Africa-Press – Namibia. CONFLICT is slowly brewing between neighbours in the recently formalised locations of Oshakati. Residents are either grabbing land or encroaching on their neighbour’s land by extending their plots beyond the demarcated borderlines.
In one case in the Oshoopala location, Alfeus Titus’ house was totally cut off, when a shack was erected nearby, thereby blocking the only access road to his residence and that of one of his neighbours.
“To reach my house I had to pass through the premises of another neighbour. But when he too erected a fence around his plot, I was completely cut off. Now I park my two vehicles on the street, about 100 metres away, and then walk home through another neighbour’s yard,” he said.
In an interview with Informanté, the town council’s spokesperson Katarina Kamari acknowledged the problem, saying that the formalisation of the informal settlements awakens interest.
Even the plots that were neglected and shacks that were unoccupied for years, are suddenly occupied and some people are trying to illicitly augment the size of their plots.
She said that incidents of land grabbing and any encroachment on other people’s land should be reported to the council for a prompt action. Titus, however, claims that he did just that.
“I went to the town council several times, but up to now, no practical steps were taken. In fact I was mistreated by one specific official. When I expressed fear of my vehicles being stolen, the official said it was none of his business,” he said.
Titus is not alone. The access road to his immediate neighbour to the north is equally blocked, and the problem becoming a new one for other residents as more new shacks are hammered together.
