Africa-Press – Namibia. THE municipality of Walvis Bay on Friday gave residents until 31 March to remove illegal structures on land used for municipal properties, streets and public open spaces.
The announcement, which came into effect immediately, was made on the municipality’s social media platform.
Residents who are illegally occupying such spaces, include people living at the town’s dumpsite, Twaloloka residents, car wash operators and street vendors.
In 2016, the Walvis Bay Town Council won a court case against the residents of Twaloloka, who illegally occupied land in 2015, but opted not to evict them.
The notice also affects truck drivers who currently occupy the space opposite Cymot in town as Walvis Bay has no truck port.
This announcement has angered community members who have accused the municipality of imposing colonial tactics on residents.
Former municipal councillor Gibson Goseb says in the absence of proper public engagement with perpetrators, the municipality is opening the doors to a civil strike.
“Amid the economic challenges brought into play by Covid-19, it will be a suicidal operation that will harvest deep discontent. This situation should have been arrested years ago, but was left to mushroom without any action taken, thus it will be an uphill task to find solutions now,” he says.
He advises the municipality to normalise consultations.
Harold David from the Popular Democratic Movement asked how the municipality could take such a drastic step when the housing problem at the town has not been addressed.
“I’m not diminishing their task at hand and saying it’s an easy fix, but the problem cannot be addressed by such strong-arm tactics.
“Let’s collectively have a constructive sit-down to draft a roadmap to address the housing situation at our city. Then, and only then you can put such demands forward. But if you haven’t given residents a tangible option, it is best you keep quiet,” he says.
The move came as a surprise to the majority party (Independent Patriots for Change) in the local authority council’s regional leadership.
Regional chairperson Aloisius Kangulu asked how this was allowed when the municipality had not responded to their suggestion.
“They shared the draft with us, and we told them there must be an alternative when you remove a person from an illegal place to a place that is legal,” he said.
Kangulu also asked why the information was not shared with the media.
“That is not good, because the media’s role is to inform, educate and give the public the necessary information,” he said.
Affirmative Repositioning regional leader Knowledge Ipinge wanted to know when the council resolution was made to evict residents.
“The municipality of Walvis Bay should be reminded that the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia provides that no resident may be evicted without a court order and an alternative to be relocated to.
“We are closely monitoring this new development, and our activists are ready to fight for the dignity of the dejected masses of our people,” he said.
It is not clear where residents will be relocated to, but sources inside the council say the move is being pushed by people in the administration.
This is said to encourage the council to make land available for the construction of a truck port.
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