A combined debt of N$15 million owed by residents of Kalkfeld to the Otjozondjupa Regional Council has led to water cuts for those in arrears.

This was confirmed by Regional Council Chairperson Marlene Mbakera, who says the debt hampers service delivery and development in the settlement.

Kalkfeld accounts for the highest debt in unpaid rates and taxes.

The inherited debt dates from the time when the settlement was downgraded from village council status in 1995.

With the extension of the SIM card registration, Kalkfeld residents are calling on Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) to visit their settlement again.

Just as with many others, some of the residents of Kalkfeld are still making their way to register their numbers, and the extension of the registration period by three more months was therefore good news to many, even those without registration points in their areas.

It is a well-known fact that rural electrification significantly enhances the quality of life.

In light of this, residents of the Ondu Jovi Tenda location at Kalkfeld settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region expressed their gratitude to the government for the joy of having their houses electrified just in time for the festive season.
 
Our nbc News team in the region caught up with homeowners living in the 94 brick-structured houses at the settlement.

Progress to electrify about 100 low-income houses built at Kalkfeld Settlement in Otjozondjupa Region is said to be going smoothly.

The Peri-Urban Electrification Project is valued at N$2 million and is being spearheaded by CENORED.

Speaking on the project's progress, Otjiwarongo Constituency Councillor Marlayn Mbakera said infrastructure has been put in houses and streets, indicating the wait is finally over.

The houses to be electrified were built between 2015 and 2018.

All Social Security Commission (SSC) services will soon become easily accessible to residents of Otjiwarongo and the surrounding areas as the commission initiates the construction of the Otjiwarongo Regional Office.

The construction of the state-of-the-art building, with a budget of N$20 million, has already commenced and is expected to be completed by August of next year.

President Hage Geingob helped kick off the new rural electrification project Kalkfeld settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region on Sunday. 

The peri-urban rural electrification under CENORED, is targeting to connect 100 housing units that were constructed in 2015.

The houses to be electrified were built under the Shack Dwellers Federation.

Otjozondjupa Regional Council Chairperson, Marlyn Mbakera, says they are hard at work to improve living conditions at Kalkfeld Settlement and move it towards Village Council status.
  
Council is busy introducing various developmental projects related to housing, water, and sewer connections, as well as empowering self-employed individuals.

Mbakera says the council has since 2021 allocated 120 plots, in two phases, at Dinosdal Settlement for residential housing units and business plots.

503 plots are on a waiting list for formalization.

The demand for affordable plots saw a group of Kalkfeld settlement residents take to the streets, asking the Otjozondjupa Regional Council to allocate them serviced land.

The group says they are tired of living in squalor and overcrowded housing.

The demonstrators claim they have been waiting for plots since 2018.