180 Tseiblaagte residents in line for plots
The Keetmanshoop municipality handed over 180 pre-allocated plots yesterday to residents from the town's Tseiblaagte Extention 2 location as part of an ongoing land delivery process.
According to the municipality's acting CEO, Catherine Boois, the council realised that the process was too slow, and the lack of finances from the government holding back servicing of lands contributed to that.
"We started in Kronlein, where we already gave out pre-allocations. What this means is that the beneficiaries are guaranteed that the council will go back and prioritise the servicing of land for these people and make sure it is occupiable within a year or so.
"We will get back to the recipients once everything is finalised," she said during the official handover.
Problems
During the handover, council members highlighted that high earners apply for erven and often receive it before people in the low-income sector, which poses several problems for the municipality.
"Some people have been on the list since 2005, and now there are people who just came and received their land. This shows that there is a problem with the system,” Keetmanshoop councillor, Johannes Vries said.
"If you earn N$24 000, then you can buy yourself an erf. There is a skewed process that we are now trying to rectify. The beneficiaries will be the ones that are prioritised. There is currently a tender out for the servicing of the land, but we can't promise when it will start. We are doing something for the people in Keetmanshoop," he underlined.
Pride
The beneficiaries noted that they are concerned about the renaming of the areas and streets and prefer to have the new location named after something that defines the people in that location.
"We already have a street called Vark Street, and these are not the steps we want to follow. Streets need to be named according to what matters to us. We don't want to live in a location whose name we are not proud of," one of the beneficiaries said.
Vries assured residents that the council is in the process of rallying a street naming committee that will deliberate on possible names and allow the community to vote on what they'd like the area to be called.
Keetmanshoop mayor McDonald Hanse, during his keynote, alluded to the dire need for land in the south and said Keetmanshoop alone has a housing backlog of more than 5000, which calls for urgent action.
"The shortage of serviced land and the cost involved in servicing the land are prohibitively high, plus the cumbersome process involved in the allocation of land," he said.
"A recent survey established that house prices have shot up by 1 250% since 1990. This limits the provision of affordable housing, especially to the low and ultra-low-income segments. It is evident that the challenge is not only a lack of houses but also an acute shortage of serviced plots for housing," he said.
Supply and demand
Furthermore, Hanse said that efforts to address the imbalance in supply and demand for housing will show the key role this issue plays in the country's economy.
"The most profound housing constraint in Keetmanshoop and Namibia, in general, is the mismatch between the supply of developable land and the demand thereof."
He added: "Addressing this persistent imbalance will not only unleash the full potential of the housing market and its contribution to the economy but will also address the social aspects related to sustainable and affordable housing."
According to the municipality's acting CEO, Catherine Boois, the council realised that the process was too slow, and the lack of finances from the government holding back servicing of lands contributed to that.
"We started in Kronlein, where we already gave out pre-allocations. What this means is that the beneficiaries are guaranteed that the council will go back and prioritise the servicing of land for these people and make sure it is occupiable within a year or so.
"We will get back to the recipients once everything is finalised," she said during the official handover.
Problems
During the handover, council members highlighted that high earners apply for erven and often receive it before people in the low-income sector, which poses several problems for the municipality.
"Some people have been on the list since 2005, and now there are people who just came and received their land. This shows that there is a problem with the system,” Keetmanshoop councillor, Johannes Vries said.
"If you earn N$24 000, then you can buy yourself an erf. There is a skewed process that we are now trying to rectify. The beneficiaries will be the ones that are prioritised. There is currently a tender out for the servicing of the land, but we can't promise when it will start. We are doing something for the people in Keetmanshoop," he underlined.
Pride
The beneficiaries noted that they are concerned about the renaming of the areas and streets and prefer to have the new location named after something that defines the people in that location.
"We already have a street called Vark Street, and these are not the steps we want to follow. Streets need to be named according to what matters to us. We don't want to live in a location whose name we are not proud of," one of the beneficiaries said.
Vries assured residents that the council is in the process of rallying a street naming committee that will deliberate on possible names and allow the community to vote on what they'd like the area to be called.
Keetmanshoop mayor McDonald Hanse, during his keynote, alluded to the dire need for land in the south and said Keetmanshoop alone has a housing backlog of more than 5000, which calls for urgent action.
"The shortage of serviced land and the cost involved in servicing the land are prohibitively high, plus the cumbersome process involved in the allocation of land," he said.
"A recent survey established that house prices have shot up by 1 250% since 1990. This limits the provision of affordable housing, especially to the low and ultra-low-income segments. It is evident that the challenge is not only a lack of houses but also an acute shortage of serviced plots for housing," he said.
Supply and demand
Furthermore, Hanse said that efforts to address the imbalance in supply and demand for housing will show the key role this issue plays in the country's economy.
"The most profound housing constraint in Keetmanshoop and Namibia, in general, is the mismatch between the supply of developable land and the demand thereof."
He added: "Addressing this persistent imbalance will not only unleash the full potential of the housing market and its contribution to the economy but will also address the social aspects related to sustainable and affordable housing."
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