Justicia Shipena
Government employees evicted from state-owned houses will not receive special treatment or automatic relocation, Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi has said.
Nekundi said the ministry cannot create a system where people who breach contractual obligations are treated differently from others on the housing waiting list.
“The ministry cannot establish a precedent whereby persons who have breached their contractual obligations or who occupy government property unlawfully are granted preferential treatment through automatic reallocation,” he said while responding to questions from member of parliament Enea Emvula in parliament on Thursday.
The government’s immovable assets are valued at about N$47.4 billion and include about 9 640 properties.
Nekundi said government housing is allocated under clear conditions and that occupants are informed from the start that their stay is temporary.
“The letters of allocation to current occupants explicitly state: ‘[The occupant] will stay in the house until he is given notice to vacate or until he is allocated permanent accommodation, whichever occurs first,’” Nekundi said.
He said anyone occupying government property without lawful authority is subject to eviction. He added that eviction becomes necessary when a temporary occupant refuses to vacate after being notified that the agreed period of occupation has ended.
Emvula had questioned Nekundi about Lewis House.
Nekundi explained that some properties, including Lewis House, were earmarked for transfer to the Namibia Airports Company as far back as 2001, after approvals from the Treasury and the Tender Board.
He said the government placed employees in those houses on a temporary basis to prevent vandalism and unlawful occupation before the transfer took place.
Nekundi said selling such properties to temporary occupants would be unfair.
“Allowing properties earmarked for specific government purposes to be sold to temporary occupants would undermine the integrity and fairness of our administrative processes,” he said.
The government currently manages 610 pool houses countrywide and 1 157 assigned houses amongst
On property sales, Nekundi said government flats are not for sale as they are reserved for future use by civil servants, especially lower-paid staff.
He said no houses have been sold under the current alienation policy because the matter is before the courts.
He also addressed the status of cabinet decisions, saying they remain binding unless formally overturned. “Cabinet decisions remain valid and binding unless formally rescinded by cabinet or declared null and void by a competent court of law,” Nekundi said.
Nekundi urged the occupants to honour their agreements with the state.
