Vice president Lucia Witbooi has started with the construction of residential property at Gibeon while the village council is soliciting objections from the public.
This week, the Gibeon Village Council advertised in local newspapers that it intends to sell two residential plots in Extension 1 by way of a private treaty.
The one plot, Erf 772, measures 1 289 square metres and is priced at N$42 537. The second plot, Erf 753, is within the same extension, measures 1 162 square metres and is priced at N$38 511.
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"Notice is hereby given in terms of section 63(2) (b) of the Local Authority Act No.23 of 1992 as amended together with section 30 (1) (t) that the Gibeon Village Council intends to dispose of immovable properties by way of private transition to Lucia Witbooi," reads the notice.
Questionable
The notice seems to have come as a surprise to the residence of Gibeon.
Gibeon's Independent Patriots for Change chairperson, Niklaas Dawson, calls on the council to publish the valuation roll and explained how they came up with the price of the land.
He questions why the vice president is allowed to have more than one residential plot while others are yet to be allocated land.
"This is how land prices will inflate if such greedy pricing is proposed and why can't they give others title deeds and where did council or government buy this land? Why do they publish such a notice while construction has already started? Is this not a form of land grabbing?" he questions.
Former Popular Democratic Movement councillor Jeffrey Karemen has accused the council of doing things behind closed doors without informing residents.
He labels the move as questionable.
"Trust me, if I am only hearing this now, imagine what the public will think when they hear about this. One wonders what deals were done to give such land to such a prominent figure, it raises questions," he says.
He has also raised questions about the long-serving acting chief executive, citing that residents had previously expressed their discontent and were told the chief executive would be replaced in February, but this has not happened.
Private person
Sources at the village told The Namibian that in her motivation letter for the land, the vice president indicates that the new properties are to accommodate her bodyguards.
This was the reason why council allegedly approved the sale of the land to her.
Witbooi's personal assistant, Simon Uirab, yesterday refuted the allegations.
Uirab said the vice president is getting the land in her personal capacity as a resident of Gibeon.
"Remember, she has been living here for many years and just like any other resident she followed all procedures to acquire land. The allegations that she is building a house for her kids is unfounded as her kids will have to apply for land just like any other resident," he clarified.
Witbooi declared ownership of several properties, including a residential house in Gibeon, an undeveloped communal flat in the Hardap region and a house in Windhoek.
These assets were disclosed during her tenure as deputy minister of home affairs contained in the 2024 parliamentary asset register.
As vice-president, Witbooi earns an untaxed annual salary of N$1.5 million, about N$129 000 per month.
BACKED UP
The council's chief executive, Pederius Tjihoreko, says Witbooi has been a resident of Gibeon since birth.
Her current house is situated on Erf 753, measuring 1 167 square metres, which she had occupied prior to independence.
"The house was built under a permission to occupy (PTO) agreement between her and the Gibeon Village Council and in terms of Clause 18 of the PTO, the holder has the first option to purchase the property at a price determined by the council's gazetted tariff. The broader situation at Gibeon is that more than 97% of residents do not have title deeds," he explains.
This is mainly due to the fact that many extensions were proclaimed late, and the valuation roll had not been updated since 2009, Tjihoreko says.
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He adds that the council has since completed a new valuation roll, which came into effect on 31 January.
"It should be emphasised that council only allocated Erf 772, while Erf 753 remains her longstanding residence. The main reason for requesting Erf 772 was the inadequacy of space on Erf 753," he says.
With respect to Erf 772, Tjihoreko adds that the vice president applied for it in her personal capacity as a resident of Gibeon.
"The application was approved by council because her existing house on erf 753 occupied more than 50% of the erf, leaving little open space for further expansion. Furthermore, it should be noted that the additional erf will be consolidated with the existing erf of which the cost of planning consolidation, surveying will be borne by the applicant," he explains.
The public is given till 28 August to submit their objections in writing to the council's acting chief executive.
A community meeting was held on 19 August to inform residents that they can now purchase the land they currently occupy under PTO and obtain full title deeds.
