Lüderitz to spend N$6 million to service land

THE Lüderitz Town Council will spend N$6 million to service 41 erven at Nautilus Extension 3 in efforts to decongest Area 7 and Amilema informal settlements.

Town council chief executive officer Reinhardt Ochs says Lüderitz faces a shortage of land to provide sufficient housing to residents, as it is edged between the sea and the Sperrgebiet National Park.

Ochs says due to the topography of the town, which is mountainous, servicing of land to provide adequate housing is costly, which leads to the overcrowding of informal settlements.

“Initially we were going to service 60 erven at the cost of N$8,8 million but the central government only provided N$6 million. Therefore, we revised the erven down to 41,” says Ochs.

Currently there are an estimated 3 000 residents living in makeshift houses in Area 7 and about 1 500 residents living in Amilela informal settlement.

The town council plans to spend N$1,3 million to construct houses and is in the process of renovating seven dilapidated low-income houses. They have installed prepaid communal water meters at Area 7, to the tune of N$900 000.

Ochs says the provision of services such as water, sewerage networks and roads are also a great challenge as there is not sufficient space to work in.

“For these reasons we need to start moving people out of the informal settlements to decongest those areas. That is why we are concentrating on low-cost housing as it is a priority to us.”

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