The Rundu Town Council is finally taking action to improve the status of the Tumweneni informal settlement.

The action comes after a directive from the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, in August 2022 to formalise Tumweneni.

Tumweneni came into existence in 2018 through illegal land grabbing.

Upon his visit to the informal settlement, Minister Uutoni advised the town council to see to it that service is brought closer to the informal settlements. 

Since its establishment, the population of Tumweneni has increased.

In an interview with nbc News, the Mayor of Rundu Town Gabriel Kanyanga stated that, as it stands, the council is to put in a submission to revoke the eviction order it secured at the High Court for the formalisation of Tumweneni to commence.

"We had to go back to the office and sit down with our administrators for us to be able to see as to what to do, whereby the issue of formalisation of the area will be started as soon as the eviction order has been revoked. So as we stand now, the council is ready, and we are to go and put in a submission to the council for us to revoke the decision that was made by the same council by our colleagues who were there before us."

Asked why the council took as long as it did to formalise Tumweneni, the mayor said this was due to legal implications the council had to resolve.

"There are hiccups on the ground; yes, there are legal implications for them, despite all the legal implications we happen to put aside. The only thing that is now standing is the council resolution for us to go ahead with the removal of the eviction order for the formalisation to take place."

Due to the delay, Siguruguru Primary School, established in 2019 to cater for learners in the informal settlement, suffers as it lacks electricity.
 
Marceliuse Haivera, a teacher at the school, says due to a lack of electricity, the school is dependent on the circuit office for most office work, including making copies for learners' activities and tests.

Haivera says electricity can only be introduced if the town council gives consent to Nored, confirming that the land was designed and approved for the construction of a school.

The school started with 230 learners, who at the time of establishment were taught under trees and later in tents.

Currently, it caters for more than 900 learners, from pre-primary school to grade seven.

The school received 12 modern, structured classrooms, funded by the Directorate of Education.