The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has called on the Erongo Regional Council to ensure that young people can afford plots at the Wlotzkasbaken settlement.

There are a little over 100 houses in the coastal settlement of Wlotzkasbaken, a place where boundary fences or walls are not encouraged.

Located between Swakopmund and Henties Bay, the Erongo Regional Council has been busy dividing the land into plots to accommodate more people.

After developing 145 plots a few years ago, the council sold 20 in a private auction, though only two owners have managed to build houses on their land.

Prices range from N$350,000 to N$550,000, depending on plot size.

At the inauguration of a N$1.8 million settlement office, Uutoni highlighted the need to lower the price.

"Sometimes you make plots available, but the majority of the community cannot afford them. Let's help one another. Not all of us have that good an income. At the very least, a reasonable price. Yes, of course. It's a coastal place. It's a place that is close to the coast. Yeah, but let's see the income of our population to make them also own a place where they can build their house. So, students or learners, are you prepared to come and buy plots here?"
Erongo Regional Chairperson Benita Imbamba told nbc News that there was a reason the council did not auction all the available 145 plots that were surveyed.

"So, we first went with 20 plots. Now, we will go back and see how this sale of these plots went off. Who were the successful buyers of these plots? Did it accommodate all, or should we then change to make sure that, as we are saying, we are talking about Namibia as a country? For all the people, we can then look at what exactly transpired and who benefited, and then we can come in and say, 'Okay, these are the findings'. We can make sure and see how best we can then bring down this price so that we can at least accommodate the middle-income people of Namibia."

There are only seven permanent residents at this fishing holiday settlement, and the young population is in the minority.

However, the residents, like Denis and Margit Golding, say the quiet settlement has something to offer.

"It might not look as though there's lots to do here, but actually there are not enough hours in a day to do it all; there's a lot of fishing to be done. Hiking long distances, walking on the beaches, quad biking on bikes—there's a lot to be done in Wlotzkasbaken, and also home maintenance, which plays a big role a lot of the time."