Urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni has appealed to local authorities to work with the government to improve the lives of Namibians by making land available for essential services.
He was speaking at the October 2015 Seafarers United Land and Housing Federation fundraising event at Walvis Bay on Friday.
Uutoni asked the Walvis Bay municipality to make land available close to Farm 37 for a school and clinic.
The municipality is currently preparing for residents to live at Farm 37, located about 7km from the town.
“The distance from Farm 37 is long. The municipality must make a free piece of land available for a school and clinic. We have to change. The government is struggling to find land in a municipal council. The council sells land to the government for a lot of money. We are one government. Imagine a person getting sick or children having to come to school from there. It is too far. We have to make life easy for our communities,” he said.
Uutoni also announced that a new housing policy will be launched this month to make it easier for municipalities and prospective homeowners to access serviced land faster and at a more affordable rate.
“The ministry has revised its housing policy. It will look at speedy delivery of serviced land. It is expensive for municipalities to provide serviced land. If it does, the land becomes expensive for the end user. We have already asked local authorities to submit lists of extensions that are planned, surveyed and registered. The ministry will then send money for the lands to be serviced,” he said.
The October 2015 Seafarers United Land and Housing Federation consists of fishermen who lost their jobs in 2015 and are now employed under the Government Employment Redress Programme.
The group has been determined to have its own land and started a fund in 2021 to save money for a planned Fishermens’ Village at portion 18 of Farm 37. It has since collected about N$3 million.
The fundraising event boosted their fund with N$200 000.
Fisheries and marine resources minister Derek Klazen applauded the progress and cooperation of the group.
“When I was approached by the group, I asked if they knew what they were doing because it is not an easy task. What makes this group special is that they were unemployed for a long time. Some, however, decided to drive taxis and do smaller jobs and managed to contribute to the fund. They have been busy. N$3 million from unemployed people is a lot. It is impressive,” said Klazen.
The federation’s president, Mattias Ndeulita, appealed for help to improve the welfare of the former fishermen.
“Our mandate is to restore the dignity of fishermen, promote development and have quality affordable houses for all our members. We are a properly managed group and intend to do more to save our fellow Namibians. We cannot do it alone. The demand is rising. As part of our strategic plan, we intend to improve the quality of the environment at Farm 37, while forming architectural beauty factors that will increase income and improve the welfare of fishermen and their families,” he said.
The federation has 600 active members and will need about about N$165 million to service the Fishermens’ Village.
The village will consist of 588 erven for houses, plots, schools, businesses and open spaces.
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