Windhoek issues 29,000 occupation certificates
The City of Windhoek has issued certificates of occupation to approximately 29,000 residents living in informal settlements as part of efforts to improve security of tenure and support the upgrading of these areas. The city’s Chief Executive officer(CEO) Moses Matyayi, revealed this during a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Economy and Industry, Public Administration and Planning at Parliament yesterday.
Matyayi said the city was issuing certificates of occupation to residents in areas where land was being planned and formalised, allowing them to gain greater security while the process of transferring ownership was under way.
Under this approach, the city approves settlement plans before they are submitted to the Urban and Regional Planning Board. Once the relevant planning requirements have been met, residents can receive certificates of occupation as an initial form of security of tenure. He further explained that residents could eventually become legal owners of their respective plots once the necessary sale agreements and title transfers had been completed.
The city is also looking at using revenue from the certificates to finance infrastructure development in informal settlements. Matyayi said residents would be charged approximately N$100 for a certificate, with the money ring-fenced for infrastructure investment.
He added that revenue generated from electricity sales in informal settlements would also be set aside to support the development of infrastructure, including roads, water and sewerage networks. "The informal settlements currently contributed little revenue to the city because the areas were not formally demarcated and registered" he said. As a result, the city could not levy conventional property rates and taxes in the same way as it could in formally planned areas.
The briefing formed part of the city’s engagement with the parliamentary committee on economic development, urban planning, infrastructure, revenue mobilisation, financial sustainability and administrative efficiency. The city said upgrading informal settlements remained part of its longer-term strategy to move towards financial sustainability while improving infrastructure and providing residents with greater security over the land they occupy.
