Keetmans works on ‘model settlement’

THE ILLENI informal settlement at Keetmanshoop will soon be brought into the 21st century with the installation of an electricity network.

The municipality commissioned the project last Wednesday and work will begin next week. The project cost is estimated at about N$1 million, funded by the Ministry of Local Government’s Housing Directorate.The project also involves the installation of two floodlights.The Keetmanshoop Municipality’s Town Engineer, Patrick Hamman, told The Namibian on Wednesday that the settlement will be connected to the town’s main electricity grid by mid-June.According to Hamman, the new grid would supply 299 erven with electricity.Hamman said the settlement is the first of it kind, since its erven were properly demarcated and surveyed.He added that providing electricity was the last phase to have the settlement’s erven fully serviced.”Our aim is to render genuine municipal services to the settlement’s residents’ doorsteps,” he said.According to Hamman, Illeni will ultimately serve as a model for other informal settlements in the country.Burmeister & Partners Consulting Engineer Shamus De Wee was responsible for designing the new grid and will oversee the project.MS Construction Company was awarded the tender for the installation.According to MS Construction Company Managing Director Malcolm Strauss, the project will create 10 jobs for locals.The aim of the settlement, which was established in 2004, was to curb the mushrooming of backyard squatting.The project cost is estimated at about N$1 million, funded by the Ministry of Local Government’s Housing Directorate.The project also involves the installation of two floodlights.The Keetmanshoop Municipality’s Town Engineer, Patrick Hamman, told The Namibian on Wednesday that the settlement will be connected to the town’s main electricity grid by mid-June.According to Hamman, the new grid would supply 299 erven with electricity.Hamman said the settlement is the first of it kind, since its erven were properly demarcated and surveyed.He added that providing electricity was the last phase to have the settlement’s erven fully serviced.”Our aim is to render genuine municipal services to the settlement’s residents’ doorsteps,” he said.According to Hamman, Illeni will ultimately serve as a model for other informal settlements in the country.Burmeister & Partners Consulting Engineer Shamus De Wee was responsible for designing the new grid and will oversee the project.MS Construction Company was awarded the tender for the installation.According to MS Construction Company Managing Director Malcolm Strauss, the project will create 10 jobs for locals.The aim of the settlement, which was established in 2004, was to curb the mushrooming of backyard squatting.