Walvis auction labelled ‘discriminatory’

THE long-awaited municipal auction of the last lagoon-facing erven at Walvis Bay just before Christmas has been labelled discriminatory and unconstitutional by some residents.

White prospective buyers were prevented from bidding during the first half of the public auction as it was open to “previously disadvantaged [or] excluded Namibians only”. All 11 lagoon-facing erven were sold in the Meersig suburb during this part of the auction.”This is absolute nonsense,” an upset estate agent, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Namibian.”It is a shame for our town.Everybody is unhappy,” he said.The estate agent said it was unconstitutional to prevent certain people from bidding at a public auction.”How can anyone under the constitution have the right to decide whether I am advantaged or not?” he said.The estate agent also criticised the Municipality for not stating the presence of specific restrictions in its auction notice published in newspapers.”It was only when we wanted to register that we were handed a set of special conditions,” the agent said.”I did not attend the auction, because I am not prepared to be publicly humiliated.As a citizen of this country, taxpayer and property owner at Walvis Bay, I do not want to be insulted at a public auction by not being allowed to participate”.Augustinus Katiti, chief executive of the Walvis Bay Municipality, told The Namibian this procedure was not unprecedented.He said these conditions applied at every Municipal auction governed by the relevant Council policy.The policy was one of affirmative action applied to property ownership: “We believe in the fairness of the policy and do not see it as discriminatory.All we are saying is that people who were previously disadvantaged should get first opportunity to purchase property”.Katiti disputes that the policy was unconstitutional.He argued that the same principle applied when a company decided to sell 5 per cent of its shareholding to a black empowerment group, or in the redistribution of farmland: “In terms of the Constitution, this is allowed.We want to level the playing field as until recently many people could legally not acquire property at Walvis Bay”.Asked why such a policy was still being applied so many years after Independence, Katiti said: “We don’t sell prime land every year.It could therefore take up to 20 years to restore the balance.I would agree that such a policy is discriminatory if it is still in place after 100 years”.Katiti also added that no complants had been received about the policy before.Another estate agent agreed that the policy should be seen in the context of affirmative action.He mentioned an auction three years ago, when erven were sold at the site of the former military base, and the same policy applied.”Nobody complained then,” the agent said.After the auction, upset prospective buyers are said to have been talking of a court challenge.Katiti said he had not received any written communication from lawyers on this subject.According to Katiti, the policy will be revised this year with the aim of lessening the period before a satisfactory ownership balance is reached.A total of 43 erven out of 89 on auction were sold for a return of N$11,3 million to the Municipality.Of the 46 unsold erven, half were sold on Monday.Another six were reserved.The best price for a lagoon-facing erf was paid by the executive director of a black empowerment company, and a leading black banker bought a Meersig erf.An erf of 5 000 square metres given to President Sam Nujoma in December 2001 is also situated in this extension.The erf, about five times the size of a standard erf in the area, was valued at about N$1,2 million when it was handed over to the President.All 11 lagoon-facing erven were sold in the Meersig suburb during this part of the auction. “This is absolute nonsense,” an upset estate agent, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Namibian. “It is a shame for our town. Everybody is unhappy,” he said. The estate agent said it was unconstitutional to prevent certain people from bidding at a public auction. “How can anyone under the constitution have the right to decide whether I am advantaged or not?” he said. The estate agent also criticised the Municipality for not stating the presence of specific restrictions in its auction notice published in newspapers. “It was only when we wanted to register that we were handed a set of special conditions,” the agent said. “I did not attend the auction, because I am not prepared to be publicly humiliated. As a citizen of this country, taxpayer and property owner at Walvis Bay, I do not want to be insulted at a public auction by not being allowed to participate”. Augustinus Katiti, chief executive of the Walvis Bay Municipality, told The Namibian this procedure was not unprecedented. He said these conditions applied at every Municipal auction governed by the relevant Council policy. The policy was one of affirmative action applied to property ownership: “We believe in the fairness of the policy and do not see it as discriminatory. All we are saying is that people who were previously disadvantaged should get first opportunity to purchase property”. Katiti disputes that the policy was unconstitutional. He argued that the same principle applied when a company decided to sell 5 per cent of its shareholding to a black empowerment group, or in the redistribution of farmland: “In terms of the Constitution, this is allowed. We want to level the playing field as until recently many people could legally not acquire property at Walvis Bay”. Asked why such a policy was still being applied so many years after Independence, Katiti said: “We don’t sell prime land every year. It could therefore take up to 20 years to restore the balance. I would agree that such a policy is discriminatory if it is still in place after 100 years”. Katiti also added that no complants had been received about the policy before. Another estate agent agreed that the policy should be seen in the context of affirmative action. He mentioned an auction three years ago, when erven were sold at the site of the former military base, and the same policy applied. “Nobody complained then,” the agent said. After the auction, upset prospective buyers are said to have been talking of a court challenge. Katiti said he had not received any written communication from lawyers on this subject. According to Katiti, the policy will be revised this year with the aim of lessening the period before a satisfactory ownership balance is reached. A total of 43 erven out of 89 on auction were sold for a return of N$11,3 million to the Municipality. Of the 46 unsold erven, half were sold on Monday. Another six were reserved. The best price for a lagoon-facing erf was paid by the executive director of a black empowerment company, and a leading black banker bought a Meersig erf. An erf of 5 000 square metres given to President Sam Nujoma in December 2001 is also situated in this extension. The erf, about five times the size of a standard erf in the area, was valued at about N$1,2 million when it was handed over to the President.