By Kaleb Nghishidivali
Otjiwarongo, July 27 – Residents of Otjiwarongo’s Single Quarters, Orwetoveni location have voiced their utter dismay and anguish over the municipality’s Single Quarters decongestion plan. Residents marched peacefully along the street today to protest the single-quarter decongestion proposal.
Residents have been anxiously awaiting the implementation of a plan to decongest the town’s unsanitary single quarter since January.
According to reports, a survey conducted in August 2020 found that Single-Quarters within Otjiwarongo were overcrowded and uninhabitable owing to cleanliness issues.
Approximately 70 protesters march from single quarters to the municipality office to voice their strongest feelings through the petition.
Residents are asking that the outgoing CEO, Moses Matyayi, rectify their problems before taking over as mayor of Windhoek.
Protesters holding placards are requesting that the whole Otjiwarongo municipality resign owing to the fact that they have not brought about any progress since the previous year.
Protesters accuse the CEO of engaging in corruption. As a result, the locals have asked the anti-corruption commission to intervene.
Irene Ushona, who delivered the petition on behalf of the group, stated that the Otjiwarongo municipality council promised to accommodate some residents in low-cost housing programs such as Shark Dwellers, development workshops, and the Built Together program, but no one from single quarters has been included in such programs.
According to Uushona, roughly 4000 candidates were pushing and dragging others for around 400 plots under development workshop.
The plans to decongest the apartments entail illuminating residents’ living circumstances by transferring them to Camp 5, which serves as a reception area.
“We will not relocate these quarters for your reception area if no basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity are provided at that area, because we have such services now,” Uushona said, concerned that the reception area is only for temporary settlement and that no permanent structure will be built according to council plans.
The residents emphasized that they are mostly concerned about unanswered questions about what will be done or what will happen to those who have made structural improvements to single-family homes, as some residents went so far as to build toilets with the permission of the former municipality Chief Executive Officer. And what will happen to those who will become homeless as a result?
“Our previous petition received no attention, but the very same minister will come to seek our votes in the 2024 elections,” Uushona was concerned.
Uushona stated that the municipality of Otjiwarongo has failed to address the issue of low-cost housing.
Residents are dissatisfied with the area where the council intends to move them, citing inadequate water pressure.
Uushona further stated that they are concerned about their school-age children, believing that this change would negatively influence them, adding that one pays more if he lives distant from his company and institutional places.
The petition was received by Otjiwarongo mayor his worship Candy Shivute in the presence of CEO Moses Matyayi, who stated that he remembered the council responding to the residents’ initial appeal in March.
“If there is any new development that we did not address in the response, we will approach that,” Shivute said, asking people to visit the minister if they felt their response to the single quarters residents was insufficient. – Namibia Daily News
