The Swapo Party Youth League has expressed concern over the slow development of Farm 37, a new township on the outskirts of Walvis Bay.
Although there are three Swapo leaders serving on the Walvis Bay Municipal Council, the Swapo Party Youth League has accused the current council of not prioritizing the development of Farm 37.
"In the year 2020, the community of Walvis Bay was happy to receive news that the much-talked-about Farm 37 was approved, the ground was broken, and immediately the servicing of the land commenced to fast-track the process of decongesting Kuisebmond. However, with the current councilors at the helm of the municipality, things have changed. Farm 37 seems to have fallen off the urgent council priority list, as two years down the line there has been no further development since previous councilors," said Patrisia Munyala, SPYL Information and Mobilization Secretary for Walvis Bay Rural.
The Swapo Youth Wing further says the mayor, Trevino Forbes, has been misleading the public.
"During his Christmas message, his worship, the mayor of Walvis Bay, Trevino Forbes, informed the community of Walvis Bay that on February 16, 2023, the first group of people would be moved to Farm 37. However, as we are standing here on February 24, 2023, no one has been relocated as per the mayor's announcement. Such misleading information to the community, which has been waiting for years to be relocated to the promised Farm 37 township, has caused widespread panic."
Mayor Forbes says the council is making some progress on developing Farm 37 and moving residents to the new township.
"This resolution to relocate people to Farm 37 has been coming for a while now. We are working on our resolutions; we are fine-tuning our resolutions, and currently, we are here at Farm 37. As you can see, this is one of the three container facilities that will be put up here at Farm 37. Very good inside, very beautiful, and very well put together. At Farm 37, we already have running water and will be using solar lights. There's one already up here, and I think we should stop calling it Farm 37; from today on, it should be Green Valley. That is the name of this extension."
Forbes says the council is still discussing the framework of the new township, but he anticipates the relocation of the first 50 people to start in March.
He explained that each resident will be allocated a plot while a plan to bring in more services is on the table.
"So, we will have a proper layout where people can start building. We will assist people in determining where they can build and where we want our services to come so that they do not build over future services. Municipal security will also be stationed at Farm 37 for the safety of our residents while we work to establish a mobile or satellite police station, a station, or something at Farm 37. And we will be working with other social departments such as schools and health services outside."
The Council has budgeted N$29 million for the development of Farm 37.