Walvis Bay — Illegal land occupiers at Walvis Bay want to Minister of Rural and Urban Development Sophia Shaningwa, as well as Governor of the Erongo Region Cleophas Mutjavikua to pressure the Namibia Planning Advisory Board (Nampab) to fast-track the Farm 37 housing initiative for their relocation. He told New Era the police had used rubber bullets to disperse protesters after they threw stones at the police. When New Era visited the site on Tuesday morning Walvis Bay municipal workers were collecting all the building material at the demolished site. One of the occupants, 47-year-old Bernard Gabriel, said Walvis Bay Municipality has been making empty promises to landless residents since last year. The governor specifically pointed to the Farm 37 situation and said Walvis Bay Council plans to develop low-cost housing to relocate 65,000 residents to the area, who currently rent.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 10, 2017 08:26 UTC