Shack dwellers accuse City of delays

The City of Windhoek has been accused of frustrating efforts by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) to speed up the delivery of houses, while ensuring affordability.

However, the municipality has strongly defended its support and commitment to the upgrading of informal settlements in Windhoek.

It was responding to complaints that it had shut out the SDFN.

Countrywide, the federation has helped members build a total of

4 800 homes through the dedication and hard work of 23 000 members, belonging to 747 groups.

In total, the groups across the country have saved over N$25 million with the help of their members, in addition to funds from private sponsors and government.

“The City of Windhoek has not been very helpful. It looks like the Windhoek municipality prefers to do everything themselves,” Edith Mbanga of the SDFN recently told Namibian Sun.

She said since 2005, the City of Windhoek has not come to the table to assist SDFN groups.

The first SDFN savings group initiated an upgrade project 13 years ago and an agreement was signed with the City of Windhoek.

“What was lacking was a strong multi-stakeholder team to maintain the momentum until the community could also build their houses,” she said.

She emphasised that involving the community speeds up informal settlement development and improves affordability.

According to Mbanga however, the Windhoek municipality “insists it is not according to their standards and that the municipality will do it”.

“This is delaying all the development and the securing of tenure by groups,” Mbanga added.



Top priority

The City of Windhoek this week strongly defended its prioritisation of informal settlement development, and acknowledged that cooperation between the community and authorities is crucial and that “sustainability means developing with the people, and not for them”.

Instead of being viewed as “unhelpful”, City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya this week said it is merely complying with standards as stipulated by the Town and Regional Planners' Amendment Act 32 of 1998.

Amutenya highlighted that the City has prioritised the urgency of informal settlement upgrading in its main strategic plans and sticking to set standards “should not be perceived to be delaying development”.

She added in the past the City did allow groups to design their own layout and services, but “due to lack of technical and qualified expertise those designs were found not to meet the required standards”.

She added that compliance “is critical to any development to avoid developmental problems later”.

Amutenya said the emphasis on compliance should not be regarded as a tactic to delay development, “but it is the responsibility of the City of Windhoek to ensure that development conforms”.

In May, Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua was quoted by Namibian Sun at a groundbreaking ceremony in the Rocky Crest suburb, saying that the next agreement he signs must be to service land in informal settlements.

“As we know, the demand for serviced land and housing in Windhoek is overwhelming - a reality which rendered council unable to meet this demand alone.”



Teamwork

Mbanga cautioned that when developers are brought in prices skyrocket and “the very poor will not be catered for, and will remain poor because they cannot afford these services”.

She added it is unlikely that without community input, developers can know what the needs are.

“We feel that you cannot really get someone who lives in Kleine Kuppe come and formalise informal settlements without us.”

Mbanga said the SDFN has learned that instead of solely relying on government, SDFN groups take pride in doing what they can to ensure better lives for their families.

“Instead of government and local authorities planning for us, we want them to plan with us. Because we know what is happening in our informal settlements. We know what we want, we know what our needs are and we can prioritise.”

Amutenya said City officials agree that “there is no room for working in silos and being non-supportive as alleged” and that it “has always regarded the SDFN as a development partner, when it comes to the development of low-income communities”.

In addition, the City has developed its own community development programmes through which residents are “mobilised to form saving groups that are not affiliated with the SDFN”.

More than 40 such groups have received direct technical support “and some are doing very well”.

Furthermore, the City explained its planners conduct community surveys when upgrades are in the pipeline, to assess the affordability levels and the types of services required, on which layout and designs are based.

Small steps

The SDFN has identified incremental development as key to successfully address informal settlement development.

Mbanga said incremental development allows families to “start small, and grow bit by bit”.

“That is what the community can pay and afford.”

The City said incremental development “cannot be disputed and as a partner in development.

“We have been and continue to be supportive in this regard.”

In line with this, City officials are reviewing the current Upgrading and Development Strategy of 1999, which allows for incremental development.

Moreover, the new Flexible Land Tenure System “will allow incremental tenure systems that will permit the savings group to migrate from starter title to freehold title”.

Nevertheless, the City emphasised that to ensure sustainability, all standards must be met in terms of design and layout, as well as services.

JANA-MARI SMITH