Evicted landless sleep in the open

Landless people who were evicted by the police from municipal plots in Walvis Bay two weeks ago are still sleeping out in the open and on the street next to the plots.

More than 100 people seized two plots in Tutaleni settlement, saying they were tired of renting backyard shacks with no toilets or electricity that cost them more than N$1 000 a month.

Community activist Kenneth Iilonga said the group would not go anywhere until they were given a place to stay.

“They are staying put, nothing they can do, the only way out is to get them land,” he said.

Iilonga used the opportunity to call for assistance in the form of food and tents because most of the people are unemployed.

He also called for a speedy finalisation of Farm 37, a piece of land south of Walvis Bay where the municipality plans to relocate about 65 000 landless residents.

One of the landless, Jeremia Katondo, said they had nowhere to go and as such opted to remain on the streets.

He said most of them used the little money they had to replace the property lost during the eviction and now have no money to buy food.

Katondo said the situation was sinking them into debt, as they often had to borrow money to feed their children.

He said they had not received any help since the eviction.

“For three days now we have been out in the harsh wind and dust,” he said.

A press statement issued last week by the municipality of Walvis Bay indicated that the town council had no land to place Katondo and his group at the moment.

Municipality CEO Muronga Haingura said they were still waiting for an official communication from the Namibia Planning Advisory Board to confirm their acquisition of Farm 37 before they could start planning the project.

Last week, the municipality received a verbal communication that their application to get the land had been approved, Haingura said.

NAMPA