In her maiden speech, Ottili Heitta, a member of the Patriots for Change in Independent Patriots (IPC) Congress, begged the government to declare a housing emergency.
This is to speed up the construction of housing for the population, with a minimum of 100 000 units within four years.
“These and other developmental interventions proposed in the IPC Manifesto direct us towards a path of growth and prosperity, where all Namibians benefit from the enormous wealth of this great country,” she said.
In Congress, she pleaded with the current government to incorporate some important developmental interventions set up in the IPC manifesto on key areas such as economic development and job creation.
This includes IPC’s appeal to maintain fiscal discipline by keeping debt levels below 70%, with an average deficit of less than 30%. Haitta served as a local government councillor for the town of Onswediva for the past four years before taking on the duties as a member of the council.
She raised the major concern when it comes to funding capital projects, how local governments are being treated by the central government. “The government has attempted to diversify services through the enactment of laws that allow for decentralization, but the provisions of this law have proven insufficient and need to be done,” she said.
“We must be proactive about the changes we want to see in people’s lives. Every part of the laws and movements we pass must not speak to our individual interests, but we must not support the most vulnerable people in our society. The shadow minister of urban and rural development has said up until now that the ministry still requires local governments to pay bills for capital projects.
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“This counter-effective practice has greatly hindered the rapid delivery of infrastructure development and the development of land by local governments.
Furthermore, many families continue to lose their loved ones and precious assets due to the enduring crisis of an informal settlement fire.
The Namibia 2023 Population and Housing Census report reveals that 28.7% of Namibian households are informal residences or sheds, of which 40% are in urban areas. “What is clear is that we do not position ourselves as a nation to combat the fire crisis in informal settlements. The regulations for local government fire service have not been given any meaningful effect, and local authorities struggle to maintain the fire stations and ensure that they function optimally.
