A different kind of housing development

The dangerous dirt road leading to my partner organization’s premises had always been covered on either side by deep bush, but when I came back from holidays in April, it was suddenly cleared.

I found out that hundreds of locals had come over a period of days (partner organization staff included), clearing the land, demarcating small plots of it, and claiming it in hopes of building their own informal settlement. But before anyone could get the thin, uninsulated walls of a tin shack put up (the common form of building low-income housing in Katutura, which heats the place up like an oven in summer, and freezes in winter (where I’ve seen temperatures hit -3C)), the government and police came around warning people they would be thrown in jail if they built on the land.

I hear messages were put in the newspapers (which many people wouldn’t read), then the messages were put on radio, and three-metre high signs were put on the sight in small type, which were difficult for even me to read.

(Co)incidentally, a public meeting was scheduled to be held at my partner organization’s conference facilities a couple weeks later, to introduce a development plan for the same land and community, and an opportunity to provide feedback in an open forum.

The development turned out to be what was labelled a ‘low to medium-cost housing development’. The builder’s representatives wowed the crowd with promises of boardwalks and parks along the water, a new mall next to my partner organization, and affordable housing that had the impoverished audience stopping to clap with a new sense of hope after each slide.

I was seriously bothered by the presentation, because it was very obvious to me that these people were not the target market for sales of the new homes. I asked the first question when the floor was opened: ‘can you put a dollar amount on the low income housing?’ As soon as the number dropped from their mouths (I cannot remember exactly how much it was, but much more than most families in the area could hope to earn together in their lifetime), the atmosphere in the room completely changed. The crowd also realized that they would never afford these homes, and started to ask the developer what he would be doing for the neighbours of the development, who don’t even have clean toilets or running water at times.

The developer tried to deflect these questions, stating that anybody who could afford the homes would be able to purchase them, and that it is not his or my partner organization’s responsibility to provide public services like toilets; my partner organization is stationed in this community because they work directly with them, not next to them in isolation. They do provide social services to the community, and empower them with economic opportunities. The community recognized this, and let the developers know that the building of a mall and housing could be very good for the area, but that they need to think about the people who are already living there, and find a way to do something for them too.

The next part of the meeting was a presentation on the environmental impact of the project on both the physical and social environment. I think I may have been one of very few people actually listening to the content, as the questions afterward started to continue along the same lines, referring to concerns about the earlier presentation rather than the new information being shared.

My partner organization was extremely concerned with this development, as they had been trying to purchase the land they are working on for years, but were repeatedly told by the government that it is not for sale, as it (and the land this new development is to be built on) is part of a conservancy. They couldn’t understand how this proposal had been approved in principle, and permitted to continue (originally with plans to purchase the land my partner organization occupies as well), however to me and a number of others, it is obvious that the developer has his contacts who are getting things done, and if my partner organization wants to own their land, they would be best to go along with the developer’s suggestion and support to include my partner organization’s purchase of their piece of land at the same time as part of the development proposal.

I pointed out a couple important things with my second public statement: there are bbq braii areas around the water that were assumed unused by the developers, when in fact they are used extensively (and for free) by locals on weekends and some evenings, and should not be destroyed as part of the development. Second, the site plan surrounds my partner organization with the development of a walkway next to the water, and ideas for the development of water sports and boats; they were already talking about developing similar tourist activities, and before anything is finalized by the developers, it would be beneficial to speak with my partner organization about joint ventures that could benefit both of them, without interfering with either’s long-term plans.

After the meeting, I talked with management and some of the board members, and suggested that they talk with the developer about allotting a bit more land (than what is already used) to my partner organization, so that they could develop a humanitarian project as part of the development, building some truly low-income housing for the community next to the project, which would also provide a safe spot for tourists to visit, who are always asking to visit the townships in Katutura, but the guides do not feel secure bringing them there. This could create a bridge between the existing community and the new one, which could otherwise end up becoming gated or looted out of desperation.

I ran into the consultant doing the environmental impact assessment, and she let me know that a lot of important social impacts were exposed in the meeting, and that to properly investigate these, in addition to the impact on the environment, she was recommending a further six months of research before the project is finalized or approved. But she also let me know that in the history of the city, no project that made it this far has ever been rejected, and as I travelled the dirt road for the last time, bulldozers could already be seen levelling the land, even before an official decision had been announced. Don’t ever doubt the power of money..

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