Residents of the Fransfontein settlement should realise that they must start paying rates and taxes as development is brought to the village.

Khorixas Constituency Councillor Sebastian !Gobs says that this will help grow it into a village council.

!Gobs shared these sentiments during an interview with nbc News at the town.

Although challenged by high levels of unemployment, !Gobs described Fransfontein as one of the growth points in the constituency, where some government services are now available.

The settlement is served by a groundwater scheme supplying potable water.

“People must understand that service delivery most of the time is not free of charge. So people expect to be given some water, rubbish must be removed, and other services that are happening within the given local authority.”

In recent years, notable developments at the settlement include the construction of flushing toilets that put an end to the bucket toilet system and the construction of low-cost houses under the Shack Dwellers Federation and Build Together programmes.

There are also a few police stations, Nampost, a school with a hostel, and the ADC, the agricultural office.

Last year, a N$2.4 million community garden was handed over to the residents by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism to improve range-land and ecosystem management and ultimately create employment there.

However, !Gobs says that though the garden is booming, access to the market is a problem.

The settlement, founded in 1891 as a Rhenish mission station, is now home to over 1,500 inhabitants.