Africa-Press – Namibia. ALEX Mudabeti, the executive for geographic information at the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), says Ondangwa, Ongwediva and Oshakati are running out of urban land.
This is reflected in data collected by the NSA between November 2020 and February 2021. Mudabeti was speaking at a media briefing at Oshakati on Tuesday.
He said the Oshana region has a total townland size of 19 952,9 hectares (ha), and a total of 44 768 urban plots. In addition to that, Mudabeti said the region has a total of 38 843 residential-zoned plots, and 4 061 business plots in total.
Out of the 19 952,9 ha, Ongwediva has a used-land size of 8 929,7 ha, followed by Oshakati with 5 700,9 ha, and Ondangwa with a total of 5 322,3 ha, he said.
“Oshana is not doing well. It is seriously running out of urban land,” Mudabeti said, adding that Oshakati needs to expand its town boundaries.
He said the Kunene region has the highest amount of unzoned urban land at 97,6%, followed by the Oshikoto region with 96,7%. “Land is still available in these regions,” he said.
Oshakati has 1 065 business plots, Ondangwa 1 945, and Ongwediva 1 051. “Oshakati has a total of 292 institutional plots, Ondangwa has 286, while Ongwediva has 124,” Mudabeti said.
Oshakati has the most residential plots with a total of 16 486, followed by Ondangwa with 14 762, and Ongwediva with 7 595. Only Oshakati has a total of 21 nature-reserved plots in the region, he said.
“Ondangwa has 533 open spaces, Ongwediva 284, and Oshakati only 254.”
Speaking at the same event, NSA statistician general Alex Shimuafeni said the country has experienced rapid urbanisation, which has exerted pressure on the availability of urban land and services.
“A total urban size of 370 452,9 ha was evaluated as a sum of townland boundaries of 30 local authorities in the nine regions,” he said. The Erongo region has the biggest amount of urban land, comprising 183 793 ha.
“It was found that Rundu in the Kavango East region has more urban plots among the nine regions, with 25 157 plots, while Bukalo in the Zambezi region has the lowest number of plots at only 490.”
Contacted for a comment, Oshakati mayor Leonard Hango confirmed that the town has run out of planned urban land, but said they are in consultation with the Uukwambi and Oukwanyama traditional authorities to extend the town’s borders.
“We are responding to the calls in line with Vision 2030, which says Namibia should be industrialised by 2030. This is our major plan,” he said.
Ondangwa mayor Paavo Amwele also confirmed that the town is running out of urban land. Amwele said it is as a result of people flocking to the town in search of employment.
“Everyone wants a place to live, and we have to accommodate them by giving them residential plots,” he said. Another reason for the lack of urban land is that business people buy land from the council, leaving it undeveloped for a long time, he said.
Amwele said the town council is currently engaging with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to approve its application to expand the town. “We are just waiting for approval from the ministry. There are those who will be affected and they need to be moved, so we need to engage with them,” he said.
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