Namibia: Major Investments in Tsumeb As Population Grows
By Edgar Brandt, 1 July 2013
Tsumeb — More than N$110 million is being invested
in three separate projects in developing an area in the centre of Tsumeb, as
the first steps are taken to breathe life back into the mining town. The town
council hopes the new investments, together with the just completed tar road
linking the town to Katwitwi in Rundu, will boost the town's spending power.
Besides the multi-million investments, the town
council is in the process of delineating one of the town's most impoverished
settlements, Kuvukiland. This settlement is estimated to house as much as 10
percent of the entire Tsumeb's 34 000 residents. And the settlement is expected
to will burst at the seams with over 4 000 residents in the near future, due to
the ever-present influx of people seeking work.
The land on which the developments are to take
place belonged to Weatherly copper mining company, but the council is currently
transferring it back into council's books. "Once this is complete we can
start with providing services to the land," said the Tsumeb Municipality's
Economic Development Officer, Lemmy Geingob.
Construction has already started on the N$100
million shopping complex in an area that has been lying idle for many years, an
area that Tsumeb residents have baptised as 'Donkey Vlakte.' The shopping
complex will have tenants such as Pick n Pay, Edgars Active and Woolworths, and
there is also an investment of a multi-million dollar trade centre that will
host light industries and small and medium size enterprises as well an N$8
million office for the electricity distributor Cenored - the electricity
distributor for the central, east and northern regions of the country.
Years ago many Tsumeb residents were of the opinion
that the 'Donkey Vlakte' area was not safe due to minerals in the area that reportedly
attracted excessive lightning. However, Geingob denied these claims, citing a
feasibility study conducted in the area. According to Geingob, the study
indicated that the area is indeed safe provided any buildings constructed are
no higher than a single-storey structure.
Numerous businesses will soon occupy this space,
including local companies and international chain shops. Geingob says the town
of Tsumeb, which was once thought to be in danger of turning into a ghost town,
is again flourishing as residents' spending power has increased. The new
developments are also expected to create at least a few hundred jobs in the
town that will soon also see the opening of the Tschunde copper mine. "I
trust that any tenants of the new developments will work with us to alleviate
the unemployment in the town, the region and the country," added Geingob.
The Economic Development Officer added that the
town, in conjunction with major employers in the area, is working to alleviate
the huge demand for housing. "Most of the land in the town belongs to the
mine. We, as the municipality, are engaged with the mine to transfer the land
over to the municipality for development," mentioned Geingob.
Another factor that is expected to contribute to
Tsumeb's economy, and will likely see its population and spending power
increase even further, is the recently completed road linking the town to
Katwitwi. This road, which is yet to be commissioned, is a shorter and more
cost effective option for many transporters to Angola.