Oranjemund ‘paper houses’ leave beneficiaries stranded

Oranjemund residents are unable to occupy 56 council-funded houses due to mandatory upfront deposits, outstanding municipal debt, and incomplete electrical and plumbing installations.

The beneficiaries of the Oranjemund Town Council housing scheme say they have been stranded since last September.

Not a single person has moved into these houses so far.

Finazazkia Bloodstaan, one of the beneficiaries, says the council requires them to pay a three-month deposit of N$2 100 in advance, settle their previous municipal accounts, and open new accounts before receiving the keys to the houses. The houses are acquired on a rent-to-own model, payable over 15 years.

Bloodstaan says after paying the advance, beneficiaries will pay rent of N$700 per month for houses without ceilings and floor tiles, which they are expected to install themselves.

“How can we pay the deposit if we have to pay rent where we are currently staying? Some people are staying 6km away from schools, and taxis cost N$1 000 monthly,” she says.

Bloodstaan wants to know why the council has held a handover ceremony for incomplete houses.

“These houses were handed over on paper only. Other towns handed over the keys that day. We are tired of the Oranjemund Town Council,” she says.

The Oranjemund Town Council in September last year handed over 56 low-cost houses to beneficiaries, fully funded by the town council at a cost of N$6 million.

The scheme was approved by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development in May 2024 with the aim to create a safe environment in which to thrive for all residents.

Another beneficiary, Stephanie Hanse, expresses disappointment, saying the requirements are costly.

Hanse says apart from the deposit, beneficiaries have to open new water and electricity accounts, which brings the total in costs to about N$3 500. “Some people have already settled their amounts. But now you hear many excuses, like the geysers are not done or the electricity is not yet connected. We are struggling with accommodation in this so-called diamond town,” she says.

Oranjemund acting chief executive Festus Nekayi says the council took the resolution last year to hand over the houses, and informed the beneficiaries of the requirements after the handover ceremony.

Nekayi says not all beneficiaries have signed the contract agreement or paid the three-month upfront deposit.

“We have given the beneficiaries three months to pay off the advance deposit, as well as to make arrangements to pay off the outstanding debts. Unfortunately, the billing system we use will not open a new account on another erf while the old account is unsettled,” he says.

Nekayi says it is not houses that are incomplete, but items such as missing taps, unfinished electrical fittings or geysers, which the council is completing on an ongoing basis.

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