Africa-Press – Namibia. The Mariental Municipality has, since last month, been relocating informal settlers to properly designated erven to formalise years of illegal land occupation.
The municipality’s Community Liaison Officer, Domingo Matesu, in a recent interview, informed Nampa that the residents being relocated had settled on municipal land illegally since 2012, with some erven occupied by more than one household.
“People had settled here illegally, sometimes two households on one erf. Now we’re moving them so each family can have an erf according to the layout plan,” stated Matesu.
The relocation process has been made possible through a N$75 million allocation from the ministry of urban and rural development to support infrastructure development and formal housing initiatives in Mariental.
The residents are being moved to 303 erven in Aimablaagte Extension 3, where approximately 400 households are expected to be accommodated, with the next phase targeting 600 households at 207 erven in Aimablaagte Extension 2.
Due to a shortage of erven in the current extensions, excess households from Aimablaagte will be relocated to Empelheim Extension 5, where additional plots have been identified. “Each erf is more or less 300 square metres, and the municipality is working to ensure all residents are properly registered through the official process. However, the erven being occupied are not yet serviced with water and electricity.
We need to clear the roads so we can bring services like water and electricity, and that is why we are asking the residents to cooperate during the move,” stated Matesu.
While the area remains unserviced, discussions are ongoing between the municipality and the ministry regarding timelines for providing essential infrastructure, Matesu said.
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