Freedom Square Informal Settlement :Road to Security of Tenure

November 24, 2015

Freedom Square Informal Settlement :Road to Security of Tenure

Community Members identifying new relocation sites

Freedom Square informal settlement residents are preparing to register their land rights as part of the Flexible Land Tenure system using the Social Tenure Domain Model . The different components of the act was explained to the community by Mr Peter Rutsch (download copy Flexible Land Tenure Act, Act 4 of 2012) , explaining the differences between starter tile and Land-hold Title .

Freedom square residents have been residing in the settlement for more than 15 years without any security of tenure, facing possible evictions from the municipality. Through partnership and community enumerations, the Gobabis municipality reconsidered the planning decisions on relocation's . The planning for the area was done through the Association of African Planning(AAPS) studio's with Town and Regional Planning Students from the polytechnic of Namibia and the community on the design of the settlement which was later digitized and submitted to council for approval .

A thousand households will receive security of tenure by registering their rights using the STDM. Informal settlement dynamics are getting clearer by the day, just as an enumeration process has been updated new structures are built overnight, this calls for support from the municipality in managing informal new construction in the settlement. Issues are still to be clarified around multiple land ownership , informal land transfers that have taken place , land owners and tenants issues. Some residents having formal houses in the town , have built structures in the settlement that they are renting out .The community registration process is revealing all this different issues.

Block representatives will soon meet to find solutions on how to deal with all the rising problems , community members are eager to finalize the re-blocking before the rainy session starts .