Low-income families secure affordable plots

Affordable housing strategy promotes home ownership
The Oshakati Town Council aims to ensure that its most economically vulnerable communities have access to decent and affordable housing options.
Kenya Kambowe
The Oshakati Town Council handed over 31 plots to ultra-low-income earners at Onawa settlement last week.

The 31 beneficiaries are part of a group of 289 people set to benefit from the plots, which were serviced by the local authority.

Sold at a price of N$14 730, beneficiaries are given 12 months to pay for the plots ranging from 300 to 400 square metres.

Oshakati spokesperson Katarina Kamari said the project forms part of the town’s 2022/2023 – 2026/2027 strategic plan.

“The allocation of these residential plots underscores the council's dedication to inclusivity and social equity, ensuring that even the most economically vulnerable members of the community have access to decent and affordable housing options," she said.

“By prioritising ultra-low-income earners in this allocation process, the council aims to uplift families and provide them with a pathway to homeownership and stability.”

Part of the plan

Kamari explained that the town council has put in place a high-priority strategic process to create “as many residential erven, mainly for ultra-low-income earners.”

In 2018, Oshakati Town Council entered into a memorandum of understanding with the non-governmental organisation Development Workshop Namibia (DWN) with an agreement to co-service residential erven meant for ultra-low-income earners.

She said phase one of the project kicked off in 2018, when 118 residents acquired plots with title deeds in Okandjengedi South.

The area is serviced with access roads, water reticulation, and electricity.

Thus far, only 51 beneficiaries have received their title deeds.

Working together

Regarding the Onawa project, these plots are serviced with access roads and water reticulation, while electrical infrastructure is currently underway.

The beneficiaries of the Onawa plots include retail workers, taxi drivers, security officers and entrepreneurs such as Kapana vendors. They were selected from the council’s waiting list.

Regarding the town's land servicing programme, Kamari explained that the local authority collaborates with various organisations to provide land to low-income earners. Land is allocated through various projects, such as the Build Together Programme, the Shack Dwellers Federation, and council relocation processes.

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

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