In order to fast-track service delivery and eliminate bureaucracy, the Windhoek Municipal Council has approved the establishment of a company that will focus on land and housing delivery.
Windhoek Mayor Job Amupanda announced the establishment of the company on Tuesday, during a media briefing where he announced the outcome of a land and housing workshop the city councillors attended from 30 August until 03 September 2021.
He said one of the challenges the City of Windhoek faces is service delivery, especially with regards to serviced land and housing, as well as the implementing of council resolutions. He said some City officials in the administration departments “sometimes want to first get kickbacks” in order to process applications. Amupanda said the council saw it fit to create its own company that will help it to deliver on its mandate within a limited period of time.
“The company will be called Nova Actus Holdings and it is going to help us cut out the middle man, we are going to do away with tenders which sometimes cost the City extra money. The company is registered to deal with land and housing development,” said Amupanda.
He added that the company is expected to submit a funding proposal to the council for consideration, inclusive of insurance for low cost houses. A task team on urbanisation management will also be established in order to review current laws and policies. It will recommend possible reforms and provide input on the development of a regional and national urbanisation strategy policy inclusive of a fixed funding formula to local authorities.
“What this means is that those running local authorities will know how much we will be getting from our ministry in terms of budget allocations, which will help with proper planning also,” Amupanda stated.
He further said that the City of Windhoek will implement controlled entry to informal settlements to cater for immediate genuine accommodation needs in line with Council Resolution 38/02/2021, which deals with procedures for handling humanitarian land and shelter requests.
The mayor also announced that CoW is in negotiations with central government on the swapping or writing off of historical debts amounting to N.dollars 700 million that the City owes the government. Once the debt is written off, the municipality’s liquidity will improve, he said.
CoW’s Corporate Communications Manager Harold Akwenye, when approached for comment, said the company is not necessarily being established to curb corruption, but to ensure that council resolutions are implemented on time and to avoid delays.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
