City of Windhoek calls for bids to demolish shacks

THE City of Windhoek has put out a notice seeking to award a tender for the removal of illegal shacks on municipal land.

The latest development follows a commotion between the Windhoek City Police and land grabbers towards the end of February when the police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at people they found setting-up shacks at a plot behind Chairman Mao Zedong High School in Otjomuise.

City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye told The Namibian today (Saturday), that they were only targeting newly set-up shacks on municipal land.

“Only shacks that are set-up as of today will be demolished,” he said. The tender notice was put out on Friday.

Affirmative Repositioning movement leader (AR) Job Amupanda released a statement on Friday ridiculing the City of Windhoek for what he called an attack on the poor.

“This is a clear indication that the regime, despite electioneering statements about the shacks, is not going to help our people but to cause more pain and suffering,“ he said.

Amupanda also claims that the city has set aside N$10 million for the demolition of the shacks, adding that the funds could be better spent on building houses.

He said that the AR would challenge the tender in court, and has already directed their lawyers to do so. He also said that they would be writing to the City of Windhoek to “express their disgust”.

Akwenye denied that the tender would cost the city N$10 million, stating that AR was exaggerating this figure. He said previous tenders for projects of this nature cost the city about N$280 000 and that the current one would also be in the same range.

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