Media Monitoring on Urban Development in Namibia

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2 Media Monitoring on Urban Development in Namibia Media Monitoring on Urban Development in Namibia is a service provided by Development Workshop Namibia (DWN), a registered Namibian NGO with a focus on sustainable urban development and poverty reduction. DWN is part of a world-wide network of Development Workshop (DW) organisations with centres in Canada, Angola and France, and offices in Vietnam and Burkino Faso. It was founded in the 1970s by three architect students in the UK and has been funded by nongovernmental organisations, private citizens, and national and international development organisations. In Namibia, DWN s activities focus on urban related research, effective urban planning for the urban poor, solutions to informal settlements, water & sanitation, and projects specifically targeting disadvantaged segments of the urban youth. Through 40 years of engagement on urban issues mainly in Africa and Asia, the DW network of organisations has acquired significant institutional knowledge and capacity and is well integrated in regional and international networks. The Namibian media provide an important source of information on urban development processes in the country, highlighting current events, opportunities and challenges. The media further provide insight into the different views and perceptions of a variety of actors, be it from government, nongovernment, private sector, and individuals that reside in Namibia s towns and settlements. It is therefore hoped that DWN s Media Monitoring service will provide insights into those different views, with potential use for a variety of institutions and decision-makers that work in the urban environment in Namibia. The Media Monitoring service is currently provided on a monthly basis and monitors the following newspapers: The Namibian, Republikein, Namibian Sun, New Era, Windhoek Observer, Confidente, and Informante. The articles are grouped into following categories: 1. Urban Planning, Land & Housing 2. Urban Infrastructure and Services 3. Livelihoods and Urban Economy 4. Environment & Human Health The text of the news articles has not been altered and thus reflects the opinion of the respective media outlets, and not that of DWN. We hope you find this service useful and interesting. DWN is keen to improve the service and welcomes suggestions and comments. Compiled by: Esleen Guriras & Alina Nambuli Edited by: Ester Veiko & Beat Weber Produced by: Development Workshop Namibia Address: 18 Nachtigal Street PO Box 40723, Ausspannplatz Windhoek, Namibia b.weber@dw-namibia.org Yours sincerely, Development Workshop Namibia With support from: Namibian Chamber of Environment 1

3 Index 1 URBAN PLANNING, LAND AND HOUSING Serviced land, not houses Property market not out of the woods yet City assures it can deal with CBD blazes City cancels N$140m land deals Where is 'Urban Land' in the Land Reform Process? Housing crisis of our own making City finally honours Winnie Keetmanshoop, S.A municipality ink MoU City plans N$148m housing project Urban migration the good, the bad and the ugly Ongwediva offers Johannes family N$982k The new land question What is land reform all about, or what could it be? Arandis' first asbestos-free houses completed Govt blames apartheid Billions invested in affordable housing Shack dwellers houses are of quality standard Amushila URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES Residents urged to use water sparingly City hikes building, outdoor adverts tariffs Witbooi highlights importance of ECD centres Grootfontein maak 'n plan met vullis City rehabilitates roads Solar power reduces Tsumeb electricity bill Lack of primary school at Mix settlement force children home Authorities neglect safe toilets LIVELIHOODS AND URBAN ECONOMY Over 50 temporary jobs created at the Okakarara Trade Fair Solar cooking impresses workshop participants Warmbad retrenches 94 mineworkers Paaltjies is not free anymore 'Merciless' council leaves baby homeless Abattoir workers anxious in face of retrenchments Business training boost Hangana inaugurates abalone farm Annual inflation levels for transport, electricity surge Businessman fears for Oranjemund ghost town Walvis Bay church feeds community ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH Hepatitis E hits Ondangwa

4 1 Urban Planning, Land and Housing 1.1 Serviced land, not houses The New Era 05/09/2018 Instead of constructing 400 low-cost houses at a cost of N$66 million with grants and non-interest loans pledged by the Chinese government recently, experts calculate that investing those funds in minimally serviced land could result in more than impoverished families currently living in shacks being able to build formal homes of their own. Moreover, allowing low-income families to obtain legal ownership of land and permitting them to build their homes as funds become available, would ensure they accrue the benefits of home ownership and allow local authorities to pockets millions in rates and taxes, amended to ensure affordability for impoverished families. Using N$66 million to produce 400 houses is silly, unless you are an entrepreneurial housing developer. Four-hundred is a minute drop in the ocean, given that an estimated families live in shacks in informal settlements in 2018 and that new families move from rural areas into informal settlements each year, John Mendelsohn of Raison, who has studied the issue of housing extensively, said this week. He, and coresearcher Beat Weber, who published a book on informal settlements last year, argued that instead, at a cost of N$ to survey and allocate a minimally surveyed erven, families can acquire land with title as a means to facilitate their access to housing. This is ten times more than when building houses, Weber said. Mendelsohn stressed that while families is not much of a dent in the great mire of poverty, they are much more than the 400 houses for middle-income families. Can be done Weber, the executive director at Development Workshop Namibia (DWN), noted that cost recovery for municipalities is possible when affordable homes are made available. Those residents can actually pay for the 'product' and costs can be recovered. He said at an average price of N$ per erf for an estimated families from informal settlements, a mere N$165 million would be used to effectively stop informal settlement growth in Namibia. He added that while other investments would be needed to upgrade bulk infrastructure, a big chunk of the costs to solve unplanned informal settlement growth could be based on a cost recovery approach. Weber highlighted the urgency of first addressing the large-scale influx to urban informal settlements, to ensure that growth is halted. To get informal settlement growth under control, the low-income households moving from rural to urban areas each year must be accommodated. Because of the poverty experienced by most of these migrants, they are unlikely to afford houses, including social ones that may cost N$ as suggested by the Chinese deal. He said given the state of Namibia's economy subsidisation is not an option, which leaves the alternative of providing affordable and planned legal land where they can invest and incrementally build their homes. Simple solution The benefits of ownership of land, apart from cost-effectiveness and ensuring that thousands more families could move from shacks into formal housing, are multiple. Mendelsohn explained that if Windhoek's roughly families living in shacks were afforded land with a title deed and each house was charged just N$150 per month, as a reduced rates levy, the city could pocket N$75 million per year in revenue. Moreover, providing access to land for homes provides one of the very basic conditions for households to build security investments, become an integral part of the formal town and contribute to its economic base and public funds, Weber and John Mendelsohn wrote in their book on informal settlements last year. Their study further noted that on a personal level, land ownership for low-income families would provide them with confidence, services, security and long- 3

5 term outlooks. Herbert Jauch, a labour expert, warned this week that government has become slack on the issue of housing in recent years and has placed little emphasis on finding an overall solution and instead piecemeal projects at local and regional level are being implemented. He said the Chinese deal is reflective of this. Unfortunately such a fragmented approach will not solve the housing crisis, which has reached enormous proportions. He said addressing the fact that shacks have become the norm in many urban centres and a solution in terms of decent shelter for all would require a very deliberate and forceful state intervention, based on research data and strategic choices. He noted, however, that an either/or option is not advisable, and that both serviced land, especially in urban settlements and affordable housing should form part of the solution. 1.2 Property market not out of the woods yet The Namibian Sun 06/09/2018 Houses on average spent more than six months on the market in June and properties on average sell 9.3% below asking price. These are some of the stats included in the latest FNB Namibia Housing Index, released yesterday. Other facts include a deteriorating in the bank s affordability index, which indicates that housing have become increasingly unaffordable. Although the average house price in Namibia was 0.8% higher than June last year, FNB Namibia analyst Josephat Nambashu prices remain under pressure. House price contractions have been decelerating; although, at 0.8%, it is too soon to declare that the market is out of the woods, as the volumes continue to shift towards the lower price segments, Nambashu says. The continued drop in the economy and the increased cost of living on the back of fuel increases remains a stark reminder that consumer spending remains under pressure, which is consequently depressing domestic property prices, he says. The single and biggest contributor to the slight increase in the overall average house price was the lower price segment, which registered annual growth of 7.1%. On the back of renewed demand in the lower price segment, volumes in this particular segment have increased by 24.5% over the past year, Nambashu says. In contrast, large to luxury segments remained the weakest, as volumes continue to dry up. In the last five months, only three transactions registered in the luxury segment. Overall volumes ticked up by 17.4% on an annual basis, driven primarily by the lower price segment, and to a lesser extent, the middle price segment. Central Namibia When looking at the central property prices in June, house prices rose by 0.3% year on year, as property prices in the upper price segments contracted by 6.6%. However, in the lower and more affordable segments, prices increased by 8.3% over the same period, at a time when this segment has seen 5.6% increase in volumes. In the capital, property price growth decelerated further to 2.0%. Properties in this market are reported spending 27 weeks on the market whilst the investment market (buy-to-let) has also slowed, Nambashu says. The regional volume index picked up by 8.8%, with nearly all transactions falling into the low to middle price segments. The average house price in the region now stands at N$1.496 million. Coast House price growth at the coast remained negative, at -2.6% for the whole coastal region. In Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, house prices fell by 12.8% and 18.7% respectively, while Henties Bay bucked the trend with 6.1% house price growth. Nambashu says price pressures emanated from increased housing supply, after transaction volumes surged by 67% annually. Low income properties emanating from the mass housing programme and the aggressive land delivery, continued to push coastal property prices down, at a time when property prices are seasonally strong. 4

6 North So far in 2018 house prices in the northern market have kept their upward trend, albeit at a slower pace, reflective of the prevailing softness in the market, Nambashu says. In June, house prices increased by 5.3% year on year. While property prices were still on the increase in Ongwediva (+12.8%), Grootfontein (+10.5%), Otjiwarongo (+8.7%) and Outapi (+7.2%), house prices fell in Eenhana (-35.5%) and Tsumeb (-26.5%), while stagnating in Oshakati (-0.2%) and Ondangwa (-0.1%). Volumes shot up by 6.3% over the year, more concentrated in Eenhana, Oshakati and Ondangwa, where property prices were either under pressure or stagnant. South Prices in southern Namibia were up 2.2% year on year while volumes shot up by as much as 60%. This has meant that the number of properties traded in June has increased to nine transactions, and therefore caution must be taken when interpreting these figures, though market dynamics are very much identical to those in the northern region, Nambashu says. Land delivery Land delivery accelerated by 43% on average in the first half of the year, surpassing the 33% average for 2017, he says. The additional stands were mainly concentrated in the coastal and northern areas were larger stands of about 451m² and 791m² were recorded. Walvis Bay and Swakopmund delivered the most land during June, while land delivery in the central parts of the country edged up by 8% year on year. This has resulted in over 700 new stands delivered over the first six months of the year, which is a significant improvement over last year s figure. Additionally, municipal plans approved have also ticked up, which is further leading indicator that housing volumes should increase even further, Nambashu says. 1.3 City assures it can deal with CBD blazes The Namibian Sun 07/09/2018 The Windhoek fire brigade department has assured that it will be able to combat any large fire that may arise in the central business district (CBD). This follows a deadly fire in the Johannesburg CBD this week in which three fire-fighters lost their lives, while attempting to extinguish the blaze. The city has shot down allegations that it will be unable to deal with large fires in the CBD because of lack of water pressure. All of the older buildings are being upgraded over time. The Namdeb building is a typical example of us having advised them to install jockey pumps, which they have done. These pumps serve to maintain the water pressure of 10 bars, which comes from the fire engine, which boosts the pressure in the closed hydrants circuits, said Windhoek fire brigade official Fillipus Sikongo. He said in the event of a fire, a fire engine has a water reserve of litres and could be replenished from the nearest fire hydrant. If there is no immediate fire hydrant or one was faulty, the next one within a kilometre could be used. Our team is prepared for such emergencies, said Sikongo. Meanwhile, owners of sectional title units, sellers as well as new owners of such developments are in uproar after discovering that the City of Windhoek is refusing to issue municipal clearance certificates because of supposed unauthorised additions or the alleged faulty installation of fire-fighting equipment and hydrants. The city has previously issued such certificates to owners based on existing infrastructure and installations, which has led to allegations that it is acting unreasonably by refusing to now issue such clearances without giving prior notice. Windhoek Fire Brigade chief safety officer Tangeni Uusiku said they are a very small but important department. In my view it should have been bigger, because we have always been a very busy department, with the result that I would not be surprised, if sometimes certificates were issued to a developer in good faith in the past, only to find that this was abused by these parties. 5

7 But we have to address and fix this situation in the interest of the safety of our citizens. He said they therefore do not issue clearance certificates anymore without being sure that body corporates have adhered to the law. What seems to have reared its ugly head now is that the city has decided to enforce its building regulations and fire-fighting prescriptions, while in the past many installations that were not completed in line with building plans or fire-fighting regulations had received certificates. The city has refused to explain why it is now suddenly enforcing these regulations without notifying stakeholders and giving them a grace period. Both city CEO Robert Kahimise and the mayor Muesee Kazapua have not commented. 1.4 City cancels N$140m land deals The Namibian 07/09/2018 About 40 unresolved Windhoek land transactions worth over N$140 million and dating from as far back as 2003 were cancelled last month due to non-payment by buyers. This was revealed in the minutes of council meetings for August 2018 released on Wednesday. The cancelled transactions were among those for which extensions had been granted to companies and individuals to pay up before 31 August. Although extensions were granted for payment, followed by constant reminders for the prospective buyers to finalise their transactions, many did not pay. Following council's approval, engagements were made with clients to have such sale transactions finalised within certain time frames, which efforts proved futile, the minutes read. The cancellations come as the City of Windhoek claimed to have millions tied up in transactions not concluded yet. The Namibian reported in July that the Windhoek municipality has been struggling to recover over N$300 million tied up in such land deals. It is worth noting that the city engaged the various clients to finalise the listed transactions without success. As such, no further negotiations should be allowed for any of the transactions on the list, the minutes read. It is stated that the affected land parcels will now be sold on open tender to the general public. The document shows that the cancelled transactions included land allocated between 2013 and 2015 for a private hospital in Katutura, and apartments in Kleine Kuppe. These transactions were valued at a combined N$20 million. The plans for a one-stop-shop hospital were approved for erf in Katutura, measuring square metres, which was sold to local medical practitioners Thomas and Puleinge Ihuhua's company Otjomuise Hospital in 2013 for N$17,2 million. Documents show that the company failed to pay about N$11 million on time, and did not respond to demands and reminders to pay up. Another cancelled transaction was for erf 1470 in Khomasdal, measuring square metres, that was sold to Delie Enterprises CC for N$38 million. A company called Ekwao Investment CC also lost land worth about N$34 million that it was allocated in Ekwao Investment is owned by a certain Joel Shafashike. About 13 other transactions for residential erven in Kleine Kuppe and Dorado Park, worth about N$12 million, were also terminated. The Khomas Regional Council likewise lost four plots which were allocated to it at a cost of N$1,7 million after it failed to pay up. Erf 261, measuring square metres in Kleine Kuppe, and which was previously given to a company called Johanna Court Body Corporate CC to construct residential units, is now available again on the market after the cancellation of the deal. The council minutes state that the company failed to pay about N$7,5 million. The Namibian reported in 2016 that the shareholders in Johanna Court Body Corporate CC were previously disadvantaged people identified as Selma Nalusha (25,5%) and Jackson Nampola (25,5%), who reside at the same address in Hochland Park, Windhoek. The other shareholders are Aune Axel (19%) and Vitalis Chiza (30%). A plot which was given to a certain Sam Namene was also among the transactions terminated by the municipality. 6

8 1.5 Where is 'Urban Land' in the Land Reform Process? The Namibian 07/09/2018 For a very long time, a state of neglect by omission has characterised urban land as part of the broader land question in Namibia. Whenever discussion on land reform or of the 'land question' is conducted, most Namibians from all walks of life think about commercial and communal land. The latter discourse of land reform is by no means an accident, for it has been shaped by how land issues have been approached at national level. It is worth recalling that of the 24 resolutions adopted at the 1991 land conference, none spoke, even remotely, on the status of urban land. In fact, all resolutions were grouped under either 'commercial land' or 'communal areas'. But as we have witnessed in the last few years, this has proved to be a simplistic reading of the land question. Namibia's overall population grew from in 1991 to people in 2011 (Weber & Mendelsohn 2017: 15). The urban population almost tripled (from to ) between 1991 and 2001 (ibid). These figures suggest that Namibia has been undergoing a transition from a rural-based society to an increasingly urban one. With rapid urbanisation something not unique to Namibia the importance of urban land provision has been amplified. In the context of urban growth, accompanied by high inequality, acute competition for land and the regulatory failures of the state often result in conflict affecting and between urban authorities and residents (Lombard & Rakodi 2016). In spite of these conflicts brought about by competition for land, the mushrooming of slums has become a noticeable feature of most urban centres across Namibia, yet urban land hardly featured in the national discourse until very recently. This omission is what the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement sought to address since its coming onto the scene in Emblematic of the natural evolution of social movements, the momentum with which the AR initially started its push to resurrect from oblivion the urban land matter, has somewhat fizzled over the past two years or so. It could be argued that the AR has done its part in inviting the urban land issue into public consciousness, and now the national leadership should take charge of addressing this state of omission. Part of the reason for this omission I would surmise is the exceptional nature of urban land. What makes the urban land issue somewhat exceptional is the fact that its delivery is intricately linked to the provision of various services, e.g. water and sewerage, roads and electricity. As such, the failure of urban land delivery has been couched in the trope of the inability of local authorities to provide services to urban dwellers. In other words, local state incapacity has been fingered as the problem, and in the process subsumed the urban land question. As a consequence, urban land has escaped public imagination as a national concern worthy of interrogating in and of itself. What is required, then, is the elevation and inclusion of urban land in the national discourse on land issues that are in need of reform. The latest round (2017) of the Afrobarometer survey revealed that a majority (52%) of Namibians are of the view that the government has not been effective in providing serviced land in urban areas. At the slightest provocation that stems from the scarcity of serviced urban land, most local authorities tend to embrace reactive responses which seek to deracinate the urban poor. As a case in point, the then CEO of Katima Mulilo Town Council was quoted as saying urban land is not for the poor because it is for sale, and those who cannot afford to buy should stay on communal land, instead of resorting to grab land (The Namibian, 2 October 2017). The demolition of shacks all over urban Namibia resonates with the unfortunate aforesaid stance. So, what is to be done? For a start, and in recognition that urban land is linked to other deliverables, the provision of decent and affordable housing in urban areas needs to be revisited. Clearly, the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) has dismally failed to provide affordable houses in adequate numbers to meet the ever-increasing demand. Even though the government does provide subsidies to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), more resources should be committed as the SDFN model seems to have delivered admirably. On the legislative front, the Urban and Regional Planning Act (No. 5 of 2018), which was recently assented to by the President, illustrates an anomaly and a further divorce of urban land from the broader question of land reform in Namibia. To be sure, it stretches credulity that a piece of legislation that has everything to do with land in the broader scheme of things is enacted before the second land conference takes place. Things such as the amending of zoning schemes; compensation in cases where residents are to make way for expansions in local authorities; 7

9 and boundaries' alterations of approved townships are not separate from, but have everything to do with a comprehensive approach to land reform. Should we continue to deal with urban land in the current lackadaisical manner, we shall very soon have to convene a conference on 'urban land'. * Ellison Tjirera is a lecturer at the University of Namibia and a research associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research. 1.6 Housing crisis of our own making The Namibian Sun 07/09/2018 Ordinary Namibians, including those in the middle class, are still finding it extremely difficult to acquire a place they can simply call home. For too long, decent housing in Namibia has been a privilege reserved for a select few, while hundreds of thousands are forced to spend a big chunk of their monthly income on rent, among other tough choices. It must be said that government has failed for many years to come up with an effective solution on how to deal with the housing issue, which has now spiralled out of control. There is simply no clear land release strategy in place to alleviate the acute shortage of housing in the country. Many Namibians are shut out of the property market because rising prices have encouraged buy-to-let landlords, who continue to snap up many properties on the market, while government watches on with folded arms, due to its failure to prioritise this critical social issue. Instead, developers and local authorities are capitalising on the huge demand for housing in the country. It is indeed laughable that government now has to seek the services of foreign countries to assist in developing low-cost housing initiatives. This approach will not help ease the housing crisis, but will inevitably favour developers, because of prevailing market conditions. Therefore, there must be political will to service more land and make it more affordable for the middle and lower-income groups. Municipal plots must be bought through sales of treaty, instead of the process of tendering and auctioning, which marginalises those without financial means. We agree that adopting a basic approach, by shifting the focus from the provision of housing towards the provision of affordable land, as outlined by experts John Mendelsohn and Beat Weber, is one of many solutions that can help ease this crisis that has reached epic proportions. We don t need outside help to fix this, only the requisite political will and implementation. 1.7 City finally honours Winnie The Namibian Sun 10/09/2018 The City of Windhoek has announced it will be renaming a street after the late South African struggle stalwart, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 12 years after a submission was made to bestow this honour on her. Council continues to change the image of the City by renaming streets and places to people who have contributed in different ways; be it political, spiritual or in any form to the betterment of the Namibian nation, Africa or the world at large, the City said in a statement. This comes after the council had met and agreed to change the names of eights streets. Otjomuise Road will be renamed in honour of Madikizela-Mandela, who died in April and was the ex-wife of global icon Nelson Mandela. She was also a politician in her own rights and anti-apartheid activist, who the bitter struggle for liberation in South Africa, while most current leaders were either in exile or in jail. President Hage Geingob had mistakenly told the crowd at Madikizela-Mandela's funeral that a Windhoek street had already been named after the late political hero. The City also announced that Monte Christo Road will be renamed Peter Eneas Nanyemba Street. Independence. Lazarus Street will be renamed in honour of the late Gabriel Shikongo Nuunyango. Dorp Street in Katutura will be renamed in honour of the late evangelist, Mika Kaiyamo. Caesar Street in Katutura will be renamed in honour of the late Reverend Bartholomews Gerhardt Karuaera, who is credited as being the founding father of the African Methodist Episcopal (AMC) Church. Kolossense Street in Katutura will be renamed in honour of the late Archbishop Obed Muinjo, while Lucifer and Legioen Street in Katutura will be merged and renamed in honour of the late 8

10 Reverend Erwin Tjirimuje. Peter Eneas Nanyemba Street in Freedom Square will be renamed Ivako Kapuuo Street, while Auasblick Extension 1 will be renamed in honour of the late Jason Mutumbulwa. We Namibians have a tendency of recognising people when they are no longer with us. This is wrong. We need to speed up the process and rename streets after people when they are still with us. City mayor, Muesee Kazapua, was quoted as saying by Windhoek Observer. 1.8 Keetmanshoop, S.A municipality ink MoU The New Era 11/09/2018 Keetmanshoop mayor Gaudentia Krohne wants to see and feel the results of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the town and the Dawid Kruiper Municipality from the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Speaking during the signing ceremony of the MoU at Keetmanshoop on Thursday, Krohne said while the agreement signed makes way for cooperation and collaboration between the two municipalities, this relationship should strive to work for results that can be seen by residents of both municipalities and not only end in the boardrooms. She said the MoU aims to promote tourism, economic development, environmental management, youth sports and cultural exchanges and it is therefore of critical importance that the two municipalities remain true to the ideals, as well as live up to the expectations of the MoU, and she specifically singled out tourism as a sector with a huge potential that must be explored to create jobs to ease unemployment and poverty. Most importantly the benefits that flow out of this type of agreement should be felt concretely by the inhabitants living in and around these participating localities, and as mayor of Keetmanshoop I would be happy to see action plans flow out of this agreement and the scale of benefit derived by both parties, she said. The mayor further said while bilateral agreements are established to facilitate cooperation at the national level, agreements formalised through MoUs at sub-national level have the potential to cascade the objectives of bilateral agreements down to the grassroots level, and therefore the MoU is in a broader sense an agreement of brother and sisterhood that aims to search for better life and opportunities for people of the two municipalities. She said as part of a global village, municipalities can no longer work in isolation but must do things as a team and therefore the signing of the agreement presents a committed approach for the two local authorities to work more closely to reach a common goal of a better tomorrow for all. Under the current economic state no local authority no matter how big or well established can address its challenges by itself the reality is we live in an era of globalisation and interdependence and in a service delivery environment with similar challenges such agreements to keep ahead of service delivery challenges are inevitable, stated the mayor. Her South African counterpart, the executive mayor of Dawid Kruiper Municipality Limakatso Koloi in her brief statement of intent said while such agreements are important, it is up to those responsible to make them work and not sign agreements and leave them to gather dust with no tangible results, and she reminded those present that this was not the first time the two municipalities have signed such an agreement. We are very excited to be here we had a similar agreement in 2008, but this time around we must take this twinning agreement very seriously; local government is where things happen and we should take our people seriously, she said. 1.9 City plans N$148m housing project The Namibian 12/09/2018 The City of Windhoek plans to construct low-cost houses from 2019 for low-income-earners at an estimated cost of N$148 million. This was revealed in city council minutes for August released at a meeting in Windhoek last week. The two-year project is expected to kick off in January 2019, and will address the housing shortage, specifically for first-time buyers in the capital. According to the affordable housing plan, the current housing backlog for low-cost or affordable housing in Windhoek stands at The minutes further state that the proposed project will also reduce pressure on the 9

11 city's housing waiting list, which currently consists of applications, with some dating back to Although this project is yet to be approved by council, the plan seen by The Namibian states that the affordable housing scheme will be implemented in Otjomuise, Khomasdal and Farm 508 in Havana, Katutura. Beneficiaries of the project will be people who earn between N$3 000 to N$ per month, including domestic workers, vendors, construction workers, security guards and cleaners. Teachers, police officers, nurses, bank clerks, municipal employees and other government officials will also be catered for under this plan. The council minutes furthermore state that beneficiaries will qualify for housing bonds from different banks, ranging from N$ to N$ , depending on their income category. Over 63% of those on the city's waiting list earn below N$ The proposed project will be divided into three types of housing ultra-ultra-low, ultra-low and low-cost houses. Ultra-low cost houses will be built in Otjomuise, while low cost houses will be built in Otjomuise and Khomasdal. The ultra-ultra-low-cost houses will be constructed on Farm 508 in Havana as high-density residential homes where multiple beneficiaries share one erf to cut servicing costs. Several plots in Khomasdal and Otjomuise have been identified, and will be rezoned and sub-divided for affordable housing. All vacant single residential and general residential plots will not be sold without consideration being given for the provision of affordable housing. Plots measuring or bigger than 300 square metres only will be considered for low-cost housing. The municipality will subsidise 50% of the plots for ultra-ultralow-cost and 25% for ultra-low-cost housing units. Subsidisation, however, will only be done on the unserviced plots, and beneficiaries will be required to contribute towards the servicing of their plots. It is probable that the majority of ultra-ultra-low and ultra-low-cost housing beneficiaries are unable to afford erf prices at market valuation, hence the subsidisation of erven is considered. The city can, therefore, identify serviced land where the housing programme is to be implemented, determine the upset prices of the respective erven, and thereafter offer a percentage for subsidisation, the minutes state. The plan indicates that the City of Windhoek has made budgetary provision for N$20 million to fund the project. Other funding will be sourced from banks as well as the central government. Employers willing to provide housing for their employees will also be approached to partner council in this venture. German development bank KfW and GIZ have also expressed willingness to provide funding for affordable housing, in partnership with the city. Banks must also be sensitised to consider and include in their funding model the lower-income categories which were previously not considered due to perceived risks, the council minutes state. According to the council, four commercial banks First National Bank, Standard Bank, Bank Windhoek and Nedbank have indicated a willingness to participate in any affordable housing scheme the city embarks on. The minutes further state that the profit margins for the project will be restricted to not more than 15% per housing unit Urban migration the good, the bad and the ugly The Namibian 14/09/2018 The world is over 50% urban, Namibia is just under. But we are fast approaching this mark. All conventional wisdom shows that urbanisation is highly correlated with many development indicators, such as education, wealth and health. However, there is a fear that a flood of urban migration will result in huge stress on infrastructure and services. Dread and the need to keep rural people out, lead to stigmatisation, which is detrimental to us as a nation. But, do we really understand what supporting urban migration may or may not mean for Namibia? Let's consider the repercussions of merely allowing, discouraging or facilitating urban migration. The first scenario: continuing along the current path: Given present trends, the urban influx will not stop. Soon, the number of informal urban houses will equal the formal houses and then outnumber them. Thus, most Namibians living in urban areas will soon be living on land they do not own, with no or minimal services. There are several good reasons why allowing migration to continue in this manner would be a terrible thing. The cost of providing minimal services will continue to increase without a reciprocal inflow into local authority revenues. Thus, less money will be available for all urban priorities. More importantly though, are the immediate concerns for those living without access to land. Generally discussed in terms of poverty, health, and 10

12 education, it would be better if we thought of human lives. The lifespan of someone living informally is shorter than that of someone living formally. This is because there is no access to clean running water, a toilet, and shower, adequate protection from the elements, and security, all of which affects the span of a life. In this environment, the spread of disease is hastened, and lifespans are shortened. By denying people opportunities to create decent housing for themselves through denying them access to land, we choose to shorten their lives, we implicitly 'allow' them to die. Continuing this status quo is unacceptable. The second scenario: What if we discouraged urban migration by strengthening rural development instead? Much Namibian development policy is already focused on rural areas and this is not inherently bad. But our rural areas are dry, soils unproductive, and distances to markets far. Across our continent people living rurally are worse off than urban dwellers, and Namibia's rural areas are at a comparative disadvantage to most of the continent. Can we realistically expect that rural Namibians would have a good quality of life? Rural development is also more costly than urban. Supplies need to be transported and people travel further to access goods or services, so time and cost are increased. Qualified, motivated staff who want to live and work outside of urban areas are also harder to find. Continuing a focus on rural development is not cost effective. It keeps many Namibians poor, contributes little economically, and people's lives are much harder than they could be otherwise. We should not ignore rural development, but our prime focus should fall where the benefits of our interventions will be greatest, in urban areas. The third scenario: What would happen if we resolved to embark upon a policy of urbanisation to provide all current migrants living informally as well as all new urban migrants with a piece of land? Financially, this is feasible. Most undeveloped urban land owned by local authorities is free and currently without value. To provide a minimally serviced erf costs about N$ Given that our defence budget was around N$6 billion this year, spending half of this would provide plots serviced with water, electricity and sewerage. As a result, an extra families would have access to water, electricity and sewerage. Or, Namibians would have lives significantly better than they have today. At this rate every (current) urban Namibian house now without legal access to land and opportunity could gain a piece of land in just three years. But would the free provision of plots not incite a flood of urban migration? This may happen, but it is not known for certain. People will only move with the hope of improving their lives. By saying that land should not be provided to stop the influx of people, we are admittedly actively trying to keep people poor if it wasn't better they wouldn't want to come. This sounds like apartheid. City dwellers' fear of being swamped by rural Namibians causes them to forget that urban population growth, coupled with provision of land, would be good economically, socially, and environmentally. Economically, things happen in cities. There are many opportunities to start businesses and to build wealth almost all innovation occurs in urban areas. New tenured land will decrease property and rent prices and create wealth overall a rent bill will do the same but destroy wealth. People who previously had nothing would have an important capital asset. As they improve their land, its value will increase further. At present the land that they live on (and do not own) has negligible value. It cannot be sold or used as collateral. Most importantly, there is very little reason to spend money to improve land that one does not own! Not only does building a brick structure and investing in long-term improvements add financial value, it improves quality of life and lifespan. The beneficial effects of urban living are further enhanced through increased access to social services at a reduced cost per person. Such services are also within easy reach and can accommodate many more people. The economy is also strengthened more when a dollar is spent in an urban area, where it jumps quickly from hand to hand. This benefits each person along the way, creating more jobs. The result is increased taxes, which lead to the provision of better services to people and more economic growth. In every way, urban life allows incremental gains. Last, but not least, there are environmental benefits. Having people move to urban areas frees up productive land, allowing it to be farmed more efficiently or used for conservation or tourism (which is increasingly valuable). The provision of urban land is quite possibly the most cost effective, dignified, easiest, and best long-term solution to economic, social, and environmental development we have in Namibia. This should be our priority. Martin Mendelsohn is a researcher at RAISON where his primary focus is on urban issues. He is passionate about improving Namibia's urban areas and access to opportunities in them. 11

13 1.11 Ongwediva offers Johannes family N$982k The Namibian Sun 18/09/2018 The Ongwediva town council is willing to pay the Johannes family N$ for land that the council had sold to a company owned by northern businessman Ben Zaaruka in The land dispute between Lukas Haivela Johannes and Stantoll Properties was heard by the Oshakati High Court last week. Zaaruka had applied for an interdict in March to prevent the family from interfering with construction work at his shopping mall. The extension of the Oshana shopping mall covers about four hectares of what used to be the family's mahangu field. They were never compensated for the land despite the fact that the council had received about N$1.4 million from Zaaruka as payment for the land. Negotiations over compensation were unsuccessful. Namibian Sun understands that the family demanded N$3 million for the land. According to a letter dated 4 April, town council CEO Damian Egumbo informed the family that the council was prepared to pay them N$ for the land it had sold to Stantoll Properties. Kindly receive the final compensation offer of N$ of the portion of the field affected by Oshana Mall phase 2 development. This offer is a combination of the first offer of N$ , second offer of N$ and the last assessment carried out, the letter reads. When contacted for comment, council spokesperson Jackson Muma said the council was waiting for the Johannes family to respond to the offer. The council is ready to pay the family anytime. The ball is now in the family's hands, it's just a matter of coming to the council and they will be paid, Muma said. Attempts to get comment from Johannes yesterday proved futile. Last week Friday the matter was heard in the Oshakati High Court by a full bench of judges: Judge President Petrus Damaseb and judges Hosea Angula and Shafimana Ueitele. The court ruled in favour of Stantoll Properties, allowing it to continue with the construction of the second phase of Oshana Mall The new land question The Namibian 18/09/2018 Civil society perspectives on urban land workshop with the civil society organisations' working group on land reform (CSO-WGLR). This third event of 'The New Land Question' programme focused on the urban land question from the civil society perspective. The meeting had inputs from Uhuru Dempers from CSO-WGLR; John Nakuta from the University of Namibia (Unam); Phillip Lühl from the department of architecture and spatial planning at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST); and Anna Muller, national coordinator of the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG), which support the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN). The meeting was attended by housing activists, women's rights advocates, students, youth organisations, churches, urban development NGOs, human rights organisations, domestic workers' unions, HIV-AIDS support organisations, and shack dwellers representatives. Introduction Independence brought hope and the first land conference in 1991, but it had little input from civil society. In light of this and the slow pace of implementation, a people's land conference took place at Mariental in The CSO-WGLR was formed, but remained active only for a few years. In 2011, civil society convened a meeting to discuss land matters, and one of the key outcomes was the need for a second land conference. In 2016, a second national land conference (2NLC) was announced by the Ministry of Land Reform (MLR), and the CSO-WGLR reactivated, and has been active organising activities. 12

14 Housing from the human rights perspective The 'right to adequate housing' doesn't mean 'free houses for all', but that governments should demonstrate that they are taking concrete steps for their inhabitants to enjoy this right. For housing to be 'adequate', it must have the following characteristics: security of tenure, habitability, availability of services and infrastructure, affordability, accessibility (non-discriminatory), conducive location, and cultural acceptability. In Namibia, many aspects of the housing policy remain without implementation, and some of those that are implemented, are not administered in a decisive way. Budgets for housing are small, and often even those that are made available are not spent accordingly. The current situation is dehumanising for those living in informal settlement conditions and yet, informal settlement upgrading does not seem to be the priority of many local authorities. Both central and local government see informal settlement upgrading as the task of the SDFN, who is financially supported by the government but on a small scale, compared to other initiatives supported by the government. Housing is generally regarded as something to sell and buy (commodity), which leads to speculation, as many are interested in earning money from housing through rent or 'the property market'. There is a policy bias towards home ownership without a comprehensive subsidy programme. Ownership may also not be the most secure form of tenure for the very poor. There is urgent need for reform. There is also a need for increased participation of right holders, and to provide education to those who implement, and those who hold the right to adequate housing. Urban land reform in Namibia In the next 25 years, Namibia will have to accommodate about two million new inhabitants in urban areas. Comparatively to other countries like South Africa or Zambia, Namibia invests a small percentage of its GDP on urbanisation. The vast majority is excluded from the housing market, as most households earn less than N$5 000 per month, which relegates them to 'the informal'. Urbanisation today is largely driven by inhabitants mobilising their own resources at the ground level. More than 2/3 of those employed in Namibia work in the informal sector, which is more likely to sustain a livelihood in urban areas. The prevailing low-density suburban model reproduces inequality, as it is expensive to develop and service, and increases transport costs for poor inhabitants, and denies them economic opportunities that urban areas offer. The current urbanisation also reproduces the apartheid structure that divided whites from blacks, and now divides the rich from the poor. This is perpetuated by allowing urban growth only at the edges of urban areas, rather than creating adequate housing opportunities in more central areas. It is, therefore, important to establish 'urban land reform' as the core element of land reform. At the moment, there is no such programme. Thus, in 2NLC, its aims would need to be defined, targets be set, eligibility criteria clarified (who will benefit?), available land and densification opportunities identified, and a timeline for action developed. New administrative structures need to be established, current ones streamlined, and civil society included as a key stakeholder. Public engagement on land reform should be a permanent process, not a once-off consultative event. There is furthermore a need for a national urban policy and national development plan to align metropolitan, regional and rural planning across the country. Such a plan would need to consider informal economic activities in any public intervention, and create special development areas to address pressing issues that would otherwise be slowed down through normal statutory processes. New and inclusive finance mechanisms need to be developed that recognise the income profile of Namibian households. Informal settlements Recent counts by the SDFN/NHAG show that there are shacks in Namibia, which house an estimated people, or about 40% of the national population. Government targets contained in Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan won't address this challenge by far, let alone the projection of urban growth. There are good reasons why people come to town: for a better income 13