Swapo Party candidate for the Swakopmund Constituency by-elections, Nehemia Salomon, has said he will fight for the refurbishment of existing incomplete Mass Housing Project houses as part of his plan to deal with the prickly housing issue at the town.

Salomon said he will do so once elected into position of Swakopmund Constituency Councillor in a recent interview with Nampa.

The former Swakopmund Mayor said the houses have been standing incomplete and unoccupied for years and should be fixed and given to those in need as a matter of urgency.

“We can work with the occupants who will be awarded the houses to complete outstanding services in order to encourage the production of local building materials as a way of making housing more affordable. This will include looking at innovative and new building material and methods that can be sourced cheaply and incorporated into our building standards to promote existing programmes to establish housing financial schemes for low-income sections of Namibian society,” the candidate said.

He further said shack fires continue to destroy residents’ homes and lives and is one that needs to be tackled head on.

This year alone, more than 600 families living in shacks were affected by fires and lost most if not all of their belongings.

“Shack fires need to be dealt with by formalising shack dwelling standards that are geared at preventing or arresting fires, which include incentives that will ensure each dwelling has a fire prevention or protection system.

This will be done while we are sorting out the housing issue. It is better to spend money on preventing fires than spending money replacing lost property.”

Meanwhile, Salomon’s intention with youth development includes prioritising urban agriculture in Swakopmund and surrounding areas such as the Swakop River plots, adding that young people can only be independent when they produce their own food.

The Swakopmund by-elections are slated for 12 August 2022. The elections were necessitated by the removal of Independent Patriot for Change’s Ciske Howard-Smith by her party.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency