Otweya women feel unsafe
… grateful for new homes
WOMEN living in Walvis Bay’s Otweya temporary shelter maintained they live in constant fear of robbers and sexual predators lurking around the area.
These sentiments were shared by women after Erongo governor Neville Andre updated the community on the construction of 121 houses for the Twaloloka fire victims on Tuesday this week. Elizabeth Kangandi, who lives in the temporary shelter, said women are growing fearful of the facility due to the robberies and attempted sexual assaults that have been happening in the area.
Kangandi shares a mouldstained tent with her older sister and six small children.
They were left homeless after the tragic fire incident of Twaloloka in July last year, which claimed the life of a toddler boy.
Despite divided opinion on the quality of housing to be provided by the Walvis Bay municipality for the fire victims, Kangandi is one of many who have welcomed the prospect of having a home of her own.
“We appreciate the houses we are getting for now because you can see for yourself how we are living here. It is very cold – and on the day it rained, the water was just coming in. Life here in this tent is very difficult. When it is windy, the tent will fall,” she said.
She added that when it recently rained, the family was kept up for the entire night, as they did not have protection from the rain – and while they are battling the elements, they also have to fend off other predators.
“Just the other day, a man was standing outside our tent at night, trying to open the cover that we use as a door. When we asked him what he wanted, he said that he was selling a cellphone,” she recounted, adding that the man later ran off.
Kangandi’s sister received a certificate to certify that they are indeed victims of the Twaloloka fire.
She was one of many Walvis Bay residents retrenched last year following the Covid-19 outbreak, which caused many businesses to cut down on their workforce or close down.
Now, the household depends on one income. They will all be moving into the one-bedroom home once the construction is done in March this year.
“We only got out of the fire with the clothes we had on. But we were lucky to get donations. Here, people are stealing. We had a pot that we got as a donation and it was stolen in December. When we cook, we use charcoal and cook outside because we are not allowed to cook inside. This is because they are afraid we will burn the tents down,” she added.
Kangandi has said although The Neighborhood Watch patrols the area, it is not enough, as robbers still find their way into the tents to rob the vulnerable.
Now, she and many other victims have asked the government to speed up the construction process to permanently relocate them.
“Make the process faster for the kids because they do not feel safe. Schools are starting but there’s no way they can learn in these tents. There’s no light,” Kangandi said.
Although many victims of the Twaloloka fire have welcomed the initiative to build permanent houses that provide better safety, many have also criticised that the standard of the houses will still force them to live in a deplorable space, owing to the limited space in the current models of the houses.
Another resident of Otweya, identified as Ephraim, said the houses are not well spaced; they should be able to comfortably accommodate the intended residents. He also said the residents of Otweya will be subjected to paying the same electricity rates as the people living in the suburb Meersig; therefore, their houses should be built as such.
“Those toilets in the houses
that are going to be built are so small. You cannot put a washing machine,” he said.
Another resident also pointed out that the houses, which will consist of one bedroom, with the option of adding more bedrooms at own cost, will not be able to accommodate most families.
This is because the houses that are to be constructed in association with the Shack Dwellers Federation will ideally accommodate six people.
They will also not be allowed to add any other temporary structures to the houses, such as shacks.
“I do not want to insult
anyone by saying this but in what household have you seen parents sharing bedrooms with their children? At least allow us to add shacks next to the houses in order to accommodate our teenagers,” the woman said.
Other concerns raised at the meeting was that the list containing names of the fire victims has reportedly been altered and that some of the beneficiaries on the current list are imposters.
The governor has now tasked the municipality and the Otweya committee with the responsibility to determine the authenticity of the people on the list that stand to benefit from the 121 houses.