Dear Residents and Visitors to Swakopmund,
On behalf of the Swakopmund Residents Association, I extend a warm welcome to all who will be visiting our beautiful town over the Easter holidays. As our residents come together to celebrate this joyous occasion, may the spirit of renewal and hope fill your hearts with happiness and peace.
We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this special time with our visitors, and we hope that your stay in Swakopmund is filled with memorable moments and cherished experiences. Whether you are here to relax on our stunning beaches, explore our vibrant culture and our wonderful desert scenery, or simply enjoy the company of loved ones, we wish you a safe and enjoyable Easter celebration.
Thank you for choosing Swakopmund as your destination, and we hope that your visit will create lasting memories.
Happy Easter!
Warm regards,
John Hopkins
Chairman
Swakopmund Residents Association
Land for the Needy
The Swakopmund Municipality has recently issued 800 pre-emptive right sale agreements to occupants of land in Extensions 27, 29 and 30 in the DRC suburb. The Pre-emptive Right and Restriction of Sale Agreement was entered into by the Municipality and the recipients. This agreement places a restriction on the re-sale of the erven for 10 years and a pre-emptive right in favour of the Swakopmund Municipality in respect of those erven which have not been developed within that time and for which no completion certificate has been issued. This provision will be included in the Deed of Donation for all erven to be sold in the DRC area. After the expiry of the 10 years and subject to being issued a completion certificate the owner may sell the property on the open market. To own immovable property is one of the most important factors in making people economically independent.
The Swakopmund Municipality Housing Department was established with the purpose of addressing the housing needs of the community. It has however become a serious challenge because human settlements are clustered with communities with little or no income. The Municipality faces a serious challenge as it must generate sufficient income in order to be able to provide services to meet the demands of the community with virtually no income. This means that residents by paying their rates and taxes will of necessity be subsidising the poor. It will be up to the Municipality to ensure that only the neediest will be provided with free services.
The Municipality is considering some mechanisms that could be adopted to generate income by charging rates and taxes to the beneficiaries that were allocated erven. Also introducing payment for site rental of occupants that have been registered to ultimately take ownership of their property. Another mechanism to generate income is through the sale of water tags to register occupants within the informal settlements as some of the informal areas are not serviced.
Large Housing Delivery Projects Underway
• In the suburb of Wagdaar Extension 40, 233 erven were sold for high income and middle income housing. In Extension 41 the planning stage for the installation of engineering services is progressing well with 272 to be serviced. In extension 42, 272 erven were approved for sale and 249 erven have already been registered for sale. This means a total of 712 erven will be developed for housing in the Wagdaar Suburb.
• Another project on the move is the Build Together Project where the community forms groups to build their houses together, as a team. Here 150 houses are being constructed.
• Swakop Uranium has purchased 63 erven for staff housing.
• For the Shack Dwellers Project, 54 erven have been allocated for development.
• The National Housing Enterprises, NHE, Project with 319 houses constructed by New Era Investments Pty Ltd. is now reaching completion.
• In the DRC Seaside area 93 erven have been serviced with government funding and in the DRC North 121, erven have been funded by Councils Funds.
• In the Social Housing Programme 48 houses have now been completed.
• There are a further 353 registered housing units in Extension 38 for the single residential market.
So, this is just a glimpse of some of the housing projects underway in the township areas of Swakopmund. A big vote of confidence in our Municipality would be welcomed!
Road Safety for our Children
Our Municipality is trying to see to it that the children obey the pedestrian road rules. The issue of road safety has become a growing concern in our town particularly among school children walking to and from school often showing total disregard for the traffic and the road rules when crossing the road. The Swakopmund Traffic Department undertook a road safety operation at schools in Swakopmund from 29 January 2024 until 14 February 2024 between the hours of 6;00 and 8;00 in the mornings.
The safety concerns also focus on when children are dropped off and picked up after school. During the traffic Safety operation, 207 summonses were served on drivers with no or faulty driving licences, unlicensed and unregistered vehicles, overloading of taxis and normal cars, unroadworthy vehicles, driving under the influence of alcohol and road carrier permits for taxis. There needs to be greater visibility of our Traffic Force and constant policing on our roads to change bad habits.
A Ray of Hope – Support for Children with Disabilities
In 1992 a Down’s Syndrome Support Group was established for a parent-to-parent “help line” for parents with Down’s Syndrome children. In 1994 the support group was extended to include all disabled children of pre-school age. In 1995 the name was changed to C.H.A.I.N. (Children with Handicaps Action in Namibia).
At the same time, an Early Intervention Centre was established at the Rossing Foundation in Tamariskia Swakopmund. The centre appointed a therapist who was trained in Germany and through her dedicated work with children impressive results soon began to emerge. The centre now employs seven full-time staff members and works in close conjunction with the children’s families and volunteers from the community.
Over the past 30 years the centre’s early successes have developed into a solid basis ofsupport for children with handicaps, helping them to attain previously impossible levels of independence. CHAIN’S elected committee which includes representatives from parents of handicapped children works mainly to raise awareness and funds for the centre. It is only through the tireless efforts of Jenny Pahl, Chairlady, Dicke Mette, Secretary and Leah Kotungondo, Therapist and their dedicated staff that these goals and objectives providing wonderful support that is so greatly needed, can be achieved.
“We have at long last finished the centre that can accommodate our special-needs children and thanks to all the sponsors and donors that have made this dream come true. We are eternally grateful for all the support and help along the way and without the support of our community, locally and globally it would not have been possible to achieve our goals”, said Jenny Pahl.
Matters of Concern
Much concern was expressed at the notice to the public by a company which publicised an application for a consent to store radioactive source material on a property in Swakopmund. The application was made in terms of the Environmental Management Act and invited comment on that proposal by a specific date.
Once those comments have been assessed there would normally be a public scoping meeting at which concerns can be expressed and addressed. Thereafter a decision would be taken in terms of the said Act as to whether permission would be granted, and if so subject to what conditions, or refused. That decision can be taken on review to the High Court of Namibia and challenged there by any interested party not happy with such a decision.
Up to know the law has been followed and there is no reason to believe that there will be any deviations from it. We as citizens have rights which are, as in this case, protected by laws which are being observed. So let us comment if we so wish and attend the public meetings where our concerns can be expressed and considered.
As always please keep safe and look after each other.
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