Gobabis residents renting costly shacks

A relatively new scheme at Gobabis where well-off people are demarcating land in informal settlements and renting it out to low-income earners has ruffled feathers amongst residents.

The practice, which is widely carried out in the Canaan C informal settlement, involves the construction of well-structured shacks made of corrugated iron sheets, complete with high boundary fences, which are then rented out.

The demarcating of the land, which results in disproportionally large chunks of land going to a single person, is apparently done without the consent of the Gobabis Town Council.

The shacks, which do not have potable water, electricity and ablution facilities go for between N$500 and N$800 per month.

Some residents have however installed solar power in their shacks.

Affluent

Nampa has learned that shack owners also use their structures as shebeens or rent them out for that purpose to other residents.

The owners of these structures either live in more affluent parts of Gobabis, such as in suburbs closer to the town’s central business district, or are wealthy communal farmers in the region.

Residents who this news agency spoke to said the practice robs poor landless Namibians of the opportunity to own a piece of land.

“Now these poor people are expected to rent such structures which is not fair at all,” said Maria Goagoses, a resident of Canaan.

Another resident, Pavanga Kandovazu, said it has become increasingly difficult to find land in the informal areas of Gobabis as much of it has already been claimed.

He said the only option for many therefore is to rent from those who have such land and have already constructed structures on them.

“I live with my brother in his small shack. When his girlfriend visits, I have to find accommodation elsewhere for the night. So, if I had money perhaps I too would opt to rent those structures - not out of choice but out of desperation,” he noted.

Dealt with

The public relations officer of the Gobabis Municipality, Frederick Ueitele, admitted that the local authority was aware of the situation.

He said the practice has made it increasingly difficult for the town council to demarcate plots for landless residents, as most of these illegal plots are very big.

He said the issue will soon be dealt with by the council. It plans to evict those living in such structures to make way for the demolition of the structures.

“We will demolish those structures soon. One would sympathise if people erect shacks for themselves to live in due to the housing problem, but to do so to exploit others on municipal ground is just not acceptable,” Ueitele said.

Canaan, the largest informal settlement at Gobabis has over the years undergone various forms of development which saw overhead mast lights being installed and proper roads made.

It is home to almost half of the population of Gobabis. - Nampa