City gives ultimatum on drawn-out land deals

COMPANIES, institutions and individuals who have pending land transactions with the City of Windhoek have until the end of August to settle the deals, or risk losing the land altogether.

This was decided at last Thursday’s city council meeting, where four land transactions that had been recommended for cancellation were referred back to the city’s management committee.

Some councillors, including Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) member Brunhilde Cornelius, felt the city’s management had been giving preferential treatment to some customers, and being selective on transaction cancellations.

The city council last week agreed to postpone the cancellation of the four unresolved transactions to get a complete list of outstanding land deals due for cancellation. The four intended cancellations were taken from a large number of land deals, including some dating back to 2003.

The transactions include a plan to build a private hospital in Katutura and apartments in Kleine Kuppe, for which land had been allocated to prospective buyers from 2013 to 2015.

These land transactions were valued at a combined N$20 million.

reported last week that the municipality has been struggling to recover over N$300 million tied up in incomplete land transactions.

The city’s progress report on land deals released last month states that some of the transactions were not completed because of non-compliance by customers, despite continued reminders and demand letters sent out by the municipality.

Although the city claimed that a lot of funds were tied up in incomplete transactions, some of the deals listed in the report were cancelled, but are still reflected as outstanding.

Last week’s council minutes show that Erf 10812, measuring about 28 000 square metres and situated between Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Claudius Kandovazu Streets in Katutura, was allocated to a company called Otjomuise Hospital to construct a “one-stop-shop” hospital.

Otjomuise Hospital is owned by Namibian and Zimbabwean medical practitioners, including Thomas Ihuhua and Valerie Ihuhua.

The council minutes state that this transaction will be cancelled because the company had failed to pay an amount of N$11,4 million for the land within the agreed time, “even after having been given further extension”.

Another transaction which was recommended for cancellation by the council was that for Erf 261, measuring 8 500 square metres in Kleine Kuppe, and sold to Johanna Court Body Corporate to construct residential units. The company also failed to pay about N$7,5 million.

reported in 2016 that Johanna Court Body Corporate CC is owned by “previously disadvantaged” people identified as Selma Nalusha (25,5%) and Jackson Nampola (25,5%), who stay at the same address in Hochland Park, Windhoek. The other shareholders are Aune Axel (19%) and Vitalis Chiza (30%). A plot which was given to a certain Sam Namene was also among the transactions referred back to the city’s management.

The plot in question is Erf 10553, measuring 783 square metres in Katutura, which was approved for sale for N$580 000 in 2013.

The fourth transaction scheduled for cancellation involves Erf 2823 and Erf 2816 in Wanaheda, valued at a combined N$280 000, and allocated to war veterans.

The sale of the two plots, council books state, was to be cancelled because the “recipients owned or did previously own properties, hence do not qualify to be first-time buyers”.

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