Otjiwarongo shanty towns to start paying rent
Otjiwarongo’s informal settlement residents will start paying monthly rental fees and face being kicked off their plots if they miss their payments for more than two months.
The municipality’s decision to apply a monthly leasing fee, based on a survey to ensure affordability, is being implemented with the goal to improve basic service provision to the nine informal settlements of the town.
Sixty percent of the income derived from the rental fees will be funnelled towards upgrading and development of the informal settlements and 40% towards council operations.
The lease agreement applies to residents of all nine informal settlements of the town.
Cheap
Affordability has been considered. Research undertaken by the council shows that the residents are in a position to pay a nominal fee. For example, it was found that residents of Eie Risiko (block 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are able to pay a monthly lease of N$150.
The survey found that the majority of residents in informal settlements earn an income of over N$2 000 a month.
Around half of the population of Eie Risiko falls within this income category, along with 86% of residents of DRC extension three.
A resident, Juila Seibes, said “hearing about paying a monthly lease is not the best news, but knowing that it will contribute toward the implementation of basic services in our community gives us hope”.
Among the conditions set by the musicality, is that the monthly payment date is the 15th of every month and lessees defaulting in payment exceeding two months automatically forfeit the land to the municipality without prior notification.
The announcement was made during a community meeting on 11 June, where residents of Eie Risiko Blocks one to seven were addressed. The meeting was attended by the strategic executive of community development services Erikson Mwayekange, chairperson of the management committee Godhard Hoko, and deputy mayor Julienda Kampungu.
The municipality initiated the concept known as the Accelerated Land Delivery Process (ALDP). This concept is based on the principles of parallelism in the land delivery process and combines different programmes, including a flexible land tenure system.
Based on this approach, which is also aimed at curbing land grabbing while fast-tracking land delivery, a socio-economic survey was conducted and adopted by the municipality.
The rules
Terms of the lease agreement include that no permanent structures may be erected without consent and approval by the council.
Mwayekange said that “if you have the cash, you can build on your house, provided that you submit a building plan to the municipality, and building plans must be approved”.
Other conditions include no sub-leasing of land to a third party; no reservation of land by a natural or juristic person; and no carrying out of business or any non-residential categorised activity on residential zoned erven without municipal approval.
Furthermore, the selling of an erf occupied by way of the lease in an informal settlement is prohibited, and no keeping of livestock on the property is allowed.
Otjiwarongo’s informal settlements consist of just over 4 700 households spread over nine townships/extensions, with the biggest being Eie Risiko with 1 466 households. The proliferation of informal settlements reflects the critical shortage of affordable housing in the town.
The municipality’s decision to apply a monthly leasing fee, based on a survey to ensure affordability, is being implemented with the goal to improve basic service provision to the nine informal settlements of the town.
Sixty percent of the income derived from the rental fees will be funnelled towards upgrading and development of the informal settlements and 40% towards council operations.
The lease agreement applies to residents of all nine informal settlements of the town.
Cheap
Affordability has been considered. Research undertaken by the council shows that the residents are in a position to pay a nominal fee. For example, it was found that residents of Eie Risiko (block 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are able to pay a monthly lease of N$150.
The survey found that the majority of residents in informal settlements earn an income of over N$2 000 a month.
Around half of the population of Eie Risiko falls within this income category, along with 86% of residents of DRC extension three.
A resident, Juila Seibes, said “hearing about paying a monthly lease is not the best news, but knowing that it will contribute toward the implementation of basic services in our community gives us hope”.
Among the conditions set by the musicality, is that the monthly payment date is the 15th of every month and lessees defaulting in payment exceeding two months automatically forfeit the land to the municipality without prior notification.
The announcement was made during a community meeting on 11 June, where residents of Eie Risiko Blocks one to seven were addressed. The meeting was attended by the strategic executive of community development services Erikson Mwayekange, chairperson of the management committee Godhard Hoko, and deputy mayor Julienda Kampungu.
The municipality initiated the concept known as the Accelerated Land Delivery Process (ALDP). This concept is based on the principles of parallelism in the land delivery process and combines different programmes, including a flexible land tenure system.
Based on this approach, which is also aimed at curbing land grabbing while fast-tracking land delivery, a socio-economic survey was conducted and adopted by the municipality.
The rules
Terms of the lease agreement include that no permanent structures may be erected without consent and approval by the council.
Mwayekange said that “if you have the cash, you can build on your house, provided that you submit a building plan to the municipality, and building plans must be approved”.
Other conditions include no sub-leasing of land to a third party; no reservation of land by a natural or juristic person; and no carrying out of business or any non-residential categorised activity on residential zoned erven without municipal approval.
Furthermore, the selling of an erf occupied by way of the lease in an informal settlement is prohibited, and no keeping of livestock on the property is allowed.
Otjiwarongo’s informal settlements consist of just over 4 700 households spread over nine townships/extensions, with the biggest being Eie Risiko with 1 466 households. The proliferation of informal settlements reflects the critical shortage of affordable housing in the town.
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