Noordoewer aiming for village status

NOORDOEWER plans to pull out all stops to regain its village council status, said Karas Regional Councillor Paulus Efraim on Saturday.

‘We’re hard at work to reclaim village council status that was removed by Government due to poor income generation,’ he said. Efraim, who was speaking after a clean-up campaign at the settlement, said income generation at the border settlement has increased from N$50 000 to N$150 000 over the past two years. He said more erven are being serviced at the settlement to accelerate development and that affordable housing projects for the settlement’s residents are progressing well. According to Efraim, construction of 20 low cost houses through the Build Together Programme have been completed, while there are plans for another low cost housing project, the first house of which has already been completed. Government officials, after having seen the initial house, are expected to approve the construction of nine more houses. Efraim described the low cost house, costing between N$35 000 and N$40 000, as ‘spacious and of good quality’. Other developments mentioned by the Regional Councillor were the construction of a Wimpy restaurant at the settlement and the conversion of the Camelthorn Hotel into a shopping complex. luqman@namibian.com.na