A BLAZE has struck the Twaloloka informal settlement at Walvis Bay once again.
Many residents were not at home when the fire gutted their shacks yesterday at lunchtime, leaving more than 100 people homeless.
The affected dwellings are mostly made of hardboard and plastic, and are adjacent to the area where an inferno destroyed over 150 shacks in July last year.
The Walvis Bay municipal fire brigade, with the assistance of the community, including the town’s former mayor, Wilfried Immanuel, Deriou Benson of Walvis Bay Urban constituency, and Donadus Tegako of Walvis Bay Rural constituency all rolled up their sleeves to help fight the blaze.
According to deputy commissioner Erastus Iikuyu’s interim police report, the fire started in one of the shacks and rapidly spread to the adjacent shacks, causing 27 ghettos to burn down.
“No fatality was observed so far, only damage to properties. The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations continue,” Iikuyu said.
The only injury observed was that of a firefighter who was hit by a brick thrown by unknown community members.
He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes yesterday said shacks are of big concern to the town’s leaders, and they are still looking at a lasting solution for the provision of houses.
“We are working with the central government, and we will find a solution. We want to get rid of shack living. We don’t want this, but it is not a problem that can be solved overnight. We have to come up with a permanent solution,” he said.
Forbes requested the community to be patient as the town’s disaster-risk management committee is busy mapping out a strategy to assist the affected people.
Victims of yesterday’s fire told the authorities a lasting solution for shack fires is the proposed decongestion of settlements.
“We don’t want food or your blankets. We are not hungry; we are fat as you can see. We just want land,” said a resident who has been living at Twaloloka since its establishment in 2015.
Another resident, who was not at home when the fire started, said they only managed to salvage their national documents and qualification certificates.
She, too, is crying for land.
“They have done surveys on us during the lockdown. Everyone wants to know if we have money for a house. At Twaloloka we don’t all live for free. Some people rent shacks and pay over N$1 000. Give us a house and we will show you we can afford them,” another resident said.
With regards to sanitation, the council and some companies have made provision for chemical toilets.
The council has also installed four water points.
Yesterday’s fire took place a day after the Erongo governor, Neville Andre, announced the commencement of the construction of 121 houses for residents of the Otweya temporary tented settlement.
The council last year serviced 67 hectares of land on erf 8635 at Kuisebmond, which can accommodate 212 single residential erven.
Andre said the central government, through the national disaster-risk management fund in the Office of the Prime Minister, has made funds for building material available so that houses can be constructed north of Twaloloka.
“The government has responded to this emergency to ensure that everyone at Otweya gets a home,” he said.
The government will contribute over N$8 million towards building material for the houses, which will be built in accordance with building plans of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) for low-income housing.
The government has also made N$14 million available for the servicing of land.
The beneficiaries will participate in the construction of their homes alongside the SDFN’s construction experts.
