Nanso issues ultimatum over student village occupancy

The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) says the government’s student village should be ready for occupation by the beginning of January 2023, or the organisation will embark on student demonstrations against the delays.According to the organisation, its recent congress welcomed the inclusion of the development of the student village in the 2022/2023 budget of the ministry of higher education, technology and innovation."We call on government through the ministry to expedite the development of the student village. We expect our students to move in on the 1st of January 2023, as student accommodation remains a critical barrier for students and trainees to access institutions of higher learning," a statement by Nanso read.They further threatened that should the situation not improve, they will demonstrate and further called on students to join them.PrioritiesDuring her budget motivation last month, higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi said the long-awaited construction of a student village would start in the current financial year.Murangi said the government would make the student village a priority since student accommodation was a grave issue in Namibia.She noted the long-awaited student village was a key project that would be undertaken by the ministry during the 2022/23 financial year.Nanso’s secretary for information, communication and technology, Dorthea Nangolo, said a piece of land near the Unam main campus had been allocated for the student village."The village is for all registered students and trainees. During the Land Conference, we suggested that land should be set aside for a student village. And it was done. We now just await further discussions around the construction of the village," she said.A task force with all necessary stakeholders, who will oversee the various processes, has been established. The accommodation will be in the Khomasdal suburb.No corruption hereEarlier this year, former Windhoek mayor and Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda accused the ministry of corruption, claiming that Kandjii-Murangi had plans to award the construction tender of the student village through a public-private partnership arrangement.The minister denied this and said everything was being done lawfully.

Nanso issues ultimatum over student village occupancy

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-21

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Nanso issues ultimatum over student village occupancy

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-21

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