Over 800 DRC residents receive land ownership certificates

Over 800 residents of the DRC informal settlement in Swakopmund were on Sunday awarded land ownership certificates to enable them to construct permanent concrete structures.

This also means the beneficiaries are now eligible to apply for municipal and ErongoRED accounts for water and electricity connections.

Erongo Governor, Neville Andre Itope, at the event emphasised the importance of adequate housing as a crucial part of wellbeing, health and development.

“Proper housing is important because it is linked to many other areas of human wellbeing. Indeed, most areas of human wellbeing can only be achieved fully if one has access to adequate housing. I am therefore overjoyed to note another Government policy to ensure land and housing delivery as implemented by the Swakopmund Municipality, the flexible land tenure initiative, the results of which we are witnessing through the presentation of over 805 ownership certificates,” he said.

Although acknowledging that it took over 22 years to realise this important milestone, the governor applauded the community of DRC for their resilience and the leadership of the Swakopmund Municipality for ensuring access to land and housing for the people.

Swakopmund Mayor, Dina Namubes, at the same event echoed the governor’s sentiments, stressing that housing is top of the municipality’s priorities.

“The Swakopmund Municipality’s greatest success to-date has been the servicing of DRC Proper and the implementation of flexible land tenure in Wagdaar. Another significant accomplishment was obtaining legitimacy and approval from residents to eventually give ownership,” Namubes expressed.

In an interview with Nampa on the side-lines of the event, Sophia Hamunyela, who is one of the land beneficiaries, could not contain her joy. She said she has lived in a shack for close to 20 years and is relieved that she now owns land and will finally be able to live decently with her grandchildren.

Established in 1999, the DRC informal settlement is home to nearly 2 000 residents and is now divided into three areas – Wagdaar, DRC Proper and Portion 184.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency