“We are not asking for empty promises” – Rent Payers Movement
Photo: Mr Mabasen Narib at a community meeting earlier this year
During a live press conference conducted by the Swakopmund Rent Payers Movement (SRPM) recently, it was clear that tensions are busy boiling regarding the supposed lack of communication from the Swakopmund Municipality regarding the housing crisis issue raised by the SRPM early this year.
In his address, the chairperson of Movement, Mr Mabasen Narib noted that their main goal is to champion the opportunity for ordinary Namibians to acquire affordable land and housing and for these Namibian’s voices to be heard. The Swakopmund Rent Payers Movement was established during February this year, and according to Narib they have had two official meetings with the Swakopmund Municipal Council and its management, but until date didn’t receive any clear answers or response from the local authority. “We believe these concerns deserve a clear and transparent response from the municipality,” Narib said.
The concerns which were aired include the excessive long waiting period faced by rent payers applying for land, the lack of public access to the municipal waiting list, and the methods and criteria used to allocate land. Through community meetings orchestrated by the SRPM, residents also raised concerns regarding the fact that people who have applied later appear to be receiving land or houses before those who have been waiting for many years, some as long back as 2009, Narib further stated. According to him, the municipality argued that one of their major challenges is the lack of serviced land.
They had apparently also informed them on 31 March 2026 that the municipality had approximately 22 000 applicants on their waiting list and that servicing the plots would require about N$1.2 billion. Mr Narib remarked that the SRPM management then questioned whether alternative financing and land delivery models involving the people who need land were explored, but according to him the municipality couldn’t come up with a clear and transparent answer. The estimated cost for servicing a single residential erf is approximately N$77 000 and the SRPM proposed to municipality to consider contributing 60% of the cost, with rent payers responsible for the other 40%, or alternatively an equal 50/50 contribution model to cover the cost of land servicing. As per Narib, response on this proposal is still awaited. “We are not claiming that our proposal is the only solution. We are asking the municipality to engage with it seriously, assess its feasibility and explain what adjustments might be required for it to work,” Narib said.
He explained that their proposal was submitted after being informed that a previous targeted intervention involving employees of a well known mine was executed via council decision and argued that if the municipality has previously considered targeted interventions for a particular group, it should also be willing to consider a transparent and fair intervention for rent payers who are working class residents. He made it clear that the group is not asking for preferential treatment at the expense of other residents but only asking for a fair opportunity for people who have been renting for years and are seeking a pathway to landownership.
As per Narib a total of around 5 000 profiles of rent payers were submitted to the municipality on request. However, according to him, after two months they were informed that their “application forms were still being processed and that once processing was completed the municipality’s Housing Department would make a submission to Council, after which a decision would be communicated.” Narib called the way the municipality is handling the situation a “delay tactic” and questioned how the submitted profiles suddenly became applications. With the Movement registered as a non-profit organisation, they are seeking to explore the possibility of purchasing unserviced land from the municipality at an affordable price. “As the municipality mostly sells unserviced land to developers, we believe that the same can be done for a community driven initiative to address the housing crisis in Swakopmund,” Narib remarked, further noting that they have engaged with various entities willing to explore the servicing of land and the construction of houses at an affordable price.
The Swakopmund Rent Payers Movement is not advocating for an intervention which will benefit only 50 people while thousands of others remain without a meaningful pathway to landownership. “We are not against the allocation of plots to deserving beneficiaries, we are against a situation in which a small allocation is presented as a complete solution to a much larger problem,” Narib stated. The group’s message to all rent payers in Swakopmund is that they (SRPM) will continue to advocate for solutions which are fair, transparent and inclusive, also sending out a strong message to the Swakopmund municipality, “You have heard our concerns. You have received our proposals. We are asking you to engage with us and give us a clear response. We are not asking for empty promises”
By Marshallino Beukes
