Windhoek shantytowns bursting at the seams

THE Khomas Region’s regional constituencies such as Tobias Hainyeko, which includes the Hakahana and Okahandja Park informal settlements on the outskirts of Windhoek, are among the most densely populated areas in the country.

This is according to the preliminary report of the 2011 National Housing and Population Census which was launched in Windhoek on Wednesday.The Khomas Region is host to seven of the country’s most densely populated constituencies, namely Tobias Hainyeko, Katutura Central, Katutura East, Khomasdal North, Soweto, Samora Machel and Moses //Garoëb.The preliminary census report shows a population density of 500 people per square kilometre in the Moses //Garoëb constituency. This rises sharply to 5 000-plus people per square kilometre in the Katutura East and Central constituencies.The Tobias Hainyeko and Samora Machel constituencies are very densely populated at between 2 000 and 5 000 people per square kilometre.Most informal settlements have no basic services such as electricity, water and sewerage. In these areas there are often no tarred roads either, there is no refuse removal by the municipality and people live in corrugated-iron shacks.The Windhoek Municipality is busy with a plan to upgrade and formalise the city’s informal settlements, which includes the provision of basic services. But the fact remains that people living in the country’s most densely populated areas do not have access to basic services 22 years after independence. This problem is further compounded by the fact that Namibia has a high rate of rural-to-urban migration. Windhoek mayor Elaine Trepper and Local Government Minister Jerry Ekandjo recently pointed out that Namibians are flocking to Windhoek in search of jobs and education opportunities.The Polytechnic of Namibia’s Dr Andrew Niikondo last year said that Windhoek’s population is increasing by about 30 people per day, and that these people set up homes in informal areas.A lack of sanitation in the most densely populated areas presents problems in terms of public hygiene and the spread of disease.These are not the only problems faced by Windhoek’s informal settlements. According to recent research done across four square kilometres in Kabila, another of Windhoek’s densely populated informal areas, there are 265 bars or shebeens in the area.The research shows that drinking is a daily occurrence and that a significant percentage of men and women living in Kabila binge-drink at least two to four times a month.The study found that violence is closely linked to alcohol abuse, adding to the list of social problems faced by the residents of these areas.