Swanu promises to tackle land-use controls
AS an election promise, Swanu has undertaken to reduce restrictions on land use with the ultimate goal of integrating the city’s income workforce into the urban fabric. The party has fielded candidates in various local authorities and regional councils ahead of next month’s elections. The elections are slated for 25 November.
Swanu President Tangeni Iijambo said all the people of Namibia have the right to decent housing and this dream will only be realised under a socialist Swanu government.
He stressed the problem area is the land, adding urbanisation through informal settlements without adequate planning and service provision frustrates potential for productivity and liveability.
“If the land is converted to more efficient use and rightly owned, it can be a good source of survival. The government can contain ruralurban migration by boosting the rural economy to enhance productivity and liveability; promote regional sovereignty in terms of food security and building rural value supply chains,” Iijambo maintained.
According to him, the profit-driven privatisation of urban spaces displaces thousands from economically desirable parts of the city to the periphery.
Furthermore, he alluded there are cost and benefits analysis of socio-economic dislocations, as well as financing the re-housing of displaced residents in good neighbourhoods.
For Swanu, Iijambo said, infrastructure is a public good.
“The land belongs to the state and if there is an increased effective land supply, the cost of land will be reduced. Swanu will build houses for the masses and blend them into the mainstream living of the city life, provide physical infrastructure and enabling regulatory environment to lower land costs by making land accessible to all the citizens,” he promised.
Iijambo said the party is now at the height of its campaign activities, with teams organising various meetings in Otavi, Kalahari, and Eiseb 10 for the coming weekend. - anakale@nepc.com.na