Over 7,000 black workers living in Katutura will be made homeless in the coming years, when the white-run Windhoek City Council goes ahead with its scheme to put their hostel accommodation to other uses. Two hostel complexes in Katutura will be affected by the decision, taken by the City Council in July 1982. One complex, housing single black employees from all 'ethnic groups', is to be converted into four-room quarters for families. The hostel buildings provide 3,200 beds, but more than 5,000 people have been unofficially staying there. The Ovambo workers' hostel, housing over 4,000 contract workers from the Ovambo region, is to be taken over by the South West Africa Territory Force (SWATF). Discussions with the Defence Force are being initiated by the Director of Katutura and the Town Clerk of Windhoek (WA 27.8.82; WO 4.9.82).
The official reasons given for the takeover are the conditions prevailing at the workers' living quarters, described in reports submitted by the officers responsible for their management. They state that most communal facilities such as water taps, showers, electric fittings, toilets, etc. are in a state of disrepair as a result of vandalism, and that conditions constitute a health hazard (ibid). The hostels are greatly overcrowded. During raids on the single quarters between June and August 1982, 379 'illegal squatters' were charged and convicted; another 68 were arrested at the Ovambo compound. According to the Head of Windhoek Prison, there was no more space available for squatters arrested and awaiting trial (WA 27.8.82).
In the view of the Windhoek City Council, 'the hostel has become an anachronism', and no such place would be built again. The municipality would try to build houses for the thousands of single men left homeless, the Director of Katutura said, but there was a problem with finance. It was hoped that meanwhile they would be able to find accommodation with friends, he added (S 26.8.82).
The decision by the Windhoek City Council appears to be designed to deal with a number of issues it has been confronted with in recent years. The appalling conditions at workers' compounds, described on a number of previous occasions by reporters, are a direct result of the contract labour system which forces workers to migrate, for periods of up to two years, to urban industrial centres to find work. Here they live in huge institutionalised complexes where they have no privacy and are not allowed to have their families with them (FOCUS 39 p.4). They are frequently exposed to police raids, which on a number of occasions have resulted in violence.
Nevertheless, the closure of two large compounds, without any provision of alternative housing, will further threaten the precarious livelihood of the workers affected. One newspaper commented that the move was an attempt to restructure influx control by forcing those made homeless to return to their 'homelands' (WA 23.9.82).
At the same time, by moving members of the armed forces into the Ovambo hostel, the authorities presumably hope to tighten control over other Katutura residents. The presence of armed police in Katutura, and their frequent attacks on residents, has already created strong resentment. The permanent residence of large numbers of SWATF soldiers would no doubt add to the tense atmosphere prevailing in Katutura.
