The City of Windhoek (CoW) has approached Government to have the debts it owes the government written off, in exchange for land already occupied in the informal settlements. This was revealed by CoW Deputy Mayor Ian Subasubani at the recent monthly council meeting. He said should this proposal be accepted by Government, Council will make between 10 000 to 20 000 erven available to the residents living in the informal settlements. “The City is busy with various development projects that are aimed at improving informal settlements in order to improve the lives of residents living in informal settlements. Therefore, giving land to Government so that it can clear the debts the City owes Government in order to service residential plots in informal settlements is part of the projects,” he said. He added that during the year 2019 the City approved the Development and Upgrading Policy, as a policy guide for the management, formalisation and upgrading of the fast-growing informal settlements of Windhoek. In order to implement the programme successfully, the council took cognisance of the need to formally acknowledge the occupation of land by residents, thereby setting conditions for orderly development, said Subasubani. “Furthermore, on 16 October 2020, Council in partnership with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Khomas Regional Council and National Housing Enterprise handed over eight houses in Goreangab in the Samora Machel Constituency,” expressed Subasubani. He said Council is taking the project very seriously because it is a project under which it has decided to build houses for residents itself. “The project marks a new chapter in the quest of ensuring a roof over the head of every resident of Windhoek.” When contacted for comment on the CoW offer on Friday, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development Public Relations Officer, Etuna Shikalepo, confirmed that they have received the proposal and “are working on it”. -NAMPA