Namibia: Rundu Council Grilled Over Multiple Plot Sales As Land Demand Surges

The Rundu Town Council is under scrutiny for allowing individuals to buy multiple residential plots amid a growing demand for land in the area.

This involves plots at the town’s Ndama and Sauyemwa areas.

A public notice was issued last week, which The Namibian has seen, following a council resolution.

It states that the Rundu council intends to lease by way of private treaty of immovable properties and the public is encouraged to submit their objections before 22 July.

“Any objection to the sale of any of the listed properties should be done in writing and must be received by the chief executive on or before 22 July,” the notice reads.

More than seven people have applied for more than one residential plot of sizes ranging from 105 to 1 000 square metres, going for between N$3 000 and N$77 000. The rate per square metre starts at between N$5 and N$35.

Swapo’s Kavango East regional mobiliser, Sakeus Kudumo, has condemned the process allowing an individual to buy more than one plot.

“This is clear wrongdoing on the side of the town council, and we demand that they explain how these people were selected and what justification they have to give a person more than one plot.

“Even if they have allowed objections, that is not the point. The point is you have more than five people on the list who are getting more than one residential plot while we have people who have applied for land in 2018 and still have no land,” he says.

Kudumo attributes illegal land occupation at Rundu to the council’s failure to provide land, given the town’s fast-growing population.

He says places like Kaisosi are far from town and people often flock to informal settlements at Rundu, because the council has failed to provide them with adequate land.

Kudumo says many people do not want to buy land with houses erected on it already, preferring building from scratch.

He says many Namibians do not read notices in newspapers, which is why plots are sold to foreigners and why multiple plots are allocated to one individual.

The council should be transparent and explain this, he says.

Rundu Town Council chief executive Olavi Nathanael says multiple plots can be allocated to one individual, because some areas are in close proximity to each other.

“With the formalisation of Kaisosi and Ndama, people were demarcated 300 small plots. Because their plots were bigger they could register plots next to each other in one name. So you would have to buy it based on the erf numbers.

“As Rundu developed, people were sitting on maybe a 1 000 square metre piece of land as a whole family. So when lux came, we said we need to be economical with land use.

“So we came up with the idea to demarcate such land into 300 square metres equally up to even five plots – one for the grandmother and so on,” he says.

Such land was required to be registered in the name of each member of a household, since they had been living there already.

He says when it comes to registration, these individuals are recognised, meaning if a grandmother dies, for example, the oldest child would take over her land.

“It is in the same area, and that’s why you find one person has two plots in one area,” he says.

Nathanael says the plots are semi-serviced, meaning some have access to roads, electricity and water.

Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print.