Residents of Kalkfeld in the Otjozondjupa Region on Friday staged a peaceful demonstration, demanding for residential plots at the settlement.

Kalkfeld is situated about 70 kilometres west of Otjiwarongo and is administered by the Otjozondjupa Regional Council.

The nearly 100 disgruntled residents also handed over a petition to the acting chief administration officer of the settlement, Freedom Hamwandi. The petition contained complaints about the lack of economic activities at the settlement, and a lack of serviced land for residential purposes.

The residents said they do not want to continue residing in their grandparents’ houses, which they said are overcrowded.

‘We want our own plots as children of this settlement as you promised us in 1996 when you took over this settlement. We will continue to demonstrate over this issue until our demands are met,’ they said.

The community members gave the Otjozondjupa Regional Council 14 working days to respond to their demands. If the council fails to respond, they will directly engage the line Ministry of Urban and Rural Development on the matter.

Hamwandi received the petition on behalf of the regional council and promised to forward it to the council in Otjiwarongo.

Kalkfeld was proclaimed a village council in 1991, but downgraded to a settlement in 1996 because of a lack of developmental and infrastructural growth.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency