Homeowners, town bury hatchet

THE Keetmanshoop Municipality and the owners of 32 low-cost houses at the town have agreed to bury their long-standing dispute over the quality and cost of the houses built under the decentralised Build Together programme.

Karas Governor Dawid Boois on Thursday told The Namibian that the parties agreed at a meeting on Wednesday to put aside their differences and to work together. In the past, the home owners staged demonstrations, claiming they did not get what they paid for.They said the building plan – the same plan for all 32 houses – did not correspond to the end product.The owners claimed they were overcharged, paying for features specified on the building plan but not included in their houses.On the other hand, the municipality threatened the home owners with eviction after they failed to honour the loan agreement they entered into with the municipality in 2004.Some of the owners have not repaid a cent since 2004, claiming they have done so on instruction of some municipal officials.According to Boois, the home owners have agreed to resume paying their instalments, while the municipality agreed to reassess the value of the houses.The municipality valuated each house at N$32 000.On Thursday, the Municipality’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeremia Shangadi, applauded Boois for his role as mediator in the negotiations with the home owners.Shangadi acknowledged that the municipality had made mistakes, and pledged to correct the errors made by municipal officials who administered the housing project.”We’ll definitely improve the skills of staff dealing with the programme to prevent this happening in the future,” he said.The Keetmanshoop Municipality built the houses after the Ministry of Local Government and Housing granted it N$1,7 million under the Decentralised Build Together programme.In the past, the home owners staged demonstrations, claiming they did not get what they paid for.They said the building plan – the same plan for all 32 houses – did not correspond to the end product.The owners claimed they were overcharged, paying for features specified on the building plan but not included in their houses.On the other hand, the municipality threatened the home owners with eviction after they failed to honour the loan agreement they entered into with the municipality in 2004.Some of the owners have not repaid a cent since 2004, claiming they have done so on instruction of some municipal officials.According to Boois, the home owners have agreed to resume paying their instalments, while the municipality agreed to reassess the value of the houses.The municipality valuated each house at N$32 000.On Thursday, the Municipality’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeremia Shangadi, applauded Boois for his role as mediator in the negotiations with the home owners.Shangadi acknowledged that the municipality had made mistakes, and pledged to correct the errors made by municipal officials who administered the housing project.”We’ll definitely improve the skills of staff dealing with the programme to prevent this happening in the future,” he said.The Keetmanshoop Municipality built the houses after the Ministry of Local Government and Housing granted it N$1,7 million under the Decentralised Build Together programme.