WINDHOEK, March 14– Namibia’s capital Windhoek has launched a large-scale planning process to formalize informal settlements and expand access to basic services, amid rising urbanization in the southern African country of about 3.1 million people, where more than 606,000 live in informal settlements nationwide.
The initiative, announced by the City of Windhoek, aims to address the shortage of serviced land and improve living conditions in rapidly growing unplanned communities in the Namibian capital.
“The rapid expansion of informal settlements has resulted in several socio-economic and environmental challenges, including inadequate sanitation, limited access to essential services such as water, sewerage and electricity, environmental degradation, pollution, outbreaks of communicable diseases and increased safety concerns,” the city said in a statement on Friday evening.
To address these issues, the city has initiated a formalization process involving town planning, environmental management, land surveying, and land registration, it added.
According to the city, the planning initiative covers multiple subdivisions expected to yield 11,226 residential plots, commonly known as erven, which could allow more residents to move into formally planned areas with improved municipal services.
As part of the process, several proposed townships have been grouped into Environmental Impact Assessment clusters, it said, adding that the first phase covers 18 proposed townships expected to yield about 3,587 erven.
The municipality said the initiative reflects its commitment to improving living conditions in informal settlements while working toward its goal of becoming a sustainable and inclusive city. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
