The residents of Okahandja have reiterated their appeal to the council, urging them to revoke the decision to appoint Red Force Debt Collection. 

They urgently request the Minister of Urban and Rural Development Minister Erastus Uutoni to intervene.

The residents staged another demonstration in the town, protesting against several issues. 

These include the lack of face-to-face communication between the town council and the residents, as well as overall development concerns.

The bill to establish the Constituency Development Fund will soon be tabled in the National Assembly for deliberation and possible adoption.

This was announced by the Minister of Urban and Rural Development Minister, Erastus Uutoni when responding to a question by PDM MP Inna Hengari regarding recent land-grabbing incidents in Okakarara town. 

He highlighted that if the CDF is enacted, it will effectively address numerous challenges faced by local authorities, constituencies, and regions as a whole.

Urban and Rural Development Minister Erastus Uutoni says the matter of the Vice-Chairperson of the Council of Traditional Authorities has been referred to the Attorney General for advice.

The Council of Traditional Authorities could not elect a Vice-Chairperson last year.

Nine new traditional authorities have applied for government recognition.

This is contained in the report of the Council of Traditional Leaders handed to President Hage Geingob by the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, at State House.

The applications were discussed during the 23rd annual meeting of the Council of Traditional Leaders, held last year.

The report states that the Council of Traditional Leaders conducted a thorough review of the applications before presenting them to the government for consideration.

A faction of the Ohaverero Traditional Authority (OTA), which oversaw the coronation of Dr. Hoze Riruako as Ombara Otjitambi of the divided OTA, has applied to the Minister of Urban and Rural Development to consider recognizing him as the Paramount Chief of the OTA.

Minister Erastus Uutoni now sits with two applications before him, which he must consider as the official authority.

The position of Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero became vacant following the sudden death of Ombara Otjitambi Vekuii Rukoro in June 2021.

Striking employees at the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) have appealed to the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, to intervene in the ongoing wage dispute with the management.

The workers marched from the NHE headquarters to the Ministry to hand over the petition to Uutoni.

The workers are demanding a face-to-face dialogue with the management and the new board to end the industrial action. 

The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) loan book has grown from N$493 million in 2015 to N$1.6 billion now.

The NHE had experienced slow growth in the past seven years due to financial constraints, land tenure issues, the unavailability of serviced land, and property rights.

However, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, expressed appreciation to the current board for its efforts.

The outgoing board chairperson, Sam Shivute, pointed out some of the challenges the entity faced during its tenure.

The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development held its fourth decentralization consultative forum with key stakeholders in the capital.

Minister, Erastus Uutoni, reminded the stakeholders that bringing services closer to the grassroots level remains one of the government's top priorities.

The forum will discuss best practices, and progress made over the years and will collectively devise strategies on how to overcome existing stumbling blocks.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has handed over eight houses under the Affordable Housing Pilot Programme of the Windhoek Municipality.
Uutoni encouraged the councillors to work together regardless of their political differences.

The Mayor of Windhoek Joseph Uapingene commended the contractors for completing the construction within the stipulated time frame.

Khomas Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua is impressed with the progress made so far and called for the introduction of more similar initiatives.

The Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein, says his ministry will first monitor the current boreholes at Groot Aub, which are said to be without water, before considering other options.

This follows complaints by residents about the lack of water at the settlement in the Windhoek Rural constituency.

Schlettwein and the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, were in Groot Aub on a familiarization trip to see the situation on the ground.