Land desperation escalates at Dordabis
JEMIMA BEUKES
DORDABIS
Landless people living at the Dordabis settlement demanded urgent attention to their plight on Saturday, which has gone unheard despite three visits by the Ancestral Land Commission.
The community claims to have been living on an overcrowded 10-hectare plot for the past 30 years, and said their calls for assistance and intervention have fallen on deaf ears.
“We have met with every governor, every minister and every regional councillor for the last 30 years to discuss our horrible living conditions and we were promised that our case enjoys priority and will be resolved soon, but our situation is just getting worse and we feel abandoned by our government and the leaders we elect,” a petition read.
No title deeds
Languishing in make-shift shacks, the community cannot build proper houses through saving schemes such as the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia because they do not have title deeds to the land they live on.
Community chairperson and activist Albertus Rooi said the situation is dire as more and more people are dumped to the area daily by neighbouring farmers.
“We are overcrowded as more than 1 500 inhabitants share this land with the school, clinic and police station staff members. Three to four generations of families are forced to scramble on top of each other on the small land that has no proper sanitation,” he said.
The community also claim to starve of hunger because they are unemployed and cannot make a living through keeping livestock on the land.
‘Inhuman’, ‘deplorable’
“There is no space for gardening because the space is small. Even to collect firewood is a crime in this town that we consider home. We continue to survive in inhuman and deplorable conditions after 30 years of independence,” Rooi said.
The petition was addressed to lands minister Calle Schlettwein, yet by Sunday he was unaware of the protest.
Windhoek Rural constituency councillor Piet Adams could not receive the petition and assigned an official in his office to do so.
[email protected]
DORDABIS
Landless people living at the Dordabis settlement demanded urgent attention to their plight on Saturday, which has gone unheard despite three visits by the Ancestral Land Commission.
The community claims to have been living on an overcrowded 10-hectare plot for the past 30 years, and said their calls for assistance and intervention have fallen on deaf ears.
“We have met with every governor, every minister and every regional councillor for the last 30 years to discuss our horrible living conditions and we were promised that our case enjoys priority and will be resolved soon, but our situation is just getting worse and we feel abandoned by our government and the leaders we elect,” a petition read.
No title deeds
Languishing in make-shift shacks, the community cannot build proper houses through saving schemes such as the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia because they do not have title deeds to the land they live on.
Community chairperson and activist Albertus Rooi said the situation is dire as more and more people are dumped to the area daily by neighbouring farmers.
“We are overcrowded as more than 1 500 inhabitants share this land with the school, clinic and police station staff members. Three to four generations of families are forced to scramble on top of each other on the small land that has no proper sanitation,” he said.
The community also claim to starve of hunger because they are unemployed and cannot make a living through keeping livestock on the land.
‘Inhuman’, ‘deplorable’
“There is no space for gardening because the space is small. Even to collect firewood is a crime in this town that we consider home. We continue to survive in inhuman and deplorable conditions after 30 years of independence,” Rooi said.
The petition was addressed to lands minister Calle Schlettwein, yet by Sunday he was unaware of the protest.
Windhoek Rural constituency councillor Piet Adams could not receive the petition and assigned an official in his office to do so.
[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article