Tsumeb Mayor Mathews Hangula says he is pleased with the progress of the servicing of the Nomtsoub extension 9 area, where evicted families from Endombo Hostels will be given first priority to purchase or build houses there.

The deadline to put up roads, sewer, and water reticulation services is fixed for January next year.

Hangula says a total of 360 low- to middle-income houses will be built.

The area is being serviced to house about 40 families who were evicted from the Endombo compound in 2022 and forced to live in makeshift structures by the roadside.

"You know we had the challenge of Endombo, a very historically challenging one. Now the government has taken the decision that Tsumeb municipality must find an area where we can relocate these people. Now ext 9 was found to be the ideal one, but at that time ext 9 was not ready to accommodate them. Now, as we are currently servicing, I think they will be the first recipient, followed by other Namibians who also need a piece of land."

Hangula says progress is visible despite the challenges of servicing rocky terrain, which led to the municipality extending the contractor's deadlines.

Hangula appealed to the community to be patient and refrain from grabbing land, as the council is hard at work to deliver serviced land to its landless residents.

Tsumeb currently has a housing backlog of over five thousand applications.