Oshakati informal settlers relocated
Residents are expected to build temporary shacks at their own cost.
OSHAKATI – The Oshakati town council yesterday started relocating 320 residents from the Eemwandi informal settlement in Oshakati West to Onawa in the north-eastern part of the town.
The town’s chief executive officer, Werner Iita, said Eemwandi residents are the first to be relocated, followed by residents from Sky informal settlement at a later stage.
Sky informal settlement is also situated in Oshakati West and the number of residents to be relocated from there to Onawa is yet to be determined.
Iita explained that 3 000 plots for low-income residents are planned for Onawa, of which 512 have already been provided with services such as roads, water and sanitation facilities.
“The residents from the two informal settlements were settled there informally from before independence and as such, council could not provide proper sanitation, streets, water and electricity services to those settlements,” he pointed out.
The plots at Onawa range between 300 to 450 square metres in size and residents are expected to build temporary shacks at their own cost.
Eemwandi
Iita said the council donated a big portion of Eemwandi informal settlement to the University of Namibia Oshakati Campus to expand and build hostels, while the rest of the land there is earmarked exclusively for business purposes.
The CEO said N$700 000 has been set aside for the relocation to cover transport costs and the replacement of items which would be damaged during the process.
The relocation budget is effective until the end of June this year.
Residents Nampa spoke to expressed satisfaction that the town council has finally decided to provide land to them where they can live legally.
One such resident, Aksel Nekandu, said settling at Eemwandi was at own risk and unauthorised with no full ownership to the dwellings or business structures as well as non-payment for municipal services.
“I can now officially and without fear build a modern house on a plot I have received from the council,” Nekandu said. - Nampa
The town’s chief executive officer, Werner Iita, said Eemwandi residents are the first to be relocated, followed by residents from Sky informal settlement at a later stage.
Sky informal settlement is also situated in Oshakati West and the number of residents to be relocated from there to Onawa is yet to be determined.
Iita explained that 3 000 plots for low-income residents are planned for Onawa, of which 512 have already been provided with services such as roads, water and sanitation facilities.
“The residents from the two informal settlements were settled there informally from before independence and as such, council could not provide proper sanitation, streets, water and electricity services to those settlements,” he pointed out.
The plots at Onawa range between 300 to 450 square metres in size and residents are expected to build temporary shacks at their own cost.
Eemwandi
Iita said the council donated a big portion of Eemwandi informal settlement to the University of Namibia Oshakati Campus to expand and build hostels, while the rest of the land there is earmarked exclusively for business purposes.
The CEO said N$700 000 has been set aside for the relocation to cover transport costs and the replacement of items which would be damaged during the process.
The relocation budget is effective until the end of June this year.
Residents Nampa spoke to expressed satisfaction that the town council has finally decided to provide land to them where they can live legally.
One such resident, Aksel Nekandu, said settling at Eemwandi was at own risk and unauthorised with no full ownership to the dwellings or business structures as well as non-payment for municipal services.
“I can now officially and without fear build a modern house on a plot I have received from the council,” Nekandu said. - Nampa
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