EDITORIAL: The Twaloloka fires of public relations

In July 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a massive fire swept through the impoverished Twaloloka informal settlement in Walvis Bay. A baby died while 150 families were left homeless.

It was a political disaster in an election year. Politicians, as typical of them, ran in all directions to put down the verbal fires that emerged from the tragedy, including accusations that they looked away as the housing crisis in the country hit industrial levels.

Amid the finger-pointing between the opposition and Swapo, a few blankets, mattresses, food and tents were donated to the effected residents. To add to the people’s supposed pleasure, the settlement was immediately renamed from Twaloloka (We are tired) to Otweya (We are coming) in order to give it a sheen of dignity.

After that, everyone crawled back into their cocoons, and new shacks sprung up again. Last week, déjà vu revisited Otweya when nearly 100 shacks caught fire, resulting in the death of one man.

This is because the very fundamentals that led to the 2020 Twaloloka tragedy remain unchanged. Renaming the area while leaving the structural social impediments untouched can never resolve the tragedies that continue to kill impoverished residents.

A few new formal structures that were constructed in the aftermath of the original catastrophe have done nothing to resolve the issues brewing under the feet of Otweya residents – hence last week’s fatality. In fact, residents who lived in the new structures have been on a collision course with government officials, who told them to vacate the houses because they do not belong there. Shame on us!