Integrated Land Management Institute (ILMI)
Land, Livelihoods and Housing Programme 2015-18

The Integrated Land Management Institute is a centre of the Faculty of Natural Resources
Spatial Sciences (FNRSS) at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) committed
to develop reputable and multidisciplinary research and public outreach activities in the field of
land, administration, property, architecture and spatial planning.

The Land, Livelihoods and Housing Programme aims at deepening and expanding the focus
on these three key issues in Namibia. The programme was developed to guide ILMIs activities by
organising it in four aspects: institutional, environmental, fiscal and spatial processes.

Participatory land delivery processes in Gobabis:
the case of Freedom Square.

Enquiries:
Mr Braam Harris

T:
F:
E:
W:

Summary

+264 61 207 2361
+264 61 207 9361
aharris@nust.na
fnrss.nust.na

Document No. 2/2016
Date: August 2016

HARRIS Participatory land delivery processes in Gobabis: the case of Freedom Square.

ILMI Document No. 2/2016 Page 1 of 4

TheexperienceofthespeakerisbasedonparticipationasNUSTtutorinastudiothathadasfocusthecaseof
FreedomSquare.

Theaccountcontainscontributionsbytheattendantstothediscussion,someofwhichwerealsoparticipantsin
theproject.

Interventionsfromattendantsaremarkedinitalics.





Presentation

TheprojectinquestionstartedasacollaborationbetweentheNamibiaHousingActionGroup(NHAG),
theShackDwellersFederationofNamibia(SDFN),andtheMunicipalityofGobabis.

Shack/SlumDwellersInternational(SDI),havingSDFNaslocalmember,alsowasastakeholderinthe
process.

Key to the project was to make clear the responsibilities of each party; there were no informal
relationships.

AMemorandum of Understanding (MoU)was signed between SDFN/NHAG and theMunicipality of
Gobabis.

Another MoU was signed between NUST and SDFN/NHAG. The benefit for NUST was real-life
learning,orgettingfeetdirtyinreality.

TheschemeisalsonowcurrentlybeingexpandedtoKaribib.

Themainagendaisthatofinclusivecities.

The initial site under discussion is called Freedom Square, and is located in the northern areas of
Gobabis.

Oneof thekeypoints is that the inhabitants of the areawill notbe relocated, butwill beupgraded
wheretheyare.

TheengagementofNUSTstartedthroughacourse inTownandRegionalPlanningprogramme,who
startedbydoingasituationanalysis,profiling,andmappingofthestructures.

NUSTispartoftheAssociationofAfricanPlanningSchools(AAPS),whichisanetworkof55schoolsin
thecontinent.About20oftheseschoolshavealreadydonesimilarexercisesintheirowncountries.

Oneofthemainobjectivesistoincludemarginalisedcommunitiesinurbandevelopment.

Currently UN-Habitat is supporting three projects with such approach (through their Participatory
SlumUpgradingProgramme)inNamibia:Aroab,Opuwo,andWalvisBay.

Synergiesofthedifferentstakeholdersarekeyinthisrespect.Theyministriesthatshouldbeinvolved
aretheMinistryofLandReform(MLR)andtheMinistryofUrbanandRuralDevelopment(MURD).

HARRIS Participatory land delivery processes in Gobabis: the case of Freedom Square.

ILMI Document No. 2/2016 Page 2 of 4

TheparticipatoryprocessesdealtwithinGobabisarenew,andstillneedtobeconsolidatedforthem
tobescaled-up.

Whiletheprojectdepartsfromthepremisethatthecommunityoughttobethedriveroftheprocess,
therearemanyinstitutionalvariablesthatareatplayinsuchprocess.

InGobabis,theprojectisextendingtootherinformalsettlements.


Discussion

Anotherkeycomponentwastheself-enumerationexercisethat,whilenotspecifictothecaseofGobabis
but a national exercise, allowed for inhabitants to start participating and to start the discussionwith
LocalAuthorities(LA).

Insomecasestheprioritywasnotlandperse,butwater.

Insomecases,LAwerereluctanttotheconceptsoitwasarrangedforsometotraveltoCapeTowntosee
someoftheachievementsoftheSDImembersbasedthereinthisrespect.Theycamebackandtheywere
abletoadviseCouncilabouttheconcept.

Theexerciseofre-blockingwentvery fast.Theplanningprocesssufferedadelay,but thiswasduetoa
mis-matchbetweentimelinesofNUSTstudentsandtherealproject.

Itisachallengetoharmonisetheuniversitysacademiccalendarandthepeoplesprocesses.

Itcanalsobesaidthatthisexercisedhas influencedthecurriculumoftheparticipatingDepartmentat
NUST.

TheprocessalsotriestoalignasmuchaspossiblewiththeFlexibleLandTenure(FLT)Act.

TheMLRiscurrentlytryingtoinstitutionalisetheFLTprocess.

Anotherkeycomponentthatmadetheprojectquickisthattheyavoidedtheprocessofestablishinganew
township,whichisalengthyprocess.

Regulations of the FLT will not be complicated per se, but the Act has to align with the Namibian
Constitution,thereforetheactualregulationsmightneedtobecomemorecomplex.

FromtheFLTperspective,FreedomSquarewasaperfectsiteinviewsthatthecommunityparticipation
wasalreadyongoing;thereforemakingiteasiertoestablishaLandRightsOffice.

Eachsettlementhasitsownhistoryandpolitics.

Anothersettlement,Kanaan,wasareceptionareaandplotsmeasuredanaverageof150m²;hencethe
challengesofre-blockingwereincreased.

Thereisalsopotentialforfuturestructureplanstoseewhatcanbedone,andembedsuchparticipatory
processesinthefuturedevelopmentoftownsandcities.

HARRIS Participatory land delivery processes in Gobabis: the case of Freedom Square.

ILMI Document No. 2/2016 Page 3 of 4

There was also the presence of police mentioned in the process, however this was only to avoid new
settlers coming into the area as it is usual for people to rush into areas that are rumoured to be
formalisedsoon.

When the structure numbering and mapping, and enumeration processes started, some residents
calledtheirfriendsandfamilywiththeintentionforthemtoalsobenefitfromtheprocess.

Didthewatersituationimproved?

Waterisstillapressingneed,andthedistancefromthecommunalwatertapsisstillconsiderable.

Governmentisalsocriticalofdrytoilets,whichexacerbatesthewatersituation.

Inmost cases,water is thepriority.The issueof sanitationdidnt featuremuch.However,when the
topicofsanitationcomesup,thetalkisinvariableofflushingtoilets.

Smalligerland, a Dutch twinning city donated dry toilets to Gobabis. However, when the toilets were
installed, there was no management structure created around them, so very quickly they became
dilapidatedandtodayinhabitantsdontusethem.

Regarding electricity, this is seen as a way to improve livelihoods. However, once the electric
infrastructureisbeinginstalled,inhabitantsgetamessagethattheycanstay.

Insomecases,theinstallationofelectricityisanelectoralpromise.























© 2016 ILMI Integrated Land Management Institute

ILMI is a research centre at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences (FNRSS) at the
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).

Views expressed by the authors are not to be attributed to any of these institutions.

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