The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has called on the Rundu Town Council and the regional leadership to speed up the formalisation of the Tumweneni informal settlement to allow Government or donors to build a school and provide basic services.

Uutoni said this when he visited the Siguruguru Senior Primary School in the informal settlement on Tuesday, where learners are taught in tents.

The school, which now has 745 learners and 15 teachers, was illegally established in 2019 as the land it is situated on belongs to the Rundu Town Council.

The minister said it did not matter now how the school came about, adding that because of the large numbers of learners, formalisation of the informal settlement had to be fast-tracked to give learners a better learning environment.

“We are talking about development, but what are we developing when we have a school like this?” he asked.

Uutoni advised that a committee be established to address the situation at the school as a matter of urgency.

The school can only be developed once the area is formalised.

The minister said evicting the people from that area – as per an eviction order issued by the Rundu Magistrate’s Court – would not solve the problem as the town council would have to avail land where they could be relocated to.

A teacher at the school, Marvellous Haivera said they were dissatisfied with the manner in which the Rundu Town Council has been handling the eviction order.

“The eviction order is the stumble block for the development of the school. Government is ready and has already budgeted for the development of the school,” he said.

Council resolved to set aside the eviction order to allow for provision of municipal services, but the new council has not implemented the resolution.

Rundu Mayor, Gabriel Kanyanga promised the minister that the motion will receive immediate attention at its next council meeting.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency