Windhoek Mayor Job Amupanda has admitted collective failure by the municipality to provide housing and land to its residents following Wednesday’s shack demolition at Babylon, on the outskirts of the city.

The act, which was executed by the City Police, Amupanda said, was an embodiment of collective failure to address the housing situation in Windhoek.

Amupanda while addressing a media briefing on the incident, here Thursday said what transpired is characterised by the lack of imagination, the impossibility of co-presence and the paradigm of difference.

He said neither he nor the Council had knowledge of the incident until they learned about it on social media, before terming it reckless and irresponsible.

“What occurred yesterday was not sanctioned by the political leadership of the Municipal Council, to an extent that individual councillors may have been aware, of the intended events, such events were not sanctioned by Council,” said Amupanda.

He said council will convene a special council on land and housing on 05 August 2021 in line with the Local Authority Act to discuss various matters for approval, including the relocation centre to decongest the informal settlements, controlled entry into the informal settlements, city-owned township development, affordable housing policy, municipality waiting list and the establishment of municipality satellite offices in informal settlements amongst others.

“This Special Council will be live-streamed and I will explore possibilities to have this meeting broadcasted on radio,” he explained.

This will be followed by a housing indaba, where the Councillors and key stakeholders will be expected to deliberate issues pertaining to housing and land delivery to chart a clearer way forward, the mayor said.

Amupanda went on to urge residents to analyse the events beyond the naked eye saying, it is evident that there are specific politicians whose plan and preoccupation, is to isolate him and ensure the coalition fails.

“It is thus clear that the objective is not necessarily to address the issues facing our residents but, to isolate Amupanda, and projects that celebrity politicians are somehow not part of what is transpiring. Indeed, the objective is to frustrate and defocus this imaginary Amupanda,” he said.

Source: Namibia Press Agency