Analysing poor living conditions in informal settlements

Analysing poor living conditions in informal settlements By Nambinga Kuume

Most academic scholars have researched poor living conditions among Namibian people for the past 25 years but nothing has been really upgraded to help better the lives of these people. People still live in abrupt poverty and in worse conditions than ever imagined. Just imagine people living without proper sanitation and they are forced to expose themselves in river beds and open areas which is compromising their dignity and self-respect.

What is the government really doing to help out the citizens because nothing relevant have been done to help people out but other unnecessary things like building new parliaments and other unnecessary projects are launched all the time. But nothing has been done to help people live in a better Namibia. People have entrusted their votes in these leaders to help develop this country but it seems to be crumbling day by day because most people in offices lack corporate governance qualities which are needed to run those offices. Leaders do not have the flair to run offices, they are greedy, wanting to enrich themselves and making short-term decisions that are not beneficial at all. People always wonder where the problem really lies that development is not really transparent and one reason one can think of firstly, is that most leaders are very corrupt to the core and they are so deep in it that they can’t come back from it.

What our leaders need is to be taught what transparency really is, because this term cannot be underestimated at any cost. All relevant information should be made available to all interested parties in the same way. Albeit information to protect business or the competitive element of a tender has to be kept confidential, the principal rule should always be to publish as much information as possible. The face of poverty especially in Windhoek is among the women, children and young people found in the informal settlements. Today’s informal settlers are also students from rural areas attending universities because they cannot afford reasonable comfortable accommodation. Imagine living in Havana and knocking off at 21:30 which is very dangerous because that place is not safe at all. Something should really be done. Climbing out of poverty is almost impossible because most of them do not have regular employment. Nor do they have the necessary education required to land steady-paying jobs. If employed at all, these would be your security guards, cleaners and domestic workers and this won’t be enough to help move from shacks to better houses.

These informal settlements are filled with piles of dirt, water-filled potholes and streams of smelly running water from the communal pumps. The roads are not tarred with any safe walkways and residents have to fork out N$20 in taxi fares from home to the city centre where most of them do odd jobs. Just imagine having to share a toilet with 15 people for example, how will that toilet be and not all people like to keep things clean. Think of having to carry water for a long distance which is not good for the health of women and young children. Politicians are clearly not interested in the lives of these people and yet they flock to their settlements to do campaigns for them to be voted.

One might be sympathetic with the City of Windhoek’s action because it is trying to promote lawful and planned settlement. However, the City of Windhoek should not use police but rather should use policy to address its mushrooming urban problems. The problem with our urban development is dual: 26 years after independence a clear and coherent formula/model for addressing Windhoek’s or Namibia informal settlement has not yet emerged in the city/town, government or community level. The government intervention though the mass housing scheme and Tipeeg are too magnificent ideas to make any noticeable effects on the lives of the people living at the periphery of Windhoek which Tipeeg has cleary failed to reach its objectives and goals. The truth is that the proposed mass housing project is not for the informal settlement because they have no regular jobs or assets to qualify for a house or maintain them even if they were given one for free.

People are frustrated at the pace of urban development and poverty seemz to be rising all the time which is depressing. The government dumps funds on ministries every year for changes to be brought and lazy ministries are throwing money back to the Ministry of Finance without full accomplishments of the duties - so much has been preached but nothing has been done. The government should not just remember these masses when it comes to voting. People need to see good practice happening throughout the country. The system really needs to change and leaders should stop being so greedy because they are corrupting the country. Even young leaders who are graduating would one day want to follow suit because it seems like the protocol of this country. We need educated leaders with a vision to develop this country and bring about changes because all the leaders in place are all the same. Please allow young graduates to take over and retire because we need fresh ideas and not this mentality of using traditional ways of doing things, it’s a new era and things are changing and so should people.

*Nambinga Kuume is fourth-year student studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in Public Management (Hons) at Unam