The Otavi Town Council , in collaboration with its stakeholders , plans to accelerate service delivery in informal settlements with the primary goal of improving the living conditions of its inhabitants . The town , which has seen rapid population growth since 2011 , is experiencing significant spatial development problems . The town ‘ s population has grown to 10 756 compared to 5 224 in 2011 . This growth has prompted the council to accelerate service delivery in four informal settlements – Kap n Bou , ! Naruseb , New Cairo , and Harambee – while encouraging low – income households to gain access to housing through projects such as the Decentralised Build Together Programme . This was revealed by Otavi Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) Wodibo Sakaria Haulofu in a recent interview with Nampa . Haulofu said despite the limited resources , it continues to do so through multiple efforts . ‘ As with most local authorities , the council does not have sufficient funds available for the formalisation of these areas
but continues to do so through various interventions ,’ he said . To achieve this , the council will focus on enhancing access to basic infrastructure and social services for all inhabitants , as well as promoting and establishing quality and affordable rental housing options for low – income households . He noted that the council has embarked on a project to formalise all its informal settlements . ‘ So far , all the erven in New Cairo have been surveyed and are just awaiting registration . Council , along with the Central North Regional Electricity Distributor ( Cenored ), has made efforts to provide all residents of New Cairo with electricity and 75 per cent of the erven are serviced with water and sewerage ,’ he added . The council has set aside N . dollars 6 . 5 million in its 2024 / 2025 fiscal year for these developments . Haulofu further stated that all residents living in informal areas who do not have access to water are provided with 10 standpipes distributed strategically across the informal settl
ements . Residents have to purchase tokens from the council to gain access to this service . The Otavi Town Council has 700 serviced erven which are primarily affordable for medium and upper – income earners , he said . The CEO noted that most inhabitants cannot afford to buy land as many of them are unemployed . Council has however initiated the Build Together Programme , while also engaging and signing various agreements with stakeholders such as B2Gold Namibia , the Development Workshop , the Namibia Housing Action Group , and the Shack – Dwellers Federation of Namibia to assist in land servicing for ultra – low income earners , as well as subsequent house construction .
Source: The Namibia News Agency