Rehoboth’s land blues
• Land for housing discussed at land conference
Rehoboth mayor Amanda Groenewaldt says the town council has resolved to provide land to more than 1 000 beneficiaries in the Burghershoek and Volstruisvlakte informal settlements.
Rehoboth mayor Amanda Groenewaldt says land delivery remains a major challenge because of skyrocketing servicing costs.
Speaking after the two-day Land Management and Housing Development Conference in Rehoboth, Groenewaldt said the town is slowly making progress despite these obstacles.
She said the town has resolved to provide parcels of land to more than 1 000 beneficiaries in the Burghershoek and Volstruisvlakte informal settlements.
The 400-square-metre plots will cost N$10 000 and beneficiaries are required to pay monthly installments of about N$200 over four years.
Meeting a need
Groenewaldt told Namibian Sun the conference was held to discuss affordability and availability of land,
Conference participants concluded that that housing needs are huge, but needs and income levels differ vastly.
"We are now busy with WINPlan to formalise it and to give erven, and that we are going to start early in the year. We are now in the final stages – we will now give the plan to the council. These people will get a title deed. We are also busy in Bahnhof, where we gave land to an organised group that call themselves Saamstaan. So, with that money that these people are paying – it is nearly a million dollars – we can start with the servicing of land, but servicing of land is very expensive, so most of the money will come from the council," she said.
Homes for everyone
Groenewaldt said they also plan to rezone plots in the three informal settlements to 350 or 400 square metre portions, and that they also resolved to continue handing out land to informal settlers despite them a failed legal case against the Rehoboth town council.
"We are only going to rearrange them... they also must get an environmental clearance certificate, and that is why it is taking us so long. We also found out that most of Rehoboth's establishments did not go through these phases, and we want to correct it," she said.
Head of the Rehoboth technical department, Rudolf Muhembo, added that they have realised that they cannot use a universal strategy when planning to deliver land and housing because of the different income levels. He hopes that the process of delivering land to ultra-low-income earners will change.
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Speaking after the two-day Land Management and Housing Development Conference in Rehoboth, Groenewaldt said the town is slowly making progress despite these obstacles.
She said the town has resolved to provide parcels of land to more than 1 000 beneficiaries in the Burghershoek and Volstruisvlakte informal settlements.
The 400-square-metre plots will cost N$10 000 and beneficiaries are required to pay monthly installments of about N$200 over four years.
Meeting a need
Groenewaldt told Namibian Sun the conference was held to discuss affordability and availability of land,
Conference participants concluded that that housing needs are huge, but needs and income levels differ vastly.
"We are now busy with WINPlan to formalise it and to give erven, and that we are going to start early in the year. We are now in the final stages – we will now give the plan to the council. These people will get a title deed. We are also busy in Bahnhof, where we gave land to an organised group that call themselves Saamstaan. So, with that money that these people are paying – it is nearly a million dollars – we can start with the servicing of land, but servicing of land is very expensive, so most of the money will come from the council," she said.
Homes for everyone
Groenewaldt said they also plan to rezone plots in the three informal settlements to 350 or 400 square metre portions, and that they also resolved to continue handing out land to informal settlers despite them a failed legal case against the Rehoboth town council.
"We are only going to rearrange them... they also must get an environmental clearance certificate, and that is why it is taking us so long. We also found out that most of Rehoboth's establishments did not go through these phases, and we want to correct it," she said.
Head of the Rehoboth technical department, Rudolf Muhembo, added that they have realised that they cannot use a universal strategy when planning to deliver land and housing because of the different income levels. He hopes that the process of delivering land to ultra-low-income earners will change.
[email protected]
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