UN-HABITAT: Global Campaign for Secure Tenure Launch in Namibia

Global Campaign for Secure Tenure Launch in Namibia

Windhoek/Nairobi, 28th October, 2002 -- The Prime Minister, The Right Hon. Theo-Ben Gurirab officially launched the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure on the occasion of World Habitat Day Celebration at Independence Arena in Katutura Windhoek, Namibia. Attended by over 2000 shack dwellers, the launch celebrated the commitment of the government and the capacity of the urban poor to promote security of land tenure and access to affordable land.

Recalling his role as the President of the United Nations General Assembly during the Millennium Summit in 2000, the Prime Minister pledged to reduce by half, the total number of families living in dilapidated shacks by the year 2007. His remarks gave meaning in Namibia to the global target of the Millennium Development Goal of "by 2020, making a significant improvement on the conditions of 100 million slum dwellers."

Mrs. Rose Molokoane, President of the South African Homeless Federation, underscored the need to fight unlawful evictions. She warned that the slogan "Cities without Slums" must never result in "Cities without slum dwellers", as the struggle was against poverty, not the poor.

The Deputy Minister for Lands, appealed to Parliament for the swift adoption of "Flexible Land Tenure Bill". The legislation presents a clear commitment to introduce systems of tenure favorable to the urban poor. These include block ownership, starter titles, and an incremental approach to upgrading. It also contains language in support of women's equal property and inheritance rights. The Deputy Minister for Regional and Local Government and Housing reported on the success of their efforts to decentralize town planning and housing. He also alluded to a contribution by the Government to Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia that was confirmed later at an evening reception hosted by the Ministry, resulting in a check for 1,000,000 Namibian Dollars (100,000 USD), matching the amount SDFN had raised through daily savings associations.

The event served to localize in Namibia the UN-HABITAT Global Campaign for Secure Tenure. Implemented in 20 countries, the Global Campaign is expanding to other countries through networks of the urban poor, local authorities, NGOs, and active governments. Established in 1999 by the Governing Council, the Global Campaign supports partnerships between organized groups of slum dwellers and local governments. By stopping evictions and securing land tenure, the Global Campaign provides a strategic entry point to urban upgrading, one based on social and economic justice.

The Launch of the Global Campaign in Namibia is part of four-days of events. The first is a series of field trips to households of Federation members in Windhoek. This was followed by a one-day workshop to enable 100 participants to consolidate lessons learned and outline strategies for future action in Namibia and in participating countries. A final event will be a more in depth consultation among Namibian municipal councilors and shack dwellers and their counterparts visiting from Zimbabwe.

For further information, please contact: Mr. Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson & Head, Press & Media Relations Unit, Tel: (254 2) 623153, Ms. Zahra A. Hassan, Media Liaison, Tel: (254 2) 623151, Fax: (254 2) 624060, E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org, Website: www.unhabitat.org

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Christopher W. Williams, OIC, Land and Tenure Section & Policy Coordinator Global Campaign for Secure Tenure, Shelter Branch, Global Division, UN-HABITAT, P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel. 254-2-624244, Fax. 254-2-624265, website: www.unhabitat.org