President Hage Geingob on Friday handed over 121 houses to members of the Twaloloka informal residential, who had lost their homes to a massive fire last year.
Giving a keynote address at the ceremony at Otweya, Geingob reiterated the importance of welfare for people in the informal settlements, noting that it has been given priority and this will remain the case.
“I am therefore pleased that after this tragic incident, we can meet today to partake in the handing over of these houses to the fire victims, cementing our commitment to address the issue of decongestion of informal settlements, to provide housing to the masses and to improve the livelihoods of our people.
We will continue with this strategy and call on all local authorities to support this initiative by providing land where possible,” the president noted.
The cost of each 300 square metre house was N. dollars 59 000. The houses are equipped with one bedroom, toilet and an open plan kitchen. Each house has an approved plan, which can accommodate an additional two bedrooms at own cost.
Erongo Governor, Neville Andre Itope, congratulated the beneficiaries of the houses who provided the labour, while the Namibia Shack dwellers Federation provided technical skills to construct the houses in order to meet the required municipal standards.
“Gratitude also go out to the old council members for the excellent support they have given to the successful realisation of this project, as well as the newly elected council for their support to ensure that the project continued to be implemented undisturbed, despite a number of attempts to disrupt progress,” the governor noted.
Urban and Rural Development Minister, Erastus Uutoni, commended the Government, which rallied and led national efforts to address the various urgent needs of those who were affected by the fire.
“Given the known huge need for housing in all parts of the country, it is expected that the beneficiaries of this housing and land delivery intervention by the Government will also play their role as citizens and help the Government to assist other needy Namibians elsewhere by giving their full support to the Walvis Bay municipality on the modalities for the transfer of ownership,” Uutoni said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
