Living on the edge

Living on the edgeAnguish, blame-game and unfulfilled housing promises Those who have illegally built shacks under power lines and in riverbeds will be relocated by the Windhoek municipality after the drowning of two people on Monday night. The City of Windhoek will relocate shack dwellers who have erected structures in riverbeds following the tragic incident that claimed the life of a woman whose home was swept away by a flash flood after heavy rain on Monday evening.

The woman's three-year-old son is missing and feared dead.

The incident took place at the Abraham Iiyambo informal settlement on the outskirts of Hakahana in Windhoek.

The victims were identified as 32-year-old Saima Thomas and Jason Lukas Shindinge.

The woman's body was found in a riverbed about two kilometres from where their shack had stood. Thomas's partner managed to survive the tragedy, along with their three-day-old baby girl.

The unfortunate incident sparked anguish among community members, while Namibians also expressed a great level of shock and sadness.

While donations streamed in for the bereaved family, the City of Windhoek leadership also visited the family and the surrounding area.





Mayor Muesee Kazapua expressed sadness and sorrow at the unfortunate incident.

He added the City had been pleading with residents not to erect structures in hazardous environments like riverbeds.

“We have been warning residents not to construct those houses in the riverbeds, it is very dangerous.

Especially now with the heavy rains.

It is should also be a [lesson] for the community when leaders are warning them from settling illegally,” he said.

According to Kazapua, the City was aware of the growing outcry over housing delivery, which has been exacerbated by urbanisation.

Moses //Garoëb constituency councillor David Martin said some of the residents in the affected area have been living in the riverbed for over seven years now.

According to him, several warnings have been sent out but some residents simply ignored the call to move to safer ground.

“Even before the rains started I pleaded with them, but some people do not respect the advice given.

But we will now with the assistance of the City move them from the riverbeds,” he said.



'Govt to blame'

The Affirmative Repositioning Movement also visited the bereaved family and donated a bed, blankets and other supplies.

According to an AR spokesman, the sad situation must be “placed at the door of the government for the contempt it has shown to the poor”.

The AR also urged activists to frequently visit informal settlements and adopt families whom they can support and whose living conditions they can monitor and uplift.

“It is evident that government has no plan to address housing and assisting the masses of our people. The only thing our people have is AR,” the statement read.

City CEO Robert Kahimise, while addressing a workshop on transformational leadership on climate change, said the backlog in serviced erven created a disaster such the Monday incident.

“We will identify those living under the power lines and in the riverbeds and relocate them,” he said.

He added that the influx of people from outside Windhoek made it very difficult for the municipality to keep up.

“How can you slip into a town and the authority must plan for you? As we sit here 50 people are settling already.

And we put up structures… [but] toilets are vandalised,” he said.



Crisis

Kazapua called on the government to issue a directive making provision for the subsidising of housing for Namibians in all income brackets.

According to him some developers mislead the City with proposals that they will build affordable houses but afterwards raise the prices so that that most people cannot afford it.

JEMIMA BEUKES