Govt Housing In Shambles

I WAS shocked to read and see pictures of Government housing deteriorated to the extent that was published in The Namibian (30 September 2005).

Makes you wonder if somebody out there is not doing their job properly. This surely reflects badly on the public perception of Government efficiency, considering the growing dissatisfaction with corruption and misuse of public facilities.The fact that Government housing is one of the cheapest accommodations in the country leaves residents with some money left for maintenance.Residents could surely take it upon themselves to organise a maintenance system that is effective.But maybe tenants do not want to spend their own money improving a flat or house which they may not be occupying a couple of years down the line.Government employees renting these flats, bachelor flats and houses are paying peanuts in relation to the market-related going rate for rental costs for accommodation.Surroundings play an important part in a person’s psychological state of mind and can be determinant of a happy or bad mood.Apparently at Vredehof, a Government flat complex, the entrance has a broken wall on the right side and the left side of the entrance is littered with garbage.Seeing such disturbing pictures of Government property makes you ask yourself what sort of people we have in public administration affairs? Ordinary folk cannot help but lose faith in public officials and their involvement or lack of it in misuse of Government facilities, such as the ODC/ SSC-Avid saga, as well as the usage of a State-owned helicopter by the founding President, for non-governmental duties.The sewerage problem also poses health hazards; this can have the disastrous outcome of airborne diseases coming to the fore.The garbage piling up, not to mention the debris and faeces on the floor, cannot be good for the tenants’ mental and physical health in the long run.Preventive measures need to be taken as soon as possible to prevent an outbreak of some opportunistic diseases.Something needs to change soon! Government may be in charge mainly of the “big items” in maintenance of these flats/houses, but the “small items” need daily attention.Maybe the Government should think about out-sourcing the maintenance services to private institutions to cater for the “small items” in these flats.An increase in rent may not be welcomed by the tenants to raise funds for improved maintenance but the cleaner and healthier environment will be.Tenants in Government housing should really think about forming some sort of committee where they can discuss their grievances, and if such committees already exist, they should be more active in bringing change to the situation.Many people in Namibia are not privileged to own property and Government can as an option let these flats to the public at reasonable prices.According to Julius Ngweda, Liaison Officer of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, a proper register system for Government housing is not in place.This raises suspicions that maybe not everybody is paying their rent and “robbing” Government of much-needed revenue.One of the solutions given by Ngweda is to sell some of the property; this in itself is a plausible solution to reduce the strain on Government housing.Ngariye Kandukira Via e-mailThis surely reflects badly on the public perception of Government efficiency, considering the growing dissatisfaction with corruption and misuse of public facilities.The fact that Government housing is one of the cheapest accommodations in the country leaves residents with some money left for maintenance.Residents could surely take it upon themselves to organise a maintenance system that is effective.But maybe tenants do not want to spend their own money improving a flat or house which they may not be occupying a couple of years down the line.Government employees renting these flats, bachelor flats and houses are paying peanuts in relation to the market-related going rate for rental costs for accommodation.Surroundings play an important part in a person’s psychological state of mind and can be determinant of a happy or bad mood.Apparently at Vredehof, a Government flat complex, the entrance has a broken wall on the right side and the left side of the entrance is littered with garbage.Seeing such disturbing pictures of Government property makes you ask yourself what sort of people we have in public administration affairs? Ordinary folk cannot help but lose faith in public officials and their involvement or lack of it in misuse of Government facilities, such as the ODC/ SSC-Avid saga, as well as the usage of a State-owned helicopter by the founding President, for non-governmental duties.The sewerage problem also poses health hazards; this can have the disastrous outcome of airborne diseases coming to the fore.The garbage piling up, not to mention the debris and faeces on the floor, cannot be good for the tenants’ mental and physical health in the long run.Preventive measures need to be taken as soon as possible to prevent an outbreak of some opportunistic diseases.Something needs to change soon! Government may be in charge mainly of the “big items” in maintenance of these flats/houses, but the “small items” need daily attention.Maybe the Government should think about out-sourcing the maintenance services to private institutions to cater for the “small items” in these flats.An increase in rent may not be welcomed by the tenants to raise funds for improved maintenance but the cleaner and healthier environment will be.Tenants in Government housing should really think about forming some sort of committee where they can discuss their grievances, and if such committees already exist, they should be more active in bringing change to the situation.Many people in Namibia are not privileged to own property and Government can as an option let these flats to the public at reasonable prices.According to Julius Ngweda, Liaison Officer of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, a proper register system for Government housing is not in place.This raises suspicions that maybe not everybody is paying their rent and “robbing” Government of much-needed revenue.One of the solutions given by Ngweda is to sell some of the property; this in itself is a plausible solution to reduce the strain on Government housing.Ngariye Kandukira Via e-mail