Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Tsumeb Municipality announced the donation of 21 residential plots to selected individuals in the town through private transactions.
This was revealed in a public notice issued under the Local Authorities Act.
According to the notice placed in newspapers, the plots, each measuring 300 square meters, are located in Extension 8 and Extension 10 of Tsumeb.
The properties are zoned for residential use and remain unimproved.
The town’s mayor, Mathew Hangula, explained that the recipients of the houses are members of the Build Together Programme who had houses built at the old municipal dump site.
“It seems that the land was not properly rehabilitated and the houses started showing defects. The council opted to relocate them to a new site. The donation is only for the affected households,” he said.
Hangula explained that all costs will be borne by the council.
“Council will build the similar houses they are currently living in. If it’s a one-bedroom, the new house will also be one bedroom; the same will be for the two-bedroom houses,” he said.
The notice further states that individuals who wished to object to the transaction had until 27 November 2024 to submit written objections to the office of the Chief Executive Officer.
Last year, it was reported that Tsumeb’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Frans Enkali, said that since 2017, the municipality had allocated 300 residential erven for the housing development of Saamstaan, also known as the Shack Dwellers Federation.
Enkali further stated that the municipality had allocated about 600 erven to Nomtsoub Extensions 8 and 9, including plots designated for residential, business, general residential, and institutional use to address the town’s housing demand.
The Windhoek Observer sought clarity from the municipality regarding the rationale behind the donation, the selection criteria for recipients, and whether this initiative forms part of a broader housing programme.
However, efforts to obtain further details were not successful by the time of publication.
