Landless residents of Otavi's Kap En Bou are unhappy about the temporary suspension of the plot allocation waiting list, saying some of them have been waiting for the past nine years. 

Speaking at a meeting, community leader Willem Somseb described the suspension of the list as unfair, as people have been squatting for a long time.

The waiting list has 90 people, while the settlement's backlog for plots is 1,500.

"We have decided as a community that the waiting list will not be cancelled, and if the council is not going to satisfy us or give the people plots here, we will demand that the people on the waiting list build structures in the open plots."

Somseb added that 500 households also lack basic services despite the settlement being declared a town location.

"The municipal services, us here at Kap and Bou, as they promised us, electricity – it's very dark here – theft, old people are being robbed, and housebreakings take place. The water issue – they must finish it, please."

Otavi Mayor Isaac !Hoaeb said the temporary suspension of the list is meant for the verification of the applicants, ensuring that the upgrading of the settlement is still on.

"We have planned for it, and it should happen according to plan. It's not land that everybody who needs land is from somewhere else. I can also tell you that most of the people who are on the waiting list, when we are verifying, are not even from Kap and Bou. We have not even seen them; they have not even seen Kap and Bou."

Hoaeb added that the upgrading programme will equally distribute plots across all settlements, with many relocations expected for some households.

The mayor says the council is currently road-gravelling the settlements, servicing land, providing water and sanitation provisions and making electricity connections.

He pleaded with the community to be patient.