Ohorongo Cement awards staff land for houses
Ohorongo Cement staff received deeds of sale for land allocated to them by the Otavi Town Council in Namibia, on Tuesday. The cement producer made N$9m (US$661,619) available which is going towards the purchasing of land, as well as cement contributions for the construction of employee houses.
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This is certainly the biggest highlight in the history of our company. Today, we created the first of many real and lasting legacies for the welfare of our colleagues. What we did today will hopefully restore their human dignity," said the managing director of Ohorongo Cement, Hans-Wilhelm Schütte.
Ohorongo Cement entered into an agreement with the workers' union to assist employees in acquiring land for housing at Otavi and Tsumeb. The focus is on first-time property owners, and is in support of the national drive for housing provision as described in the Harambee Prosperity Plan.
The target is to acquire 120 plots of land, subject to the approval of funds, as well as the cost and availability of serviced land.
The Otavi Town Council allocated 30 serviced plots, measuring an average 375m2, for an average cost of N$26,000 in extension 5.
Now that the land has been made available, Ohorongo Cement will provide cement for the construction of standardised one- and two-bedroom houses. The building materials will be paid for by the employees through loans from financial institutions. To ensure that the houses are of superior quality, a building contractor has been appointed, which will deliver the housing units over a specified period.
The employees will be the sole owners of the properties, although the company is contributing to a certain extent towards acquiring them, as Schütte explained.
