Martin Endjala
The United Democratic Front (UDF) branch has criticised the Omaruru Municipality for poor service delivery.
This comes after the Omaruru Town Council announced a project to allocate 1 700 plots in extension 12 to build houses for middle- and ultra-low-income people.
According to the branch chairperson, Eberth Gariseb, the residents have been demanding land for many years, but their calls have gone unanswered, and they are no longer content to sit around.
“The planned 1 700 plots in extension 12 is a great thing, and we commend them for that. But we, as residents of the town, are not happy with the service delivery from the municipality. For more than 15 years, we have been facing the same issues. Yes, the 1 700 plots will greatly help, as there hasn’t been serviced land in Omaruru for a long time now,” said Gariseb.
He said residents would be staging a protest action on Wednesday to express their disappointment at the lack of service delivery in Omaruru.
When it came to land allocation, Gariseb accused the council of favouring people from outside the town.
“The town’s inhabitants, who have been without land for many years and have applied for land, are never considered for land, and this is not fair, too deserve an equal, fair piece of the cake that everyone is eating from,” he argued.
He claims that the municipality’s change of heart in providing serviced land to residents is politically driven, given the upcoming elections.
Sindongo Valentinus, Omaruru’s chief executive officer, confirmed the 1700-plot project.
He said the plot sizes range between 400 square metres for middle- to low-income earners and 300 square metres for ultra-low-income earners.
The cost per plot ranges from an estimated N$500 000 to N$300 000.
Valentinus said that the project cannot be delayed, given the high demand for affordable houses among Omaruru residents.
He said the municipality understands the importance of people owning their own houses, while also clarifying that the 1700 plots are not politically motivated but intended to address land issues in the town.
“These plots that we have serviced are to enable interested people to chip in and buy their land while they wait for the services. Because, as a municipality, we must strike a balance between services and the needs of the people. Hence, we are saying let people occupy the land while we bring all the other services in the time being,” he said.
