IPC-President Panduleni Ithula visits fire-ravaged Twaloloka

The leader of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Dr Panduleni Itula, paid a visit to Walvis Bay yesterday, to assess first hand the devastation where a fire destroyed 27 shacks in Kuisebmond’s Twaloloka quarter. This same quarter was ravaged by a fire on 27 July last year, when approximately 200 shacks were destroyed and more than 1 000 people left homeless in a matter of minutes.

Dr Ithula was accompanied to the fire scene by the Regional Councillor for the Walvis Bay Rural Constituenc, Cllr Florian Donatus.  During his visit of the area of Twaloloka ravaged by the fire on Tuesday, Dr Itula praised the municipality of Walvis Bay which within hours issued affected residents with tents as temporary shelter.
The fact that hundreds of residents are now housed in these tents since the first fire in July last year, Dr Ithula further called upon the municipal council of Walvis Bay to have the area declared a disaster zone. Not only because of the loss of property affected residents suffered, but also the fact that the small tent city is crowded and could become a Covid-19 super-spreader area.
Dr Ithula subsequently urged the municipality to make more land available in order for the tent-city to be more evenly spread out.
Dr Ithula gave his assurance that the newly elected majority-IPC town council in Walvis Bay will work swiftly and deliberate to ensure Walvis Bay’s housing woes are brought to an end.
Despite many years’ efforts to deliver low cost housing to Walvis Bay, this could never realise under the Swapo-dominated town council which managed the affairs of the harbour town between 1994 and 2020.
The IPC (majority with four seats) and several other parties and organisations which took control of 70 % the Walvis Bay town council in last year’s Regional Council and Local Authority Election (Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association, Landless People Movement and Popular Democratic Movement) are placing housing top of the agenda.