Lüderitz family waits 22 years for land

Lüderitz resident Paul Herero says his 80-year-old mother has waited 22 years for land to build a home, while rising property prices and growing demand from oil, gas and green hydrogen developments make access increasingly difficult.Herero and his mother, Johanna, currently live in the Sande informal settlement on the outskirts of Lüderitz, where residents lack proper sanitation facilities."My mom has been pleading for a piece of land to build a house ever since 2004," he says.Herero, vice-chairperson of a local small-scale fisheries association, believes ordinary residents are losing out as companies entering the town secure land for their operations."But then with the new companies, oil companies and supporting companies come, they are getting land, left and right, centre," he says.However, he acknowledges that some companies have supported small-scale fishing communities seeking access to fishing grounds and commercial fishing opportunities."You know, [let me] say eight to ten years ago, it would have been very difficult to get support from other NGOs to support our drive to get access to fishing grounds or even a commercial license to harvest or catch fish to sell to the market," he says.Another resident, property broker Petrus Kangura, says he has waited since 2019 for housing through the Lüderitz Town Council.“We [have] applied since 2019. We are now in 2026,” Kangura said.He says the council required applicants to reapply in 2023, despite their earlier submissions. When officials eventually released a list of qualifying applicants, Kangura and several other long-standing applicants discovered that their names were missing.“None of us,” he said when asked whether their names appeared on the list.Kangura, who operates Kangura Investments, says only a few people he recognised as local residents appeared to have benefited.His family's struggle stretches back decades. His mother waited approximately 30 years before receiving a council house, while he continues to face difficulties accessing land.“Even the land that more than four generations grew up in, it's complicated for me to get access to it,” he said.Kangura says repeated applications and requests for updated documents have produced little clarity about when the council will address his housing needs.“It is a very huge problem for this town,” he said.He warns that the accommodation shortage already affects residents, even before major oil and gas developments begin operating at full scale.Council plans expansionGrowing investment in oil, gas, green hydrogen and port infrastructure has increased pressure on Lüderitz's limited residential and commercial land.Lüderitz Town Council spokesperson Elwin Gaoseb says the municipality remains committed to expanding the town and identifying additional land for development.“Through this approach, we are looking at the re-use and occupation of empty pockets of land to provide both residential and business erven (inclusive of institutional erven).”Gaoseb says the council is implementing the initiative through Stubenrauch Planning Consultants and will consider additional options once it completes the required town-planning procedures.However, Independent Patriots for Change councillor Nehemia Mutaleni Junior has criticised delays in expanding the town's boundaries.Speaking in his personal capacity as a youth leader last month, Mutaleni urged the government to speed up the process, arguing that authorities repeatedly discuss the issue without delivering results.“Every time we go in meetings, we hear about land boundary extensions, but nothing is happening,” he said.The delays leave long-standing residents such as Herero and Kangura uncertain about when they will secure land or housing as Lüderitz prepares for further industrial investment.*This article was produced through The Green Screen, a collaborative platform that strengthens evidence-based reporting and informed public dialogue on Namibia’s green transition and extractive industries as part of the European Union-funded Eco Dialogue Collective, implemented by DW Akademie, the NMT Media Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC).

Lüderitz family waits 22 years for land

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-04

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Lüderitz family waits 22 years for land

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-04

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