Hundreds of backyard tenants at Walvis Bay gathered in front of the town's municipality to apply for land at portion 23 of Farm 37.

They are grouped under the banner of the Walvis Bay Backyard Tenants Group, which registered a community savings group, the Backyard Tenants Investment CC, with more than 2000 members.
 
The group's vice chairperson, Immanuel ya Festus, says the group has become a stakeholder in the efforts to reduce the housing backlog in Walvis Bay and Namibia in general.
 
Ya France says the group must derive benefits from the national housing policy, which was launched last Monday.
 
The group was recently allocated portion 19 at Farm 37 with very strict conditions as first-time land owners.
 
After the allocation, the group says a lot happened, which prompted it to apply for extra land, which is portion 23. Henceforth, they would like the council to consider more plots and provide a progress report on portion 19.
 
The group stated that the Walvisbay Town Council declined a request for it to buy portion 19 to accommodate its more than 2,000 members.
 
Receiving the application was the town's mayor, Trevino Forbes, who expressed his disappointment with the approach.