Скачать или смотреть Minister Sankwasa: Walvis Bay downgrades in Kuisebmond echo apartheid - nbc

Urban and Rural Development Minister James Sankwasa has accused the Walvis Bay Municipality of continuing to validate apartheid by downgrading living conditions in Kuisebmond.

Sankwasa called for the urgent enforcement of municipal land regulations following a deadly shack fire that claimed two lives in Walvis Bay.

A family in the harbour town lost a 20-year-old woman, Beuty Guidao-Oas, and her two-year-old niece, Gloria Guibes, on Wednesday in a deadly shack fire.

The minister visited the grieving family and raised concerns about overcrowding and land management in Walvis Bay.

"Why do we allow people to be so cramped on a small plot? I'm told 16 people are affected, and there are still so many more. I want to believe it's more than 30 here," said Sankwasa. He further questioned, "Where are the council regulations on land management when things like this are happening? Because if there was one person or two families squatting here, it would not have caused the damage that it has caused now."

Sankwasa noted that the apartheid regime separated Blacks and Whites and discriminated against Black people.

According to him, discrimination in Black residential areas is still continuing.

"Instead of us, as Blacks, coming and saying, 'Okay, let's borrow the standards of the White community, of the white suburbs, and implement them across the whole location,' we want to downgrade everything. It's not right. We did not take over the management of these local authorities to bring about a situation like I see here. But we have a duty to make it better than it was before independence."

Sankwasa called on local authorities to prioritise proper land demarcation and enforcement.

"We think, as political parties, we fear taking corrective decisions because we fear that people are not going to vote for us. It is not helpful to this country. Rather, we should tell the truth. Rather, we should do the correct thing."

Describing the loss of life as painful, the minister stressed that the remaining residents cannot continue living in such dangerous conditions and urged the municipality to act decisively.

The municipality's public relations officer, Anita Kaihiva, said that the municipality remains focused on continuing to work with the ministry to improve living conditions and service delivery for all residents.