City to build houses for 14 flood victims

FLOOD victims at Dolam in Katutura near the Sam Nujoma soccer stadium will receive 14 new houses valued at nearly N$3 million, the Windhoek City Council decided at its monthly meeting last week Thursday.

Fourteen houses were flooded in January after torrential rains, which overwhelmed the new storm-water drains at the stadium. The victims claimed that their houses had never suffered flood damage in previous years and blamed the architects and builders of the new sports complex.In turn, the municipality denied there was any construction fault with the newly built municipal sport stadium.The financial implications amount to approximately N$3,5 million, as the area where the 14 houses are to be built must first be subdivided and serviced with water and sewerage pipes, electricity connections, streets and street lights.Residents rejected an earlier offer by the City to relocate them to Otjomuise.The new area is Erf 2117 in Soweto close to the turnoff to the Lafrenz industrial area, where the former Black Africa soccer field was.The plot covers 5,8 hectares.The legal representative for the Dolam flood victims, Erenstine Kalomo, told this newspaper that she had not yet been informed about the City Council resolution.”I received a letter from the municipality last week that the issue would be discussed at the monthly Council meeting and that I would then be informed in writing about the decision this week,” Kalomo, the project lawyer in the Land, Environment and Development Unit at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), said.The original demands submitted by the LAC to the City were for N$5,6 million on behalf of the 14 households, representing some 130 victims, who had to find temporary shelter in the sports stadium.”This is unacceptable as it is neither market related and does not even reflect replacement costs,” the City said.The municipality originally offered N$1,69 million to the victims and relocation to Otjomuise.The City of Windhoek intends to have small, two-bedroom houses constructed by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) at N$140 000 each.The NHE indicated to the municipality it could build the houses within three months.Rosa Namises, one of the flood victims, claims the value of the new houses would be far lower than her existing, flooded house.”It is an eight-bedroom house and valued at N$790 000,” she told this newspaper over the weekend.”We will have to discuss this very intensely, we cannot be worse off than before,” Namises said.Her sister, Claudia Namises, runs a children’s’ home next door with a kindergarten, valued at N$600 000 by the LAC.The municipality however only estimated the replacement value of the two properties at N$167 113 and N$227 485 respectively.The Council on Thursday further decided to pay each flood-affected household a one-off payment of N$10 000 as compensation, but their outstanding municipal accounts would be offset against this.Five of the 14 households owe the City altogether N$69 000 – one as high as N$21 000 and another N$16 881, according to the agenda prepared for last week’s City Council meeting.The victims claimed that their houses had never suffered flood damage in previous years and blamed the architects and builders of the new sports complex.In turn, the municipality denied there was any construction fault with the newly built municipal sport stadium.The financial implications amount to approximately N$3,5 million, as the area where the 14 houses are to be built must first be subdivided and serviced with water and sewerage pipes, electricity connections, streets and street lights.Residents rejected an earlier offer by the City to relocate them to Otjomuise.The new area is Erf 2117 in Soweto close to the turnoff to the Lafrenz industrial area, where the former Black Africa soccer field was.The plot covers 5,8 hectares.The legal representative for the Dolam flood victims, Erenstine Kalomo, told this newspaper that she had not yet been informed about the City Council resolution.”I received a letter from the municipality last week that the issue would be discussed at the monthly Council meeting and that I would then be informed in writing about the decision this week,” Kalomo, the project lawyer in the Land, Environment and Development Unit at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), said.The original demands submitted by the LAC to the City were for N$5,6 million on behalf of the 14 households, representing some 130 victims, who had to find temporary shelter in the sports stadium.”This is unacceptable as it is neither market related and does not even reflect replacement costs,” the City said.The municipality originally offered N$1,69 million to the victims and relocation to Otjomuise.The City of Windhoek intends to have small, two-bedroom houses constructed by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) at N$140 000 each.The NHE indicated to the municipality it could build the houses within three months.Rosa Namises, one of the flood victims, claims the value of the new houses would be far lower than her existing, flooded house.”It is an eight-bedroom house and valued at N$790 000,” she told this newspaper over the weekend.”We will have to discuss this very intensely, we cannot be worse off than before,” Namises said.Her sister, Claudia Namises, runs a children’s’ home next door with a kindergarten, valued at N$600 000 by the LAC.The municipality however only estimated the replacement value of the two properties at N$167 113 and N$227 485 respectively.The Council on Thursday further decided to pay each flood-affected household a one-off payment of N$10 000 as compensation, but their outstanding municipal accounts would be offset against this.Five of the 14 households owe the City altogether N$69 000 – one as high as N$21 000 and another N$16 881, according to the agenda prepared for last week’s City Council meeting.