Cigarette butts, beer bottles litter mass houses

Instead of housing people, Otjomuise homes built under former president Hifikepunye Pohamba’s flagship mass housing project are home to broken beer bottles and cigarette butts.

Now, landless people in Windhoek are threatening to occupy the houses if they are not allocated to owners by 29 February.

A Namibian Sun visit to the site yesterday revealed that all the houses were entirely fenced off with barbed wire, with no occupants assigned to them.

This deterrent has, however, not been sufficient to bar entry by individuals who seem to use the houses as spots for drinking and other unsavoury activities – with remnants of their escapades evident on site.

A walk through one of the unoccupied houses showed that while they remain almost fully furnished with the inclusion of kitchen cupboards, toilets and doors, some power switches and taps are missing. More money would be needed to replace the missing items should the houses be allocated to residents.

‘Govt should answer’

Launched at the twilight of Pohamba’s legacy in 2013, the mass housing programme promised to build 185 000 houses before 2030.

The initiative, which intended to address Namibia’s huge housing backlog, over the years suffered numerous challenges and setbacks.

Six years from its deadline, and a couple of millions now down the drain, Windhoek - which bears the brunt of Namibia’s housing backlog - has seen houses intended for its beneficiaries remain unoccupied, despite the programme’s lofty ideals.

The state of unoccupied houses, which were constructed by CalgroKuumba, emanate from a long legal squabble between that company and government.

Speaking to Namibian Sun, CalgroKuumba shareholder Titus Nakuumba said questions on the unoccupied houses should be directed to government, because his company delivered its end of the deal.

“Those questions about why the houses are not occupied, government should answer. They did not finalise payment for work done,” he said.

According to him, his company had successfully argued its case, with the High Court ruling in its favour.

The unoccupancy of the houses stems from the demand of payment for work done to the tune of N$40 million, he said.

Nakuumba added that he offered to buy the houses from government to reach a conclusion to the matter.

Legal processes

Urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni said there are legal processes holding up the handover of the houses to government.

“There are some few legal issues that need to be sorted out first,” he said.

Executive director Nghidinua Daniel denied wrongdoing on the part of government, saying efforts were made in the past to find a workable solution.

“The custody of the houses and site is in the hands of the contractor, CalgroKuumba. The houses are not yet complete and fit for occupation,” he said.

“Any damages thereto is the responsibility of the contractor. We have met and taken up the issue with the contractor. The situation is unacceptable and unnecessarily brought bad publicity against government,” he said.

Occupation threats

Activist Michael Amushelelo said he had been approached by scores of people asking why they must continue paying high rental fees when government has unoccupied houses.

“People have been sending me pictures of the unoccupied houses. We are giving all the relevant authorities until 29 February to ensure that these empty houses have owners. Failure [to comply will result] in the people [organising] ourselves and go occupy those houses,” he said.

“We are doing this because government only listens when there is public pressure.

“We are going to occupy the houses and if we occupy the houses, government will be forced to get eviction notices to get us out of the houses,” he added.

“Landlords have become too comfortable with the housing situation,” Amushelelo claimed.