Over 500 Swakopmund residents will now be able to own decent housing as the Swakopmund Municipality will embark on a process through which land ownership will be awarded to them.
This is part of the Swakopmund Municipality’s target to decongest 17 000 or more residents from the DRC informal settlement.
The project which will see residents, mainly those living in the town’s informal settlements of DRC Proper and DRC Wagdaar, will commence early this year according to the town’s Chief Executive Officer, Archie Benjamin, in his new year’s message.
According to Benjamin, the municipality is finally in a position to implement its structure and strategic plan in 2023.
“Council took key implementable decisions that will ensure that we provide land ownership to people in these informal settlements, construct low-cost houses through programmes such as Build Together, Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and public-private projects in DRC Proper Extension 25. The municipality will also provide services to Extension 41 and 42 of DRC Wagdaar and continue to provide access to water, electricity and improved sanitation in our informal settlements,” he expressed.
The construction of 1 500 houses commenced at the town in 2021 through the Build Together programme and over 150 beneficiaries have already benefitted from this, with the first and second phase of construction having been completed in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
In addition to this, about 50 houses have also been constructed in Matutura under the 40/40 project.
The finalisation of more than 300 houses under the Mass Housing programme is also underway.
The project commenced in October 2022 after a new tender was awarded to the New Era Construction Investment Company, after over seven years of standing incomplete.
The houses are part of the 505 incomplete houses which were contracted to Ferusa under the national Mass Housing Development Programme.
The 319 incomplete houses at Matutura are scheduled to be completed in 18 months, with 111 of those envisaged for completion within six months.
Over 30 per cent of the town’s population is currently living in shacks.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
