Erastus Uutoni – Windhoek Observer

16 Oct

Uutoni to invoke more actions against defiant Karasburg Town Council

ObserverNational NewsErastus Uutoni, Uutoni to invoke more actions against defiant Karasburg Town Council

Martin Endjala The Minister of Urban and Rural Development Erastus Uutoni, has threatened to take action against the continuous defiance of the Local Authorities governing law and un-procedural conduct by the Karasburg Town Council. Uutoni said that in terms of Article 40 (k) of the Namibian Constitution, and given his previous directives which were ignored, he is again directing the Council to rectify all the violations as pointed out previously by making a representation and providing proof to his office on or before 27 October 2023 and to submit a comprehensive report that they have fully complied. Failure by the…

09 Oct

Rent control bill urgently needed

ObserverNational NewsErastus Uutoni, Rent control bill urgently needed

Martin Endjala Maximillian Katjimune, a member of the Popular Democratic Movement Party and Parliament, has pressed Urban and Rural Development Minister Erastus Uutoni to expedite the finalization of the rent control bill. He stressed the necessity of presenting it in the August house to address the steep rental prices prevalent across the country. “I urge the minister, his ministry, and the cabinet to accelerate this process. It should not take this long to introduce the rent control bill to parliament, especially when, I believe, it was either in NDP3 or NDP4, that the Swapo government had indicated intentions to table…

16 Aug

Hardap and //KarasRegional Councils push to kick NamPower out of SORED shares

ObserverMainErastus Uutoni, Hardap and //KarasRegional Councils push to kick NamPower out of SORED shares

Martin Endjala Apart from pushing to join the Southern Regional Electricity Distribution (SORED) Company, the leadership of Hardap and //Kharas Regional Council are further pushing for another company called //AU-OB Electricity Distribution to get shares in SORED, a deal that exclude Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower). The two regions leadership kept Minister of Urban and Rural Development Erastus Uutoni, in the dark about their plans, and failed to seek approval from the minister as per the Regional Councils Act of 1992 and the Local Authorities Councils Act of 1992. In a letter dated 14 August 2023, seen by this publication, Uutoni…

14 Aug

Uutoni must resign: Gawanas…Minister criticised over N$3 000 allocation to Gibeon Village Council

ObserverMainErastus Uutoni, McHenry Venaani, Uutoni must resign: Gawanas…Minister criticised over N$3 000 allocation to Gibeon Village Council

Stefanus Nashama MINISTER of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has come under fire from Landless People’s Movement (LPM) Councillor and former City of Windhoek, Sade Gawanas, as well as Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) Leader, McHenry Venaani, for allocating a meagre N$ 3 000 budget to Gibeon Village Council. Gawanas, last week publicly criticised and blamed Uutoni for allocating such a small budget to the Council, and called for him to resign. “I, on behalf of the Landless Peoples’ Movement (LPM), think that Minister Uutoni should resign, pack his belongings and go home or wherever resettlement farm he comes from,”…

07 Aug

Tsumeb’s Fruit and Vegetable market opens

ObserverObserver MoneyErastus Uutoni, Tsumeb’s Fruit and Vegetable market opens

Martin Endjala MINISTER of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni last Friday officially opened the N$ 2million Fruit and Vegetables Trading Market in Tsumeb. The official opening of the market clears the way for the towns’ vendors to have a place to work from after years of working on the street. The Fruit and Vegetable hub is the product of a collaboration between Tsumeb Municipality and Dundee Precious Metals that began in 2019 in order to provide a safe and secure facility that allows merchants to operate in an inexpensive area. The market will also aid in the control of…

24 Jul

Beneficiaries receive houses after a delay of seven years

ObserverMainBeneficiaries receive houses after a delay of seven years, Erastus Uutoni

Niël Terblanché Beneficiaries of the Mass Housing Development Programme in Swakopmund were delighted to receive their new homes after a delay of seven years. Erastus Uutoni, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, officially handed over 108 government-funded houses to their rightful owners and said that all Namibians deserve decent shelter “This is a memorable milestone for this specific project which was at a standstill for a long time. It is yet another demonstration of the continued efforts of the Government towards creating more opportunities for decent shelter for our people,” he said. The project has been halted for close…

18 Feb

Uutoni must fill the CoW vacuum

ObserverEditorialErastus Uutoni, Uutoni must fill the CoW vacuum

As in nature, politics abhors a vacuum. This is a well-known saying derived from one of Aristotle’s teachings. When considering the mess at the City of Windhoek (CoW), ironically expressed in the garbage recently thrown in the streets of our reasonably clean capitol city center, the persistent political vacuum at the City Municipal Building is roiling. Erastus Uutoni, Minister of Urban and Rural Development since March 2020, is the man in the political hot seat responsible for helping to craft and then manage a solution for the unfocused restlessness of the Windhoek City Council. However, it seems that instead of…

10 Feb

“Building houses doesn’t happen overnight” – Uutoni on unoccupied houses

ObserverNational NewsErastus Uutoni, Minister of Urban and Rural Development, “Building houses doesn’t happen overnight” - Uutoni on unoccupied houses

Martin Endjala The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni says the impression that his ministry is just sitting idle with unoccupied houses is misleading as they are “hard at work” delivering houses in partnership with other stakeholders across the country. “We the ministry are hard at work to ensure that all Namibian people own a house since it is a source of belonging and security and we will continue to do so till the last person, but people need to stay calm and patient, as this will not happen overnight like many people are assuming.”, Uutoni said. In…

09 Feb

CoW requested to intensify delivery of serviced land

ObserverNational NewsCoW requested to intensify delivery of serviced land, Erastus Uutoni, Uapingen

Hertha-Maria Amutenja The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni has appealed to the City of Windhoek under the new leadership of Nudo councilor Mayor Joseph Uapingene to intensify the delivery of serviced land and proper sanitation. “I wish to strongly appeal to the City Council under the able leadership of Uapingene to intensify the provision of service land as well as the provision of proper sanitation. I am reliably informed that if we don’t seriously address the issue sewerage starting from now we are likely to face a very big challenge in a few years to come. Therefore…

Appointment of CEO biggest headache for COW<br>…. Minister key to ending chamber wars

28 Oct

Appointment of CEO biggest headache for COW
…. Minister key to ending chamber wars

ObserverNational NewsAppointment of CEO biggest headache for COW …. Minister key to ending chamber wars, Erastus Uutoni, Sade Gawanas

Obrein Simasiku City mayor Sade Gawanas has admitted that the cancer of having no Chief Executive Officer inherited by the current leadership has left council and staff members divided and unending boardroom fights. In her admission, she said, this was the toughest challenge since the new coalition which wrestled powers from the Swapo Party, took over in December 2020, though commending the leadership for having succeeded to finally resolve the bickering, which now only awaits the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni to approve the recommended CEO. The mayor says a submission to the minister was made in…