More than 270 residents of the ‘VIP’ settlement in Opuwo in the Kunene Region on Saturday received land occupation acknowledgement certificates from the town’s mayor, Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo.

During the official handover ceremony, the mayor commended the residents for keeping the settlement clean and peaceful, noting that their deportment towards the town’s development should remain intact in the years to come, while urging the residents to desist from auctioning off their land.

She said that all those who received their certificates should start paying off the land for development to run smoothly.

“We are on track to sewerage, water and roads construction but we also require you to start paying off the land. The land now belongs to you so start with house construction but let’s first honour our contracts,” she added.

Speaking at the same occasion, chairperson of Opuwo Town Council management, Licius Kaare Mupya also cautioned residents on land-grabbing, stating that it’s in the council mandate to provide land to everyone and therefore people should practice patience as their time will come.

Mupya also called on aggrieved residents to engage amicably, openly and with civility with the council for solutions instead of taking the law into their own hands, leading to illegal squatters on the town land.

One of the beneficiaries, Doc Tjazukauni Tjivinda, told Nampa that they welcome this development, saying it was long overdue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency