106 houses being built in Kunene, of which 20 houses have been already handed over to beneficiaries in Outjo.

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1.4 Local authorities discuss options for urban land delivery

The Namibian|05/09/2017 The Association for Local Authorities in Namibia (Alan) has welcomed President Hage Geingob's decision to postpone the second land conference, saying the issue of urban land delivery also needed to be addressed. Geingob announced last week that the second land conference had been postponed to next year in order to conduct further consultations. At an Alan consultative meeting in Windhoek last week, some key issues were discussed, including how to speed up urban land delivery. Alan president Katrina Shimbulu told The Namibian after the meeting that it appeared that unless local authorities stepped up their game, the issue of urban land would be on the backburner again at the second land conference. Shimbulu said Alan was delighted that the land reform ministry had expressed a willingness to receive recommendations contained in its position paper. “The key issue that has been long on the local government agenda is to find ways to speed up land delivery through legislative and other administrative reforms,” she said. According to Shimbulu, urban land issues were becoming critical because the general growth of informal settlements and urban poverty drove urbanisation trends. Concerted efforts were also needed in the area of land use management in urban areas to ensure fairer and environmentally and socially sustainable land use. Alan vice president Gabriel Freyer said one of the strategic options for urban land delivery would be to re-look relevant laws. He said there have been many instances of farmers seeking town lands for farming activities, only to be frustrated by local bureaucracy. “We have to know what our people know best, and farming is that, so we have to create opportunities for them,” Freyer noted. The convener of the Namibia Non-governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof) working group on land reform, Uhuru Dempers, last week expressed disappointment in land reform minister Utoni Nujoma. He had requested a meeting with the minister to discuss the preparations and planning of the second land conference, but his request had not even been acknowledged. According to Dempers, Nangof has invested a lot of resources, time and effort in preparing for the conference. “Our organisation has made concrete recommendations to the government on the steps necessary to organise an outcomes-based conference, and will support efforts by government in this regard,” he said. Dempers also accused the land reform ministry of misleading the public when it informed the media that Nangof was responsible for the initial postponement of the second national land conference in 2016. “We condemn this misleading and false information. It was the minister of land reform who announced through a press release that government had decided to postpone the conference, citing the lack of funds as the main reason,” he said.

1.5 Venaani blasts Govt over land conference postponement

The Namibian|05/09/2017 SWAPO is either not serious or is clueless about dealing with the burning land issue, DTA of Namibia president McHenry Venaani said yesterday. He said this at a press conference, where he also announced that his party had postponed its own “preparatory internal” land conference which was supposed to take place this week. The DTA's postponement follows shortly after President Hage Geingob announced the postponement of the national land conference, which had been scheduled for this month. The DTA's land conference was supposed to have run from yesterday to tomorrow, and would have produced a position paper which was to have been presented at the national land conference. “We cannot hold our land conference if the agenda of the national land conference is not known. We are supposed to go and table an alternative position at the conference, so we should know what the issues at stake are,” Venaani stressed. Last week, President Geingob postponed the second national land conference to next year, saying various interest groups had raised concerns about not being given sufficient time for consultations. The land conference was initially scheduled for late last

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year, but was also postponed due to a lack of funds at the time. Venaani said no clear reasons have been provided as to why the conference has been postponed again, claiming that the reason that there was a lack of consultation was not justifiable. “We are hearing the proposition of government postponing because of consultations, but there are no justifications [why] consultations were not done. To postpone the land conference means government has no idea how we are going to resolve this matter in this country,” he stated. He said the postponement was also an indication that the Swapo government was engaged in party politics with national issues, and was not serious about solving such issues. “It means to us that Swapo is playing politics with the land conference because they want to finish their internal party elective congress first, and attend to the land conference later,” he added. According to Venaani, there are three key issues that government should address in order to maintain peace and stability in the country. Firstly, government should set a date for the land conference, which will determine the time frame needed for public consultations. Secondly, government should stop all resettlement activities and farm purchases “because the resettlement scheme stinks of corruption and nepotism”. “We will not want to see a situation where the land conference is put on hold while government wants to continue resettling people in the manner they are doing now. That will create serious problems,” said Venaani. And thirdly, government should release the list of beneficiaries of the resettlement programme. “They talk about political accountability and transparency, yet government has refused to provide the beneficiary list for resettlement farms,” the politician continued. Earlier this year, the land reform ministry's permanent secretary, Peter Amutenya, said the ministry was not going to release the list of resettlement beneficiaries because it was “sensitive”. Venaani added that access to urban land and ancestral land rights should also feature prominently at the second national land conference.

1.6 Swakop deals with Build Together issues

The Namibian|06/09/2017 The Swakopmund municipality last week decided to disqualify some Build Together project beneficiaries, and to reallocate plots to several legitimate applicants. The recommendations of last week's municipal council meeting come less than a month after a peaceful demonstration by a group of Build Together beneficiaries who demanded that the municipality recognises their right to appoint their own leaders, and also to speed up the allocation of houses. The demonstrators claimed the allocation of houses at the town was too slow, and that those who had applied first had not been allocated houses. According to some of the beneficiaries, such as Liita Abed and Meliama Natanael, who were at the demonstration, their names appeared on the master list of applicants, but they were allegedly not on the municipality's housing allocation list. The master list is for those applicants who qualify for a plot. Coincidentally, Abed and Natanael are two of the 11 beneficiaries replacing the ones who have been disqualified, as per the latest council recommendations. Protesting beneficiaries also claimed that some of those occupying Build Together houses were in houses registered in other people's names – people who do not even live at Swakopmund. According to project rules, only members of a community qualify for housing support in that community. Applicants should also be resident in a specific area for at least two years, and should demonstrate an intent to settle there. Swakopmund management committee chairperson Erkki Shitana said 11 Build Together candidates' applications were suspended pending a decision on how to deal with the cases of beneficiaries who were unable to produce voters' cards or proof of employment at Swakopmund. The identified beneficiaries' documents showed they lived at other towns, but they have apparently submitted 'letters of intent' to relocate to Swakopmund. “The applicants do not meet the requirements because they are employed in other towns, and are also unable to provide valid voters' cards for Swakopmund,” said Shitana. Consequently, 11 applicants who meet the requirements have been identified as the next qualifying applicants on the Build Together waiting list, and they would be allocated plots. Five other individuals' applications which were suspended to give the municipality time to consider their cases were finally given the green light to get plots under the programme. According to Shitana, these

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applicants were in possession of voters' cards for Swakopmund, but were employed in Windhoek, or at Omaruru. “A voter's card is normally a yardstick to prove the applicant's willingness to settle in this town, as provided by the project guidelines,” he explained.

1.7 Karibib's Harambee community in limbo

The Namibian|07/09/2017 Members of an informal settlement, christened Harambee, in Karibib's Usab location are pleading with the municipality for water and electricity, but the municipality is giving them the cold shoulder because it does not recognise the settlement. The community said they have to walk at least a kilometre every day to get water from the nearest location. The chief executive officer of Karibib, Lesley Goreseb, said people living in the new settlement should go back to where they came from, and that the Harambee location was not recognised by the town. “The people in that area grabbed land, and frankly speaking, they must just go back to where they came from because at the moment, we are clearing land from just across where these people have settled,” Goreseb stated. “At this township 219 erven will be made available. So, I am advising them to apply now because we are going to evict them from that land very soon,” he said. When The Namibian visited Harambee location this week, at about 10h00 on a windy morning, some people were busy erecting shacks. At least 60 households have moved to the area, while about 40 are in the process of being set up. One of the people building was 41-year-old mother of four, Kawetu Kahorongo, who said she was from Okakarara and came to Karibib because her husband was doing contract work at a mine near the town. “For us to stay on the so-called serviced land and the townships the municipality is talking about is very expensive. We do not own the land, and have to rent from others. The rent goes up every other month because one cannot control it. If the landlord says it is going up, you just have to pay. That is why we ended up at Harambee location. “I heard a nearby farmer gave the land to the community to build houses and stay there. We are thus appealing to the municipality to meet us halfway and provide us with water and electricity,” Kahorongo said. She and her family are living in a shack without a roof. Asked if they were not fearful that the rain might destroy their property, she said it did not rain often at Karibib, and when it did, she puts a covering over the shack. A few blocks from Kahorongo's shack is the home of 62-year-old pensioner Rosa Gases. Her daughter died in 2012 and left her with five grandchildren. They survive on her monthly state pension. Gases' shack is not as big as that of Kahorongo and is built from old corrugated zinc sheets. There is a small fire outside and she is joined by two grandchildren, who ask for breakfast. “All that we survive on is my pension money. If it is finished then I rely on my good neighbours. At least for now I can say we have a roof over our heads, and I thank God that some of my grandchildren are in the hostel at Usakos. This is the only home my grandchildren and I have as I cannot afford to buy a house. I pay for water from my pension money,” she explained. Gases said she hoped the municipality would provide them with water, which she is willing to pay for. She is now also saving to buy a solar panel for electricity. The Namibian also spoke to several other households and most were happy that they have land to build a home. Some say they feel part of the President's Harambee Prosperity Plan, which goes under the slogan that no one should feel left out. However, Karibib's Goreseb said the land belonged to the municipality and that the municipality had written to the attorney general's office to seek authority to evict the people from that area. He added that they bought the land from a company and have plans for other developments on that land. They also held numerous meetings with the affected people, who do not want to move, forcing the municipality to evict them.

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1.8 Polycare ready for Nam housing crisis

The Namibian|07/09/2017 The German company Polycare Research and Technologies that promoted the low-cost housing initiative launched as part of the Invest in Namibia conference last November has found local partners. At the end of last year's international investment conference in Windhoek, Polycare Research and Technologies chief executive officer Gerhard Dust told The Namibian that he was looking for private partners, as the company works on a franchise model. This week he told The Namibian that after the launch of PolyCare Namibia on 16 August in Windhoek, they are now finishing the factory building and producing the machines, moulds, etc in Germany. The Polycare houses which could cost N$250 000 each do not need any water to build. And the housing model uses a special computerised mixing and dosing machine to mix sand (even desert sand), polyester resin and a hardening agent into a stable compound. Dust told The Namibian in an interview this week that in mid-December, they will ship all necessary equipment and by mid-January 2018, they will start production in Namibia. “The location for the first instalment (with just one producing machine) is Brakwater. With the expected growth rate we will later install more machines either at Brakwater or Okahandja or wherever the demand is big enough. One machine will produce up to two houses per day,” he said. Dust, who has support of urban and rural development minister Sophia Shaningwa, said there are private investors/developers who want this technology. Polycare Namibia is divided equally between three partners. “The majority stake in the company (66 %) is owned by Namibians. One group are construction companies and civil engineers (Namibbeton and KL Construction with the two directors Achim Lück and Nico Badenhorst). The other group is represented by Guinas Investment with the two directors Jerome Mutumba and Pauline Haindongo. (Guinas is representing Swapo),” he said. Given that recession had hit the Namibian construction industry hard, Polycare said they plan to build affordable houses in Namibia, adding that “If you do not invest in times like this, the future will never come and everybody will run with the crowd.” Dust said this compound material is put into a mould, and hardens within 20 minutes and a house takes only two days to construct. The material used to build the house is mixed in a big kitchen dough-making machine, as if making a cake, and is then put into a special mould. According to him, instead of baking to harden the “brick”, a chemical process is used instead. “The main ingredient is sand (87%). And what you get is an environmentally friendly, extremely hard and robust brick,” he explained. Dust said the innovative product has met all the European Union housing standards, which are higher than those for Namibia. For this product, Polycare won the Entrepreneur in Residence of the European Union award. Even though PolyCare's technology provides the basic wall structure for the house, it uses the roof from a company named Salzgitter Bauelemente, which comes with solar panels attached to it to provide energy to the house.

1.9 Groot Aub incorporated into Windhoek

The Namibian|11/09/2017 Government on Friday officially incorporated the Groot Aub village into the City of Windhoek, despite residents resisting the move. Government said the population growth at Groot Aub negatively impacted the well-being of the residents as they experienced water shortages that had reached crisis point. The situation was exacerbated by illegal connections. The incorporation follows a recent petition by about 750 residents of Groot Aub, who demanded that government reverses the proclamation of Groot Aub as part of the City of Windhoek. The group cited the fact that they might not be able to afford the high rates and charges by the Windhoek municipality. They also demanded that residents be given preference in the allocation of residential plots. Speaking at the land titles' handover of Groot Aub to the city last Friday, urban and rural development minister Sophia Shaningwa said land grabbing or the illegal allocation of land and the erection of structures are also some of the challenges faced by the village, as well as the lack of a proper solid and liquid waste disposal and management system, in addition to illegal mining. “The government has received numerous complaints and a cry for help from

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the residents of Groot Aub to urgently intervene to arrest the situation. In response, the government, following the law, took a decision to incorporate Groot Aub into the boundaries of the Windhoek municipality,” she said. Shaningwa lifted the moratorium issued in May on all construction activities at Groot Aub, saying the responsibility of managing and regulating all such activities at Groot Aub now falls on the Windhoek municipality, and will be done in accordance with the applicable by-laws. City of Windhoek chief executive officer Robert Kahimise said although everything at Groot Aub is free [water] that will come to an end. However, it will not be done immediately, but in phases. “All we will do this year is to get our system in order, and any illegal connections will be cut off before the residents will be getting water in a legal manner. You have until March 2018, when you will pay for the services. With time, we will talk about the rates and taxes with the residents, but it is in the next phase,” he explained. He noted that prepaid electricity will be provided to an extra 50 people at the town, while the same will be done with regards to the water provision.

1.10 Landless at Walvis served with eviction notice

The New Era|11/09/2017 More than 1,000 landless people residing on 10 plots between the main road and Tutaleni in Walvis Bay face possible eviction by the Walvis Bay Municipality. The problem of a shortage of residential plots at Walvis Bay is so acute that 50,000 people, which is half of the town’s population, share 13,500 shacks, translating to about four individuals per shack. The residents could find themselves out in the cold once again after they were served with an eviction order a week ago (last Thursday) by the Walvis Bay sheriff. They are expected to vacate the plots within 10 days, according to the eviction order. This despite the fact that some of them were temporarily resettled on a piece of land by the municipality last year after clashing with the police for illegally occupying private land behind Tutaleni. This is the second time the municipality instituted an eviction order against the landless residents, who said they were forced to occupy the land due to high rental cost of shacks as well as the unavailability of affordable land and houses at the town. The municipality in May also tried to obtain an interim interdict against the landless but it was dismissed after its legal representative failed to show up at court. Speaking on behalf of residents, Nehale LyaMpingana told New Era yesterday they were surprised by the latest move of the municipality as they were under the impression they would be accommodated on the piece of land while the council sought a permanent solution. “We are very worried as we have nowhere else to go with our families. Some of the women even have small babies. Who do we turn to if the people that are supposed to look after our needs are letting us down?” LyaMpingana said yesterday. He however added that they are hoping for a solution so that they won’t have to move. When contacted on Tuesday lawyer Henry Shimutikweni, who successfully had the previous eviction order nullified, said that it was too premature to comment on the issue. “I can’t really comment although we are working on it. We will however only know by Thursday how we will assist the landless residents at Walvis Bay,” he said. CEO of the Walvis Bay Municipality, Muronga Haingura, could not be reached yesterday as he was engaged in a series of meetings related to the matter.

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1.11 NHE fails to build houses

The Namibian Sun|13/09/2017 President Hage Geingob is accused of having “misled” the Namibian nation by claiming during his 2017 state of the nation address (SONA) that more than 5 000 houses had been built with public money during the previous financial year. During his SONA address in April, Geingob boasted that 5 554 houses had been completed nationwide in the first year of implementation of the Harambee Prosperity Plan, which was in 2016. However, the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), which has as its core mandate the construction of affordable housing, has acknowledged that not a single new house has been built by the parastatal since the departure of beleaguered former CEO Vinson Hailulu in August 2015. President Geingob's Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) had estimated that 20 000 houses would have been built, 27 000 plots serviced and 50 000 rural toilets installed to replace the bucket system by the end of 2017. NHE spokesperson Eric Libongani this week confirmed that the parastatal had “not executed its own housing project” since around August 2015, admitting that the NHE had not embarked on any new housing projects since then. However, Libongani said the NHE had been “working towards a new housing project model through Request for Proposals (RFP) in which the NHE will engage with private-sector companies in financing and construction of houses across Namibia”. He said 54 bidders had so far submitted proposals and the first phase of this construction project was at an advanced stage. Last year, the NHE announced that the RFP model would deliver 5 000 houses at an estimated cost of N$2 billion. By then, a number of Chinese and other companies had submitted their bids. Libongani said during the first phase of the project the NHE envisaged the delivery of more than 400 houses. It is not yet clear who the bidders are. NHE insiders who preferred anonymity said they were embittered about the slow delivery of housing and the stoppage of the mass housing project. They said the NHE during Hailulu's tenure had built 3 500 houses under the mass housing project in about 10 to 11 months. “If the project had been properly funded and not politicised, the NHE might have been in a position to build as many as 20 000 houses,” said one, adding: “Africa is the enemy of its own development. We value politics more than we value economics.” The insiders acknowledged that the mass housing project did experience “teething problems” but insisted that it nonetheless employed 4 880 workers who on average earned at least N$4 000 per month, which they said meant that around 25 000 people directly benefitted from the programme. The government, and in particular the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, is said to be failing to distribute the houses that the NHE had built before the middle of 2015. At the end of July this year, a whopping 87% of credit-linked houses bought through loans were unoccupied; only 31% of heavily subsidised social housing was occupied. President Geingob made mention of this in his 2017 SONA address when he noted that “some houses remained unoccupied for too long due to the bureaucratic process involved in the transfer of ownership of land”. Geingob then mentioned that his administration was following up on these cases and working with partners to expedite the process. That is what the president said on 12 April, and on 24 April his office sent a letter to the NHE with a request to develop and submit an action plan to deal with unallocated housing units built under the mass housing project. Geingob had already communicated with the minister of urban and rural development, Sophia Shaningwa, on the unallocated houses in January and Shaningwa informed her staff to expedite the allocation of the houses.It is understood that the ministry has taken over the role from the NHE to allocate the houses.

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1.12 NHE: Geskil oor massabehuising duur voort: aksie teen Hailulu beweer

Republikein|13/09/2015 Die minister van landelike en stedelike ontwikkeling, me. Sophia Shaningwa, en ander hooggeplaaste amptenare word daarvan beskuldig dat hulle oneerlik was oor die mislukking van die multimiljard-massabehuisingskema. Die minister het glo probeer om haar eer te red nadat pres. Hage Geingob die projek dadelik gestop het toe sy ‘n voorlegging aan die kabinet gemaak en voorgestel het die projek moet weens verliese gestaak word. Die opvatting is geskep dat daar grootskaalse korrupsie in die toekenning van tenders was. Bronne binne die Nasionale Behuisingsonderneming (NHE) voer aan dat die kabinet Shaningwa se voorlegging huidjie en muidjie aanvaar het, sonder om die beweringe te bevraagteken of te ondersoek. Een van die sake wat hulle voel ondersoek moes word, is die besonderhede in die verslag van N$3,5 miljoen wat deur bourekenaars op versoek van die regering opgestel is. Daarin is bevind die huispryse van die projek was, strydig met die openbare siening, nié oordrewe hoog nie. Trouens, die bevinding was dat dit minder as die markwaarde was. Die bronne, wat anoniem wil bly, sê verder die NHE het nie een keer tydens die eerste fase van die massabehuisingsprojek geld van die sentrale regering daarvoor ontvang nie. Die NHE het N$220 miljoen by Bank Windhoek geleen om daardie fase te finansier. Hulle voer verder aan dat die NHE vir elke sent wat hy vir die massabehuisingsprojek ontvang het, verantwoording kan doen. Ondanks hierdie feite het die kabinet en Shaningwa stilgebly toe die voormalige uitvoerende hoof van die NHE, mnr. Vincent Hailulu, se integriteit bevraagteken is en sy openbare beeld skade gely het. “Die wegneem van die projek by die NHE was ‘n mosie van wantroue in dié staatsonderneming. Nie een van die sleutelbeweringe deur minister Shaningwa aan die kabinet kon gestaaf word nie. Tog het die regering steeds nie met die waarheid vorendag gekom en die saak reggestel nie. Hulle wou Hailulu diskrediteer deur kwessies kunsmatig tot op die vlak van korrupsie te verhef,” beweer die bronne. Dié beweringe teen Shaningwa volg nadat amptenare van die NHE die direkteur-generaal van die Teenkorrupsiekommissie (ACC), mnr. Paulus Noa, daarvan beskuldig het dat hy sy plig versuim het deur nie in te gaan op beweringe van bedrog en korrupsie soos in 'n Deloitte-ondersoek bevind is nie. Die bronne beweer Shaningwa het die verslag aan die ACC oorhandig, en nie aan die NHE-raad nie, en aangedring dat sekere van die vermeende ongerymdhede verder ondersoek word. Noa het egter geweier om ondersoek te doen en aangevoer dat dit ‘n administratiewe kwessie is wat intern hanteer moet word. DELOITTE-VERSLAG Die bronne in die binnekring voer aan die Deloitte-verslag was nie ‘n forensiese verslag nie, maar bloot ‘n algemene een oor die werksaamhede van dié staatsonderneming. Dit het die NHE egter N$750 000 gekos. Uit ‘n bespreking van die verslag op ‘n NHE-raadsvergadering op 17 Januarie vanjaar, blyk dit “die verslag toon oorhoofs dat die NHE se boeke nie op datum is nie en reggestel moet word”. Bevindinge wissel van duplikaatinskrywings in die leningsboek tot vermiste leggers en dokumente. Die nuwe raad onder die voorsitterskap van mnr. Sam Shivute was toe van mening dat dissiplinêre stappe teen sekere senior werknemers gedoen moes word oor dié foutiewe inskrywings. Delotte het op 7 Maart weer ‘n verslag oor sekere bykomende oudits oor aspekte van die leningsboek aan die raad voorgelê. Die aanbeveling was onder meer dat die ‘n geoutomatiseerde stelsel geïmplementeer en die historiese data verbeter word. Beide Hailulu en die voormalige senior bestuurder van tegniese dienste, mnr. Uazuva Kaumbi, is egter vrygespreek van enige onregmatige optrede in die toekenning van tenders vir die bou van huise vir dié projek. Bewyse is gelewer dat Kaumbi sy belange verklaar het in ‘n projek op Lüderitz waarvan sy seun 'n aandeelhouer in die kontrakteursmaatskappy was. Die aanbevelings en keuringe is egter wel deur sy afdeling gedoen. Daar is verder bevind Hailulu het homself onttrek aan die projek waartydens die Otjomuise-bouprojek aan die kontrakteur Titus Nakumba, ‘n familielid van sy vrou, toegeken is. Die NHE se tenderbeleid dwing nie iemand om te onttrek wanneer daar ‘n konflik van belange is nie. In die verslag is wel bevind die tenderproses “was oorhoofs gebrekkig en is in verskeie gevalle verontagsaam”. In sommige gevalle is bevind die kontrakteurs is “eenvoudig met die hand uitgesoek”. “Die tenderbeleid wat gegeld het ten tyde van

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massabehuising en tydens die toekenning van sekere tenders soos Oruhalo, (kontrakteur vir die Lüderitz-projek) en Kata Investment (kontrakteur vir die projek op Otjiwarongo), was nie volgens die voorgestelde praktyk nie,” lui die notule van die Maart-vergadering van die NHE-raad. Oruhapo het ‘n N$24,6 miljoen-kontrak gekry en 79 huise gebou. Kata Investments het na wat berig word nie aan die vereistes voldoen nie en ook nie die sperdatum vir voorleggings gehaal nie. ‘n Kontrak van N$16,5 miljoen vir 71 huise op Otjiwarongo is egter steeds aan dié kontrakteur toegeken. Die dogter van oudpres, Hifikepunye Pohamba, me. Kaupumhote Pohamba, en me. Taschiona !Gawaxab, dogter van die voormalige besturende direkteur van Old Mutual Africa, mnr. Johannes !Gawaxab, is die eienaars van Kata Investments CC. Minister Shaningwa kon nie vir kommentaar bereik word nie, terwyl haar kantoor ook nie op skriftelike vrae oor die kwessie geantwoord nie.

1.13 Delays slow development

The New Era|13/09/2017 In a self-described military-style effort to avoid a potential loss of “tens of millions of Namibian dollars” the City of Windhoek this year hastily processed 217 rezoning applications which had been part of a backlog dating back to 2010. Minutes from the August City of Windhoek council meeting show that slow progress in processing 352 rezoning applications had “created huge frustration in the industry”, at a time when development could play a crucial role for the city's prospects. The council documents indicate that the municipality is partly blaming the delays on the limitations of the existing policy areas, and City officials have recommended an “urgent re-evaluation of the policy areas and its implementation.” Four applications from 2010, nine from 2011, 14 from 2012, 17 from 2013, 59 from 2014, 107 from 2015 and 142 dating back to last year, have led to mounting frustration among developers and others. City officials, as per the council minutes, noted that a “major concern” was that there were no provisions allowing the City to “use policy areas as a development guideline tool” and a number of problems have plagued rezoning application processes to the detriment of the City's town planning schemes. Policy areas are areas that have been identified as multi-purpose land use areas, where rezoning applications in theory can be approved quicker, but industry insiders say that some applications take several years to be processed. However, the municipality noted that rezoning applications in these policy areas “do not guarantee automatic approval” although many, including consultants and applicants, “regard it as an automatic approval” which has led to numerous appeals at Namibia Planning and Advisory Board (Nampab). As a result of this, the City claims that development in regards to land-use changes and development potential is being “determined by developers, consultants and some property speculators” and not by the municipality. “Put another way – the City of Windhoek is no longer guiding land-use management.” In a final attempt push for the processing of hundreds of outstanding applications, members of the Namibia Institute of Town and Regional Planning (NITRP) earlier this year submitted an amendment scheme on behalf of the City, in an attempt to bypass the City's urban policy team and take the matter to a higher authority. NITRP approached Nampab, the authority that is authorised to approve such an amendment scheme should the option be viewed as necessary by the relevant ministry. Subsequently, Nampab advertised the proposed amendment scheme and set a 19 September deadline for the City of Windhoek to object and to respond to the scheme, which contains 217 of the 352 outstanding applications. According to the city council, the submission of the amendment scheme, and its potential approval by Nampab, could have led to a number of complications, in addition to a potential “significant loss of income amounting to several tens of millions of Namibian dollars.” The minutes state that the potential consequences of the amendment scheme may have led to the approval of applications which the City, following its guidelines, would have declined. The council also said there was a risk that applications would be approved, despite objections from the public. Another risk was the approval for “rezoning without adequate supporting infrastructure” and rezoning outside of the existing provisions of the Windhoek Town Planning Scheme. In response, the municipality compiled an action plan that revolved around “a military-style exercise” aimed at dealing with all 217 applications prior to next week's deadline. The

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minutes state that an action plan was crucial, and successful. The City noted that it was “highly unlikely” that Nampab would have accepted any further delays and that Nampab would more than likely have approved the amendment scheme as submitted by NITRP, leading to a number of potential complications as listed by the City. According to officials at the municipality, the recent events and the submission of the amendment scheme highlighted that “there is a very real and urgent need” for amending the municipality's town planning methods. “This is considered an absolutely critical issue that requires urgent resolution to regain control over development and as such it is imperative that a proper policy areas study be concluded as soon as possible.” A number of recommendations were approved by the council in order to address the issue, including a policy area study. Quick work after slow progress. The “military-style” action plan led to the municipality approving 64 applications plus 95 applications on condition of minor changes. A total of 58 could not be approved.The approved rezoning applications will now be submitted to Nampab for approval.

1.14 NHE bou geen huise: huise oral onbewoon

Republikein|15/09/2017 President Hage Geingob word daarvan beskuldig dat hy die nasie “mislei” het toe hy in sy 2017-staatsrede gesê het meer as 5 000 huise is in die vorige finansiële jaar met die publiek se geld gebou. Tydens die staatsrede in April het Geingob gespog dat 5 554 huise landswyd voltooi is in die eerste jaar sedert die implementering van die Harambee-welvaartsplan (HPP) in 2016. Die Nasionale Behuisingsonderneming (NHE), wie se maandaat dit is om bekostigbare behuising te bou, het egter erken nie 'n enkele nuwe huis is gebou sedert die vertrek van die beleërde voormalige hoofbeampte, mnr. Vinson Hailulu, in Augustus 2015 nie. Volgens pres. Geingob se HPP sou 20 000 huise teen die einde van 2017 gebou wees, 27 000 erwe gediens wees en 50 000 toilette sou die emmerstelsel op die platteland vervang. Mnr. Eric Libongani, NHE-woordvoerder, het Maandag bevestig die instansie het sedert Augustus 2015 “nie sy eie behuisingsmandaat” uitgevoer nie, en het erken die NHE het sedertdien geen nuwe behuisingsprojekte aangepak nie. Libongani het egter gesê die NHE “werk aan 'n nuwe behuisingsprojekmodel deur Versoeke vir Voorstelle (RFP) waarin die NHE met maatskappye in die private sektor hande vat vir die finansiering en konstruksie van huise dwarsoor die land”. Hy het gesê 54 bieërs het tot dusver voorleggings ingedien en die toekenning van die eerste fase van dié projek is reeds gedoen, wat volgens hom in 'n gevorderde stadium is. Die NHE het verlede jaar aangekondig die RFP-model sou 5 000 huise teen 'n geskatte koste van N$2 miljard lewer. In daardie stadium het verskeie Chinese en ander maatskappye reeds gebie. Libongani het gesê tydens die eerste fase van die projek beoog die NHE om meer as 400 huise beskikbaar te stel. Dit is nie duidelik wie die bieërs is nie. Mense in NHE-binnekringe, wat anonimiteit verkies, sê hulle is verbitterd oor die stadige vordering met behuising en die feit dat die massabehuisingsprojek tot stilstand gekom het. Hulle sê die NHE het in Hailulu se tyd binne 10 tot 11 maande 3 500 huise as deel van dié projek gebou. “As die projek reg gefinansier was en nie verpolitiseer is nie, sou die NHE dalk in 'n posisie gewees het om soveel as 20 000 huise te bou,” het een gesê en bygevoeg: “Afrika is die vyand van sy eie ontwikkeling. Ons heg meer waarde aan politiek as aan ekonomie.” Die bronne erken wel die massabehuisingsprojek het “geboortepyne” gehad, maar gesê daar is nietemin 4 880 werkers aangestel wat 'n gemiddeld van ten minste N$4 000 per maand verdien het, wat beteken sowat 25 000 mense het direk daarby gebaat. HUISE NIE TOEGEKEN Daar word gesê die regering, en veral die ministerie van stedelike en landelike ontwikkeling, faal in sy pogings om huise beskikbaar te maak wat die NHE voor die middel van 2015 gebou het. Teen die einde van Julie vanjaar was 'n yslike 87% van huise, wat op skuld gekoop is, onbewoon, en net 31% van gesubsidieerde maatskaplike behuising was bewoon. Pres. Geingob het in sy staatsrede hiervan melding gemaak toe hy daarop gewys het dat “sommige huise vir te lank onbeset is weens burokratiese rompslomp wat te doen het met die oordrag van grondeienaarskap”. Geingob het toe genoem sy administrasie was besig om dié gevalle op te volg en met vennote te werk om die proses te versnel.

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Dit is wat die president op 12 April gesê het, en op 24 April het sy kantoor 'n brief aan die NHE gestuur met 'n versoek om 'n plan van aksie op te stel en in te dien oor die huise wat onder die massa-behuisingsprojek gebou is, maar nie toegeken is nie, asook oor die emmerstelsel. Geingob het reeds in Januarie met die minister van stedelike en landelike ontwikkeling, me. Sophia Shaningwa, gepraat oor die huise wat nie toegeken is nie, waarop sy haar personeel ingelig het hulle moet die toekenning van huise bespoedig. Na wat verneem word, het die ministerie die NHE se rol in die toekenning van huise oorgeneem.

1.15 Harambee Valley will be a 'smart city'

The Namibian Sun|18/09/2017 A private development that aims to build more than 60 000 low-cost houses on the north-western outskirts of Windhoek is one step closer to becoming a reality. In August, the Windhoek city council conditionally approved the Monte Christo development, which will form a part of the Harambee Valley project, which has been hailed by the council as a welcome private initiative that could help ease the city's housing problems. “The issue of a shortage and unaffordable housing and unavailable serviced land comes a long time now, and has gained momentum at various levels. The problem is particularly acute among low- and middle-income earners,” the council agenda states.The Monte Christo development will consist of around 35 000 houses for low- and middle-income earners. According to the agenda, the Harambee Valley project overall will provide more than 60 000 dwelling units, of which 33 000 (55%) units will be for low-income earners, and 24 000 (40%) for middle-income earners. The remaining 5% of the area will be used for high-cost housing. Christopher van de Vijver, a director of Nambel Investments, the owner of portions 806 to 814 of the farm Monte Christo, told Namibian Sun that the first phase of the project would consist of 7 000 housing units and various plots for industrial, business and commercial use. He said the cost of this phase, which would include bulk infrastructure and internal infrastructure, was estimated at N$4.8 billion. Harambee Valley will “boast a complete city centre with various recreational attractions and other places of interest and will cater for all the needs of the community including the creation of employment, ensuring the availability of health, educational and transport services to the community and will have its own identity,” he said. He added that the prime goal of the project for Nambel Investments was to provide a “smart city” that that catered affordably to the needs of lower-income groups. It could help alleviate the critical housing shortage for these groups by doing a large-scale, cost-effective development, driven by private initiative and supported by government. City officials note in the council agenda that the proposal made by Nambel Investments, in addition to owners of nearby portions of land comprising Harambee Valley, was aligned with the municipality's long-term planning. Van de Vijver said although several more steps were needed before the construction phase could begin, the council approval was a step in the right direction. He said the construction phase, which would include the provision of services such as water and electricity for the entire project, could only begin after numerous other applications had been approved by NamPower, NamWater, the Roads Authority and the City of Windhoek. Depending on the speed of these approvals and funding negotiations, it was hoped that construction could begin within the next 14 to 18 months, he added. Crucial housing investment. It is expected that by the year 2030 Windhoek will have a population of 645 355, Van de Vijver said. As a result, at least 80 000 houses must be built in the next 13 years to meet the demand and the current backlog. He said private-sector initiatives were crucial to help the municipality meet the demand, as the City did not have the resources to fund the servicing of plots at the required scale. In his view, the greatest housing need currently is in the low- to middle-income sectors. Due to decades of neglect of the poor and very poor, “the real source of market demand is not the wealthy few, but the emerging middle-income consumers and the thousands of aspiring poor who are joining the market economy for the first time.” One of the unique aspects of the Harambee Valley project was that it would not focus solely on providing housing to a specific target market, “but will incorporate the development of a whole new city,” Van de Vijver added.

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1.16 1 000 apply for land at Okahao

The Namibian|21/09/2017 The Okahao Town Council in the Omusati region has over 1 000 people on the waiting list for residential erven. Timoteus Namwandi, who is the chief executive officer at the town, revealed this to The Namibian yesterday. Namwandi said because of the high number of applications, the council planned and approved two new townships. He said the houses would be constructed under different housing initiatives such as the Build Together programme and the Shack Dwellers Federation. Progress on the townships, he said, depends on the compensation negotiations with traditional homestead owners. Namwandi added that they had identified seven more extensions, whose planning is expected to be completed by June 2018. The council, he explained, was exploring the possibility of servicing land on the extension through a public-private partnership (PPP). Some of the projects where the council teamed up with PPPs include the upgrading of some gravel roads to bitumen standard, which were completed in May this year at a cost of N$4 million, and the construction of the N$2,7 million sewer reticulation plant as well as stormwater infrastructure. Namwandi said the town council had also constructed a technical business centre that will house small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are into manufacturing. The N$4 million state-of-the-art centre is expected to be completed by the end of this month, he said. The construction of the N$250 000 shelter for expectant mothers, Namwandi revealed, was already in full swing. Namwandi said future projects worth N$34 million have already been submitted to the central government for funding in the 2018/19 financial year. These include the cadastral surveying of new townships that will cost N$3,25 million, the construction of the groundwater reservoir and a high tower projected to cost N$6 million, as well as the upgrading of gravel roads to bitumen standard expected to cost the council a further N$7 million. Other projects include the construction of the stormwater structure that will cost N$2,4 million, and the sewerage treatment works at a cost of N$15 million. Namwandi said private individuals are also expected to build a state-of-the-art hotel and a bed-and-breakfast facility at the town as well as a modern shopping complex. Okahao has a population of 2 000 inhabitants but still serves as a centre of purchase for about 30 000 people from the Tsandi, Ogongo, Otamanzi and Ruacana constituencies.

1.17 Town planners criticise govt

The Namibian Sun|21/09/2017 Private town and regional planners fear that a decision by the ministry of urban and regional development to cancel a proposed amendment scheme aimed at dealing with a backlog of town and property planning applications at the Windhoek municipality will likely lead to more delays. They also say the impasse does not resolve a longstanding and critical problem for the City. “We are very disappointed in the response from the minister, especially with the current initiative from the president to drive and management performance in government. This decision will certainly delay the processing of planning applications even further,” Harold Kisting, President of the Namibia Institute of Town and Regional Planners (NITRP) told Namibian Sun last week. In letters to the ministry earlier this year, members of NITRP told authorities there that it is “simply unacceptable that a simple rezoning can take more than a year at the City of Windhoek to be approved. “It has become standard that rezoning applications take more than two years for planning approval from the City and another two years to get included in an amendment scheme to finalise the rezoning process before investors can benefit from the new development rights.” These delays have led to “low levels of investment and therefore low levels of job creation at a time that Namibia can ill afford,” letters from NITRP noted. Last week Kisting told Namibian Sun that town planning “is about development, investment and job creation. If we take longer than one year to process development applications, we are not serious as a capital city.” He explained that the city, through speedy processing of applications, is able to add

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additional income streams through betterment and endowment fees “and ultimately grow the rates and taxes base of the City.” He noted that while the city has asked for a government bailout they could “grow their income by expediting the planning approval process.” Town planners say that it is due to the city's slow response to applications that Windhoek “lags behind smaller municipalities in land and housing delivery”. In a letter last year, addressed to the municipality's department of urban planning and property management, NITRP and members of the Namibia Council for Town and Regional Planners (NCTRP) said the City of Windhoek is considered a leader in local authority management in Namibia and many follow its example. However, the letter noted that the processing time of planning and property applications “unfortunately does not live up to the standard of excellence and negatively impacts on the image of the city.” According to NITRP, the only feedback received to various proposals and letters of complaints to the municipality last year, was from the Namibia Planning and Advisory Board (NAMPAB), who approved the compilation of the Special Amendment Scheme 97. The special scheme was then submitted to NAMPAB for approval on 6 June 2017. However, shortly before the expiration date of the notice of the special scheme, to which the City was obliged to respond before 19 September, a letter signed by Minister Sophia Shaningwa on 9 September, ordered NAMPAB to retract the amendment notice without further delay. The minister noted that she was seeking legal advice and was waiting to be properly briefed on the matter before commencing to meet with all stakeholders, including NAMPAB, the municipality and the ministry, on the amendment scheme and relevant issues. NITRP told Namibian Sun the minister’s instruction to cancel the notice “shields poor performance and will make City officials even more arrogant in the interactions with town planners and clients.” The 2017 August council agenda, which stated that City officials feared that NAMPAB's approval of the amendment scheme would cost the city “tens of millions” in betterment and other fees, among other worries, showed that the city had hastily enacted a “military style” action plan, that led to at least 217 rezoning applications being finalised before this week's deadline. In NITRP said a retraction of an amendment scheme was the right of the ministry, but noted that the city should instead present an action plan on how to deal with the backlog and future applications. In July last year, a formal complaint was sent to the City, highlighting their growing frustrations, possible causes for delays and suggestions to resolve the delays. In an October letter to the ministry of urban and rural development, the NITRP informed the ministry that although members had tried “all formal avenues to find a solution to the current lack of responsiveness from the city, but to no avail.” The City of Windhoek did not respond to the formal complaint and did not invite representatives from the concerned parties to a meeting to discuss the issue, the letter stated. NITRP urged the ministry “to attend to the current crisis and rescue the situation. Windhoek as a local authority is losing out on much needed investments that will create jobs for residents and income for the city coffers, because of unreasonable delays.”

1.18 A canopy is where home is

The Namibian|22/09/2017 McDonald Pietersen is a young unemployed youth, living in a canopy with his girlfriend inside someone else's yard at the Sonderwater informal settlement behind Shandumbala in Katutura, Windhoek. He has dreams of a brighter future, but the lack of a stable job has shattered those dreams, and he blames it on a schoolboy blunder. The Namibian found the young man sitting against a wall a stone's throw from the gravel road that divides Shandumbala and the concealed Sonderwater (meaning: without water) settlement. The wall sheltered him and four other buddies from the mid-afternoon hot sun. Pietersen was dressed in a bright-yellow T-shirt, blue shorts and a pair of fashionable counterfeit Adidas sports shoes. We exchanged pleasantries in Afrikaans, and talked about the heat as we navigated our way through the dusty pathways criss-crossing the settlement to his home. After a minute's walk, we got to a yard where I was offered a chair in the shade, and McDonald sat right opposite me on an old empty paint container. Despite his current state, Pietersen (27), like most millennials, wants to have a purposeful life, active contribution to the community, social ties, and

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financial stability. “I am willing to work for all of that too,” he said. “I grew up in Damara location.” Pietersen recalled that his upbringing was strict, and that explains why he always excelled at school. To prove this, he took out a few certificates with Bs and Cs being reflected on his Grade 12 certificate. “I was admitted to Jan Möhr High school, but due to financial problems, I could not go. I finally got accepted at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in Khomasdal,” he recalled. He passed Grade 10 with 27 points in 2006, and as a token of appreciation, his mother gave him a N$200. “She was so proud of me. I will never forget that day,” he beamed. “In 2009 at the matric dance, I swear that is when it all went downhill for me. The after-party was at Club Heaven, where a few coloured friends introduced us to what they called “game” - Afrikaans slang for crack cocaine.” Pietersen said he got hooked, lost two jobs and landed in jail for four months. He ended up in jail in 2013 when he broke into a shop at Dolam in Katutura. He wanted money to buy drugs, he said. After his prison stint, life on drugs was hard. “I would get night sweats, hallucinations, scream, be depressed and also become suicidal. It is a good thing I was in jail. The walls were my protection (against drug abuse). It also gave me time to read self-help books, you know. I am a bookworm,” he narrated. Pietersen regrets every bit of the life he wasted. When he came out of jail, he could not go back to his mother's house (not far from where he stays) because she stayed in a backyard shack with his three siblings. There would be no space for him at his age. Some friends invited him to Sonderwater, and a generous man gave him the old canopy as payment for some odd job he had done. Before getting the canopy, Pietersen slept in the open on a mattress. Things got better when he met his girlfriend about four years ago. These days, he survives on odd jobs, such as cleaning other people's yards, cutting trees, and buying stock for people from wholesalers in the Northern Industrial area, as well as running other small errands. “I don't want handouts. I just need someone to help me to build a proper structure to live in. I have been applying for jobs, but where will I keep my uniform, shower in or even place my groceries if I get a job?” asked Pietersen, who aspires to join the Namibian Defence Force. His neighbour, who is only known as Deon, said with a big smile: “Daai is 'n slim mannitjie (The guy is very intelligent). The things he can do for our community if he gets a job, neh.” Deon is dressed in blue overalls and Nike Airmax sports shoes. He said he survived on selling cigarettes, and held a packet of cheap cigarettes in his hand. He looks about 30 years old, and his structure is a bit more luxurious than most in the neighbourhood. “My sister, tell his story . . . let them know we want jobs,” he added. Namibia's unemployment rate increased to 34% of the working population last year, up from 28,1% in 2014, the last time a labour force survey was conducted, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has said. The unemployment rate edged closer to the all-time high of 37,6% recorded during the 2008 global financial crisis. The agency said the 6,1 basis points' increase in the unemployment figure was mainly due to a prolonged drought that gripped the southern Africa region – including Namibia – for three consecutive years since 2015. Partially due to the drought, as well as a sharp downturn in the construction and commodities sectors, Namibia's economy expanded by a meagre 0,2% in 2016. The NSA said unemployment was particularly high among those living in rural areas at 39,2%, compared to 30,3% in urban areas. The survey showed that 349 383 Namibians were unemployed out of an estimated labour force of 1,5 million. The majority of the labour force, 20,1%, were employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.

1.19 Land-a-Dollar campaign money unaccounted for

The Namibian|27/09/2017 Money collected through the much publicised 'Land-a-Dollar' drum collection campaign has not been accounted for, seven months after the drum collection drive ended. An investigation by Nampa found that no one was ready to be held accountable for the undisclosed sum of money collected during the campaign's drum project that ran between August 2015 and February 2017. The campaign aimed to raise between N$1 million and N$3 million to contribute towards servicing land in urban areas. More than 300 drums were placed at various locations in 15 towns for people to donate. Former Unam student representative council (SRC) president Vincent Shimutwikeni said they had no details about the money as the auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), was assigned the responsibility to

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audit the project's accounts. An accountant at PWC Martin Shaanika, who was said to be in charge of the audit process, refused to comment on the matter. However, in reply to questions sent via email about the audited report on the money, PWC Partner Stefan Hugo confirmed that the auditing firm was engaged by Unam to perform the “agreed upon procedures and issue a factual finding report”. “The factual report is not an audit report, but rather a confirmation of the outcome of a specifically limited procedure as per signed agreement letter with then Unam SRC president,” said Hugo. Hugo said PWC had not issued the factual findings report as they did not receive all information needed to finalise the agreed procedures. He could not specify the type of information that was still pending, saying this was a confidential matter between PWC and the client. Shimutwikeni said he was not aware of any pending information in this regard and referred this journalist to the campaign's administrator, Emileeza Ludeke, as she “would know about the pending information given her role in the campaign”. Ludeke said they were still waiting for PWC to issue the report. Asked specifically about the “pending information”, Ludeke said she did not know about the pending information. “I am only telling you what I know,” she said. Unam public relations officer Simon Namesho said the campaign was a student initiative under the 2015 SRC and was upheld by the 2016 SRC. “Since the close of the campaign, with the assistance of the Namibian Police, the drums were collected in each town and taken to the nearest NamPost office for counting of the collection by the auditing procedures established.” Launched under the theme, 'Setting a Foundation for Your Home', the campaign was overseen by Unam's Office of the Dean of Students as with all other activities with the SRC, said Namesho. The money was to be handed over to the Office of the President for the Mass Urban Land Servicing Programme, which sought to service 200 000 erven around the country. The 'Land-a-Dollar' campaign, which includes money collected through text messages, a mobile application, public dialogues and gala dinners, was in response to President Hage Geingob's call for all Namibians to support the land servicing project that kicked off in July 2015 at Goreangab's Extension 4. The project stems from a meeting held in Windhoek in July 2015 between the government and the Affirmative Repositioning movement, where it was agreed that local authorities countrywide should identify land to be cleared and serviced for housing development. The meeting had set a target of about 200 000 plots that should be made available through this process.

1.20 Tsumeb council addresses land issue

The Namibian Sun|27/09/2017 Sitting with more than 4 500 land applications, the Tsumeb municipality is exploring all available options to address the housing needs of its people. This is according to Tsumeb municipality chief executive officer Archie Benjamin, who told Ewi lyaNooli that the land issue was one of the council's priorities. Benjamin said the 4 500 applications were from people in all income groups. Due to the slow process when it comes to getting approval from the line ministry, Benjamin said there was not much they could do to but be patient and follow procedure. He said Tsumeb had given about 80 hectares to five developers to create new townships and build houses. The cash-strapped municipality resorted to public-private partnerships (PPPs) where the developers service the land and build affordable houses. “We expect the approvals to be made by November and the construction will hopefully start by March or April next year. The planning process was completed,” Benjamin said. About 500 houses will be built in Extension 11, where first option to buy will be given to those on the waiting list. Benjamin further shed light on Portion 35, behind the cultural village, where a new township will be established that will include a much-talked-about university. He said Portion 9, which is at the intersection of the road to Otavi next to Kuvukiland informal settlement, will be expanded and a new township will be developed. “This development will include everything: houses, business and public spaces. We want to make Tsumeb one of the best towns to live in,” Benjamin said. He also talked about an area earmarked for industrial development, saying that one of the projects - Farm Deli - had started already. The project offers accommodation, an orchard and an abattoir where pork is processed for the local and international markets. Regarding the Kuvukiland informal settlement,

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Benjamin said the council was still waiting for the property deed to the land, which had been donated by Weatherly Mining some years ago. He said that was likely to happen by next month. Currently there are more than 2 000 shacks at Kuvukiland, with a population of over 10 000 people. Kuvukiland is a hotbed of crime and there is no street lighting, which makes it a dangerous area. “We are just waiting for the official handover of the land and it will be part of the municipality. We will then work out the problem and formalise the area,” Benjamin said. Benjamin said in the meantime the police were patrolling the area to make it safer.

1.21 Unam defends Land-a-Dollar

The Namibian|28/09/2017 The University of Namibia legal department has refuted allegations that the money from the Land-a-Dollar campaign is unaccounted for. The Namibian yesterday published an article written by Nampa that money from the campaign has not been accounted for seven months after the collection of the more than 300 drums from 15 towns in the country. Unam's judicial officer, Vincent Shimutwikeni, said in a statement the drums were all collected in the presence of the police and taken to the nearest NamPost branch in the towns where they were opened and deposited into the Land-a-Dollar NamPost account also in the presence of the police. “I at this moment wish to make it categorically clear that no funds whatsoever have been withdrawn from the NamPost account,” Shimutwikeni said. He added that the funds would be handed over to the state once PricewaterhouseCoopers has completed a report. The auditing firm partner, Stefan Hugo, on Tuesday confirmed to Nampa that they were engaged by the university to perform the agreed upon procedure and issue a factual finding report. The campaign was launched in 2015 and came to an end in 2016. It was aimed at raising between N$1 million and N$3 million for servicing land.

1.22 Karasburg houses vacant

The Namibian|28/09/2017 Some 107 houses built at Karasburg under the government mass housing programme and ready for occupation, have been vacant for almost a year because beneficiaries cannot afford down payments. Karasburg Town Council's property officer Ludwig Berendt, told The Namibian in an interview yesterday. Berendt said the houses whose prices range from N$442 000 to N$491 000 were built by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE). “The houses have been standing like white elephants while locals are demanding houses,” he further stated. Berendt revealed there are currently more than 400 residents on the council's housing waiting list. Besides the high price tags, he said local commercial banks have also rejected home loans to people, especially those from the Westerkim Township, citing “overvaluation” as the reason. The property officer said information from NHE indicated that out of the 107 houses, only three had been financed through First Capital. Berendt also said the financially struggling council is being deprived of the much-needed income on property rate and taxes because of houses standing empty due to unaffordability. He noted that one good thing is that no incidents of vandalism had been reported. The council has, he said, applied to the urban development ministry to subsidise the houses. Berendt said 43 mass housing social houses, which government had subsidised for up to 60%, have all been allocated.

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2 Urban Infrastructure and Services

2.1 Drie kinders verkool in hutbrande: Vyfjarige meisie doen erge brandwonde op

Republikein|01/09/2017 Drie kinders tussen 19 maande en 10 jaar het Dinsdag in twee afsonderlike voorvalle in hutte in Namibië doodgebrand terwyl hulle alleen tuis was, terwyl 'n vyfjarige meisie ernstige brandwonde opgedoen het. 'n Tienjarige seun, wat net as Ndapandula geïdentifiseer is, het Dinsdag omstreeks 11:00 in 'n sinkhuis in die Havana-woonbuurt verkool terwyl 'n meisietjie van vyf jaar ernstige brandwonde opgedoen het. Die sinkhuis het tot op die grond afgebrand, sê die polisie in sy -misdaadverslag. Na bewering was die oorledene se ma nie ten tyde van die voorval tuis nie. Daar word vermoed die brand is deur gas veroorsaak. 'n Uur vroeër dié dag het 'n soortgelyke tragedie by Onakankunz-Oos, naby Omuthiya, plaasgevind. Die verkoolde liggame van die driejarige Itana Martha Itana en haar 19 maande oue boetie, Gideon Itana, is in die uitgebrande hut van hul ouma, by wie hulle gewoon het, gevind. Volgens die polisie was hul ouma in daardie stadium na 'n nabygeleë winkel en is hul 18-jarige neef gevra om 'n ogie oor hulle te hou. Hy het na bewering gehoor hoe die twee jong kinders skreeu en toe gesien hoe die hut in ligte laaie staan. Hy het hulle probeer red, maar sy poging het misluk. Dit is in hierdie stadium nog onbekend hoe die brand ontstaan het. Die polisieondersoek na beide dié voorvalle duur voort. In 'n ander tragiese voorval is die liggaam van die 65-jarige Elifas Ntida Woensdagoggend by die Okamwiyu-nedersetting by Olukonda deur 'n buurman aan 'n draadheining gevind. Hy het skynbaar sy kop deur die heining gesteek en verstrengel geraak. 'n Nadoodse ondersoek sal gedoen word om die oorsaak van sy dood te bepaal, sê die polisie.

2.2 Nuwe aanleg sit wind terug in Blikkiesdorp se seile

The Namibian|25/09/2017 'n Tweede windkragaanleg is op Lüderitz ingehuldig. Dié aanleg verskaf bekostigbare krag aan huishoudings in die Benguela- informele nedersetting, oftewel Blikkiesdorp, waarvan die meeste inwoners vroue en kinders is. Die Benguela-windkragaanleg is 'n gesamentlike projek van die Universiteit van Namibië (Unam) en Lüderitz se dorpsraad. Die projek is aanvanklik in 2012 begin en is deur die Multidissiplinêre Navorsingsentrum (MRC), wat verbonde is aan Unam se fakulteit van wetenskap en tegnologie, gekoördineer en bestuur. Finland se ministerie van buitelandse sake het die projek met N$1,3 miljoen ondersteun. Die aanleg is op 'n stuk grond van vyf hektaar gebou, wat deur die dorpsraad geskenk is. Tans bestaan die projek uit drie windturbines wat deur die Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappy Kestrel Eveready geïnstalleer is. Hulle verskaf tans krag aan onder meer 'n naaldwerkprojek in Benguela wat vier naaimasjiene gebruik. Die turbines het die kapasiteit om 3,5 kW elk te lewer. Dit is 'n totaal van 10,5 kW. Vyf inwoners van Benguela is opgelei om die aanleg te onderhou. Unam het die projek in reaksie op die ministerie van mynwese en energie se ontwikkelde nasionale witskrif oor energie van 2000 aangepak. Dié witskrif het die diversifisering van en belegging in die verskaffing van hernubare en volhoubare energie aan veral Namibië se laeinkomste-bevolking aangespreek. Unam het 'n demonstrasieprojek van stapel gestuur, wat daarop gemik was om voldoende en oortuigende tasbare bewyse ten gunste van windenergie te lewer. Verder het die demonstrasie basiese inligting oor die struktuur van die belegging verskaf, asook oor die implementeringskapasiteit wat benodig word om meer hernubare energiebronne in die land te vestig. Die lesse uit hierdie demonstrasie geleer sal toegepas word op die oprigting van soortgelyke windkragbronne landswyd. Die Ombepo-windplaas net buite Lüderitz is die eerste in sy soort in Namibië. Dit is 'n ontwikkeling van die Namibies-geregistreerde maatskappy InnoSun, wat uit Namibiese en Franse aandeelhouers bestaan. Lüderitz se dorpsraad het 5% aandele in die windplaas, wat sedert 13 Augustus in werking is.

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2.3 Wind to power informal settlement

Informante|28/09/2017 A research project used to test the viability the generation of wind power by the University of Namibia will henceforth provide low cost electricity to residents of an informal settlement in Lüderitz. The pilot plant was established in 2012 and operated by the university’s department of Science and Technology. The research project was initially sponsored by the government of Finland. The university said the research plant provided the baseline information on the structure of investment, as well as implementation capacities required in the process of establishing more renewable energy sources throughout the country. The information and experience derived from the working research project will be used to replicate the erection of similar wind energy sources in other parts of Namibia. Professor Lazarus Hangula, UNAM Vice Chancellor said that energy and the supply thereof continues to dominate the priority list of Namibia’s national development goals. “UNAM as an institution of higher learning on the one hand and as academics on the other can become the harbingers in ensuring achievements of developmental objectives. It is a fundamental duty of the institution,” he said. He added that the university is commited to keep advancing the project through continued research, involving the local authority and various other stakeholders to ensure that the Lüderitz wind turbine project is replicated to other parts of Namibia. The newly transferred plant has a capacity of 10 kiloWatts. It consists of three smaller sized wind turbines that will charge banks of batteries which communi ty members will be able to use for everyday applications such as lighting in their homes.

2.4 Water shortages cripple Rundu

The New Era|29/09/2017 The untenable situation compels residents to wake up in the middle of the night to fill up their water containers for use during the day, when taps run dry by morning and sometimes lasts all day, which has become a daily occurrence. Residents have described the situation as a disaster, and likened it to living in a desert. This despite the fact the Kavango River from where the town sources water is within walking distance. The water crisis in Rundu has lasted for several months now with no end in sight and it seems to be getting worse with each passing day. There is discord among residents as the water crisis affects their daily activities, as only a few households and some businesses can afford reservoir tanks. Everyone, including businesses and various institutions, is being affected by the water shortage that has crippled Rundu. “We only have uninterrupted water from our taps, maybe for two days in a week, but on most days we don’t have water, especially during the day. Our clients run out of the hotel to lodges that are not affected by water cuts, like the ones on the lower ground near the river,” said Frans Flory at Hotel Rundu along the Trans-Caprivi Highway. “We have connected some rooms to a reservoir container but the rest of the rooms cannot be connected at the moment and we are losing business,” Frans added. “Everyday you wake up to take a shower but there is no water – you have to get to work without bathing and it is so uncomfortable. What is the town council doing? I heard they are not buying enough prepaid units of water. I tried to investigate and some officials in the water department said it’s the town council’s fault because they are not paying NamWater, so NamWater cut us off when the units are up,” said Daniel Langhart. Residents now flock to the river to bath or fetch water – running the risk of drowning or getting caught by a crocodile, despite the fact they always paid their water utility bills with the town council. New Era spoke to the acting CEO of Rundu, Mathews Naironga, who was defensive, saying the town council is not to blame but rather NamWater, as the utility is apparently unable to meet the town’s water needs. “The volume of purified water NamWater is pumping to the town is small and only suburbs that are close to the reservoirs like Tutungeni, Safari and Nkarapamwe get most of the water and the rest of the locations suffer,” Naironga said. The acting CEO emphasised that the biggest problem is that NamWater is purifying very little water for the town while “the demand is too high”. New Era heard some people say that since the town was connected to a prepaid water meter by NamWater

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the council has not bought enough water units for the town, and thus water gets cut, but Naironga said this is not the case as the town council pays for enough units. New Era further went on to seek answers from the water corporation, NamWater, but no response was got despite sending several emails and making calls to NamWater senior manager for corporate communications, Johannes Shigwedha. “Just send the questions to my email, I will get them,” he said when this reporter phoned him on September 18 – but since then his phone went unanswered and he has not responded to the emails.

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3 Livelihoods and Urban Economy

3.1 Learner turns hobby into income source

The New Era|04/09/2017 A Grade 10 learner from Walvis Bay has turned her passion into a main source of income for her family. Helalia Petrus from De Duine Secondary School in Walvis Bay makes beautiful mats, chairs as well as table mats from stripping tape, which she in turn sells to community members. The 18-year-old Petrus, who currently lives in a small house which she shares with her mother, eight siblings and other relatives at the single quarters in Kuisebmond, is quite an attraction as she beads the strips at a street corner just outside their home. “People love my art work and it is quite popular as I get many clients,” she said. Petrus told New Era that she always loved art and entrepreneurship as subjects at school. “But my attention was caught by a programme I watched during holidays and saw some kids making different items. The programme was fascinating and I decided to also try it with strips, but I was very horrible at it,” said Petrus. She said that an uncle gave her N$100 last year shortly after she watched the programme. She then decided to give her mother N$30 and decided to buy the striping with the rest of the money. It apparently took her a year and a few months before she could master the skill of beading. “Today it takes me just a day to finish one big mat, “she said. She also collects old chairs and revamps them beautifully. “I sell my items from N$150 up to N$300,” she says, “and with the money I make, I assist my mom.” She explained that the family does not have a stable income apart from odd jobs the mother does. “We are eight children in the house and my father died and my mom is currently raising us all by herself. So it feels really good and worthy to be able to assist my mom,” she said. She added that she does not allow her business to interfere with her school duties and is currently only doing it during weekends and holidays. She says she wants to become a businesswoman when she finishes school. “I would like to start my own business but I also know I have to work hard and be innovative as the business world is tough,” she said. Helalia’s mother, the 52-year-old Lydia Petrus, said she is proud that her daughter out of her own will decided to take on such a project. “I am really proud of her that she has taken up such an initiative to assist the family. She is a bright girl with a bright future,” she said.

3.2 Vendors unhappy with market facelift

The Namibian|08/09/2017 Some okapana vendors have expressed unhappiness with the recent upgrades to the City of Windhoek's Wanaheda open market. “I am disappointed with the design of the braai stands. It does not allow the smoke to clear fast,” 26-year-old vendor Sam Leonard told The Namibian. “The walls prevent our customers from recognising us, and here we compete for customers,” he said jokingly. “They did not consult us during the design of these stalls, while we are the very people who are to be directly affected,” Leonard added. “It is like a forced situation. It is an open market, but we are being fenced in. Is it not ironic? But my main concern is the gate. It is situated so far from our stalls that we are going to have difficulty carrying a carcass from the gate to our stands,” he said. Thomas Hafeni, who has been selling okapana for 17 years at the Wanaheda bus stop, welcomed the new place, and said he appreciated the investment by the City of Windhoek. He said the place looks better, but he also complained about the distance from the gate to the stalls. “We are here to work, and another hurdle will just add to our struggles,” Hafeni said. He requested the municipality to meet vendors halfway on their concerns. Another vendor, Tuna Nghiitete, asked: “When will the city finish the project? It is spring, and we all know how hot the sun can be here. It is not conducive for our health,

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and as for the meat we are selling, it will spoil faster in the sun”. Efforts to get comment from the City of Windhoek proved futile.

3.3 Oshikango market opened

The Namibian Sun|11/09/2017 Although the long-awaited Oshikango Open Market was opened for use last weekend, the Helao Nafidi Town Council is still faced with a number of challenges. The market situated at the border town of Oshikango was opened on Friday following a council resolution made on 3 August. The resolution was taken in order for the N$5.8 million structure, which is still incomplete pending the construction of a bus terminal, to be utilised as council fears it will deteriorate. The open market has the capacity to accommodate about 400 vendors. When Namibian Sun visited the market last week, a number of stalls were occupied. Vendors from the Katwitwi informal market were provided with the first opportunity to occupy the stalls along with Angolan vendors who are only allowed to sell at the open area. As the vendors from Katwitwi used to live at the area where they conducted their business from, the Helao Nafidi Town Council has been faced with the challenge of finding a suitable area not far from the new operating area for them to be accommodated. Some months ago, the mayor of Helao Nafidi, Eliaser Nghipangelwa, told Namibian Sun that an area for the vendors to set up their homes was identified. However, last week he said after inspections were completed, the area was found to be unsuitable and as such, the vendors are still staying at Katwitwi. Nghipangelwa said he is hopeful the situation will be rectified by the end of this week. “We will sort the issue out hopefully by the end of this week,” Nghipangelwa said. At the Katwitwi informal market some individuals were still conducting business as usual although most had moved to the new open market. Meanwhile, local vendors at Oshikango say they are finding it hard to make ends meet following an increase in illegal goods being smuggled into the country by their Angolan counterparts who sell their products at a very cheap price. The majority of the goods being smuggled into the country are rice, sugar and fuel which is said to be further crippling the economy of what was a booming Oshikango. The situation is not only affecting the local vendors but also the supermarkets. In the same vein government is also cheated out of taxes as people from various northern towns flock to Oshikango for the cheaper products sold by the Angolan vendors. When asked about the matter, Nghipangelwa said it is the duty of the police to enforce that whoever is conducting business should provide documentation on the source of the goods. He however said there was a time when council wanted to take drastic measures against the Angolan vendors but due to the good relations between Namibia and Angola, they did not want to disturb the peace. On previous visits to Katwitwi, one could observe the presence of the law enforcement who used to confiscate the items suspected smuggled into the country. Those vendors, however, have moved to towns such as Ondangwa where they have flooded the streets, selling their contraband all over. According to Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) Helao Nafidi town councillor, Vilho Shimuoshili, “local authorities do not have money because of things like these, where people are allowed to do what they want. If this thing of vendors is to be taken very seriously, local authorities will not have issues of people selling wherever they want and whatever they want,” Shimuoshili argued. He further argued that the reason why businesses in Oshikango are not doing well is because they are competing with vendors who are selling cheap products on the street, an issue he said needs to be addressed. Amongst other products being smuggled into Namibia from Angola, fuel is brought in which over the years has attracted car owners to go to Katwitwi informal market to fill up their vehicles.

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3.4 The 'normal' job at the dumpsite

The Namibian|15/09/2017 Most mornings, Swakopmund is covered in dense fog, which usually lifts before midday. The day becomes warm and sunny and if one is on the side of the DRC informal settlement one will never miss the smell from the piles of trash from the municipal dump site just outside town. The dump site, surrounded by a two-metre fence is about 300 metres from the DRC informal settlement. Swakopmund is one of the fastest growing towns and tourist attractions in Namibia. As a beach resort, the town is particularly popular during the December holidays, thanks to the cool weather and its set of amazing tourist attractions. But on the side of town where the dump site is, life is a struggle since about 50 people – most of them women – have to sift through 'mountains' of rubbish in search of valuables they can sell. Here, strangers have become friends and family, having one thing in common which other people see as disgusting as they go through the filth. Today, however, it is not sunny as the big rubbish trucks rumble in through the gate to off-load while people rush in the hope of getting the best items. Some women told The Namibian that they have no choice but to make the dumpsite their workplace, even if they face danger and risk contracting all sorts of diseases every day. Fillipine Namases (41) has bee n coming to the dump site for the past 17 years to support her extended family after her husband and two children died. “Working here with these people helps me keep my mind off the worst day of my entire life when my husband and my children died in a shack fire. The screams of the children and visions of my husband running back to get them to safety, and all of them burning to death sometimes haunt me because I had to watch helplessly as our shack burned down,” she stated. Namases was wearing a worn-out face mask, and said women are particularly vulnerable in this environment. “We come here at our own risk. Many people who started before me have died, or have one or other terminal illness. I fear that too, but what can I do? It is better than sitting at home and being unproductive. At least from here, I make between N$100 and N$150 a day. “That is enough for food for a day. I am only left with one child and other family members,” explained Namases. Very hard at work is 51-year-old Fundeni Matheus, who said she had raised all her eight children through this 'job', and she has been coming here for the past 25 years. She added that some people misunderstand what they do. “We do not come here to look for food that people or shops throw away, although there are others who do that. We come here to look for metal, plastic and paper, amongst others, things that can be recycled. That is what we come here to collect for sale, and if I work hard from eight in the morning until four, I take home N$200 every day,” she noted. Matheus said she sent her children to school this way, and two are at university already. Most of the people at the dumpsite know that there could be a better life or job out there, but unemployment is not the answer, and they do what they have to do. “This place is the filthiest and dangerous condition anyone will want to work in, but still we get up every day and come here to 'work' because we all have responsibilities.”

3.5 Helao Nafidi Council closes Katwitwi business centre

The New Era|20/09/2017 The Katwitwi informal business centre at Helao Nafidi is to be closed for both trade and accommodation, said the town’ s mayor Eliaser Nghipangelwa. Speaking to Nampa in an interview on Monday, Nghipangelwa said residents of the towns Oshikango suburb were trading and dwelling illegally at Katwitwi over the past few years. He indicated the centre is to be closed down so that the town council can regulate the area, formalise and bring it under control.It is believed illegal trading activities, such as the sale of fuel smuggled into the country from Angola, have become the order of the day in Katwitwi. We have constructed a new omatala (open market) at Oshikango, where traders have to do their business, orderly, and we have also identified two sites where Katwitwi individuals will be allocated residential plots in the near future, Nghipangelwa explained. He on Saturday met with Katwitwi residents to inform them that no lodging or trading is allowed to continue there, and anybody

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doing business is contravening the law. According to him, most people who have been selling alcohol at Katwitwi have been doing so without liquor licences.I told them during the Saturday meeting that I have no power to authorise alcohol trading as they were demanding me to grant them temporary permits to allow them further time to organise their legal venues, he said. The meeting between Nghipangelwa and residents on Saturday followed a demonstration by Oshikango informal traders complaining of high rental fees and shortage of spaces at the new open market. They also claimed that the town council allowed them insufficient time to prepare before being relocated to the new open market some two weeks ago. Nghipangelwa was unable to say what the capacity of the new open market is, saying it is not completed yet and more space is being created.

3.1 Kahungu turns to help bereaved Havana resident

The New Era|21/09/2017 The City of Windhoek’s deputy mayor, Fransina Kahungu, yesterday bought irons sheets and poles to give to a Havana resident in Windhoek whose home burned down last month, in the fire in which she lost two of her three children. The building materials were to help 31-year-old Magdalena Akwenye rebuild a semblance of a new home after the tragic incident in which she lost her five- and seven-year-old daughters. The seven-year-old girl, who normally resided in the North, was visiting her mother during the August school holidays. Her lastborn is a 19-month-old boy, who also resides in the northern regions of the country. Akwenye is self-employed and sells cooked food to labourers in Windhoek’s Northern Industrial area. She says she does not know what caused the fire, as she does not use matches or candles at home. She recalls that on the day her home burned down, she had in the morning left prepared food for her daughters before going to work, as is her custom. Akwenye told New Era that she recalls having switched off the gas stove before she left for work. She lost everything in the blaze. Akwenye is currently accommodated at her cousin’s home as she feels it is too early to go back to what used to be her home, now reduced to a pile of ashes. Kahungu yesterday donated 38 iron sheets, 11 poles and other building materials for Akwenye to rebuild her home. Kahungu stepped in when the branch coordinator for Peter Nanyemba district, David Kamati, approached her for assistance. Kamati and the district coordinator, Nestor Kalola, had also received donations from community members that they have since given to Akwenye. “As leaders we have that responsibility when one’s condition is not good. You step in to help and we all should help each other” according to our means, said Kahungu, who also asked Akwenye to accept what has happened – although it is difficult. She told her to thank God for the days she had spent with her daughters. Akwenye said the shack would only be rebuilt in two weeks’ time. She thanked the deputy mayor for her assistance and asked her to continue assisting others.

3.2 Surviving on selling poles

The Namibian|25/09/2017 Paulus Vilho of Kuvukiland location at Tsumeb has a unique way of making a living – he sells wooden poles in Kuvukiland. People use the poles for the construction of shacks in the copper mining town. The Namibian met Vilho (41), who was hard at work at his shack on Friday last week. “This is how I make a living. What I get from selling these poles is somehow enough to help me survive here and send some money to my family in the north,” said Vilho who hails from Eenhana in Ohangwena region. The father of four explained that he came to Tsumeb in 1995 and initially worked as a security guard for 15 years until 2010 before leaving the job because of low pay. “I decided to leave the job because it was not paying well enough despite me working long hours and at dangerous sites,” he said. Vilho said he turned to cutting wooden poles on farms around Tsumeb for sale to the community. “It is somehow a good business considering that people are setting up shacks all the time and they need the poles to use for fencing and construction,” he said. Vilho ties the poles together in bundles of between

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six and eight. He sells a bundle for only N$20, because, he says people in the location cannot afford to pay more than that. His customers are mainly new arrivals who want to set up shacks or old residents intending to extend their shacks. “As you might be aware, many people here are unemployed or earn meagre salaries. They cannot afford expensive materials. That is why I sell the poles for only N$20 a bundle,” he explained. Vilho said cutting, carrying and finishing the poles into finished products is demanding though. “Two years ago, I used to go just beyond that road, and I would get as many poles as I wanted. “But now there is nothing. I have to go deeper to the farms to get the poles,” he said. He, however, stated that not all farm owners allow him to cut down poles and that he had to carry the poles for a distance of up to seven kilometres to Kuvukiland. Vilho, who is single and lives with two other men from the north, further said although the work is physically demanding, he has accumulated a good client base though. “Most people know me, and when they want poles, they do not look far. Some buy on credit and pay me at month end. “I know by the end of the month the money would come,” he noted. He explained that in a good month, he made anything between N$1 500 and N$2 000. Neighbour Fillemon Natangwe applauded Vilho for the work he is doing. “Others are robbing people in town and the bush, but he is working for himself. The man is doing a great job. The unemployed youth should emulate his example,” he stated.

3.3 Mee Ndeshi is mother to all

The Namibian|29/09/2017 Ndeshi Desteria Nangame, now 54 years old, set up a vending stall at the corner of the then Uhland Street and Leutwein Street (now Robert Mugabe Avenue and Kenneth Kaunda) just opposite GIPF in Windhoek when she was 28. Namibia had been independent for just one year when Nangame took up the corner to sell various food items that range from fat cakes, pap, matangara (tripe), chicken feet to oshikundu, among other items for as little as N$6. When Nangame came, many of the buildings, including GIPF were not there. Even Trustco which is across the road was not there. The mother of nine from Ongha in Ohangwena region saw the area develop when old buildings were pulled down, and new ones went up. Over the years, Nangame grew to know on a first name basis most of the people who work for GIPF, Trustco and now the new government offices just across the road. She saw Leutwein Street being renamed Robert Mugabe Avenue, and later Uhland Street becoming Kenneth David Kaunda Street after the former Zambian president who helped Namibia gain independence. Today, she even serves her clients on credit because she knows them all – from the nearby offices, construction sites and government ministries such as fisheries and trade. She also serves passers-by, street cleaners, and security guards as well as OK Foods workers. They call her Me' Ndeshi. Nangame's vending space has become not only a place for buying food and cigarettes but also serves as a meeting point for weary souls seeking advice or just a place to rest before carrying on to wherever they are going. The Namibian finds Nangame busy preparing for her customers on a Monday morning. She is setting up makeshift benches using old broken crates and wooden planks. There is no stall apart from a concrete fireplace between the two giant trees that also serve as a shield from the sun's glare during the morning hours. She tells The Namibian that in the early days of independence, she used to sell from where the government park now is and would also move in search of customers until she set up a permanent place under the trees. Nangame, who lives in Ombili, says she wakes up at 02h00 every day, regardless of when she would have gone to bed, to prepare the food. Her children sometimes help her. The youngest is 18 years. Wearing worn-out clothes and shoes, Nangame laughs a lot and chats up customers and passers-by. “The customers love laughter. It is part of the business. We are always laughing together,” Nangame chuckles. A mute young man, who was buying some oshikundu, helps her break unwanted pieces from the plank and flattens the nails to make it safe to sit on. They speak to each other using signs with hands and laugh when the young man completes his task and gets his bottle of oshikundu. Even though the place is not luxurious and there are not many chairs, the customers do not mind. Nangame says that it would help her business a lot to have proper chairs. “Even an umbrella will do,” she says. “I want a food truck too, but it is hard to come by. I want to

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protect myself from the sun and rain but where will I get the money from? “Selling has been my way of survival all these years, taking care of my children and their children. I have been paying for my house and taxi fare as well as school fees all these years.” Although there are days when she goes home with almost nothing, Nangame says “one must appreciate the little you get because we are poor. If you do not work, what will happen to the children?” GIPF has been good to her by giving her water and allowing her to use their toilets. “I am grateful to them for helping me all this time,” she says, adding that what she earns keeps her children off the streets and crime. She advises other struggling women to continue to fight for their lives by making a living. “This way our children do not have to resort to stealing,” she adds. The City of Windhoek, she reveals, had issues with her selling from the corner but they have since agreed that she could stay as long as she cleans the place. One of her customers, Nelson Ndjeura, who works in the area, walks over and greets her fondly. Ndjeura tells The Namibian that he hopes that someone will help Nangame with chairs or benches. Simon Namanghono, a construction worker, sits by one of the benches feasting on matangaras, and fat cakes says Nangame has been her customer for the past two years. A driver at the education ministry, Immanuel Kharuxab (51), who buys pap and matangara says he has been Nangame's customer for the past decade. “She is an amazing person. Sometimes I even just come and eat and pay her another time. She understands that it is not every day that you have money to buy food,” he said. His friend, Gottlieb Ganeb (33) describes Nangame as an inspirational, strong women, while he drinks his oshikundu and enjoying fat cakes with matangara. “The youth is out there sleeping, but she has that courage to stand up and fight for a living,” he said.

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4 Environment and Human Health

4.1 Katima dumpsite a health hazard for locals

The Namibian|08/09/2017 Community members residing close to a dumpsite at Katima Mulilo say they cannot handle the smoke anymore as it is affecting their health, and appealed to authorities to rectify the problem urgently. The dumpsite is situated north-west of the town, and affects institutions such as the University of Namibia's Katima Mulilo campus, the Zambezi Vocational Training Centre (ZVTC), the Macaravan informal settlement and business premises situated windward of the dumpsite. Febbie Simasiku, a resident of the Macaravan informal settlement, told The Namibian on Wednesday that they and their children suffer from inhaling the heavy smoke every day because they stay very close to the dumpsite. “We are suffering a lot; especially at night. When the smoke becomes too thick, we have to stay indoors. As we are living in an informal settlement without electricity, sometimes we are forced to sleep without eating because we cannot cook outside due to the smoke. Even now, I am coughing like a dog,'' she said. The Namibian also spoke to Richard Kambinda, the centre manager for the ZVTC, who described the smoke as unbearable for students and staff members because they inhale the toxic smoke every morning. “We are fighting tooth and nail to get that dumpsite relocated. We have been talking to the Katima Mulilo Town Council and the governor, and our trainees even threaten to hold demonstrations. It is no secret that the smoke we inhale every day is a health hazard for us. In most cases, you cannot breathe. “Even if they burn the rubbish at night and the smoke clears in the morning, some of it still remains trapped in our offices and classrooms, and affects the staff and the trainees,” he said, adding that health inspectors from the environment ministry once visited and interviewed them, and recommended the dumpsite's closure. But it still remains.” Kambinda suggested that after its closure, the dumpsite could still be used for something eco-friendly and productive to benefit the community in a positive way, such as a multiple court sports field. “We, as the ZVTC, suggested to the town council that after they close the dumpsite, they should allow us to rehabilitate the land by building a sports field there, and they seem open to the idea. The sports field will not only benefit us but the community as whole, and will change their lives in a healthy way,” he noted. An employee at the ZVTC, Christopher Simasiku (27), said he reports to work as early as 06h00 and when he gets there, he cannot see much due to the thick smoke. “The time I come to work is very bad as the smoke is too much, and I cannot see anything. This hampers my work. I cannot breathe at all; I cough the whole day because of inhaling the toxic smoke. You can smell the rubber that burns there as if you are standing at the dumpsite,'' he stated. The chief executive officer of the Katima Mulilo Town Council, Raphael Liswaniso, last week said they have identified a suitable spot in the Liselo area to move it, and are engaging the relevant stakeholders. “We have identified suitable land next to Liselo, and are engaging the community members on the proposal of moving the dumpsite to that area. The environmental impact assessment is also being conducted as we were only given until October to move the dumpsite,'' he explained, adding that the council is planning to start a landfill management process for the waste materials. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism's public relations officer, Romeo Muyunda, told The Namibian that the Katima Mulilo Town Council was given a compliance order to relocate the current dumpsite. “The ministry has given the town council a compliance order, which states that they must relocate and put in mitigation measures to ensure that there is a minimum impact from the current site to the environment and to the people while they are working on the new site. The process of getting the much-needed environmental impact assessment clearance and environmental management plan for the new dumping site has started already, but they are still to submit them,'' he added. Muyunda further urged all town councils to ensure compliance with the Environmental Management Act of 2007 with regards to waste management, especially in the case of dumping sites. “The ministry is in the process of finalising a waste management strategy. Once that is

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done, we will inform all town councils and other stakeholders on strategies that will be put in place in establishing dumping sites and other waste disposal sites,'' he added.

4.2 Teaming up to keep Katima Mulilo clean

The Namibian|11/09/2017 Katima Mulilo mayor Georgina Mwiya-Simataa says it is very important for the town to be clean because it is strategically situated as the gateway to four African countries. She made this remark at the official launch of the “Team up 2 Clean Up” campaign on Friday at the Katima Mulilo open market. The “Team up 2 Clean Up” initiative is spearheaded by the mayor's office, and aims to improve the image of the town, promoting healthy living and attracting potential investors to the town. The launch was attended by heads of government institutions, local business owners, employees of tertiary institutions, the police, and members of the public. “Considering the topography of our town, surrounded by rivers and bordering four different countries, it is vital that we keep it clean at all times. We do not only want to be a gateway, but to also attract investors to our beautiful town,” she noted. Mwiya-Simataa said the campaign aims to improve environmental awareness, while the attraction of investors will definitely play a big role in the reduction of youth unemployment, as stipulated in the Harambee Prosperity Plan. “To our residents, let us contribute to the growth of this town. We acknowledge that our resources are limited, but let us make use of the little we have. Utilise the provided bins to dispose of waste, instead of littering.” She added that although the campaign will only focus on the central business district for now, it will soon be extended to the residential areas. “The office of the chief executive officer will soon introduce a competition in our suburbs for the cleanest suburb. This will be an ongoing activity, and the suburb that is chosen as the cleanest shall be awarded a floating trophy and a prize as well,” she stated. The chief executive officer of the Katima Mulilo town council, Raphael Liswaniso, said they hope to raise awareness on the negative impact littering has on the environment. “This programme is essentially an environmental awareness campaign that attempts to encourage residents to take a more proactive role in caring for our environment. We hope to become the cleanest town in Namibia by ensuring that our environment is clean and healthy to live in,” he stressed.