OKalongo regional development profile

OKALONGO SETTLEMENT;shimwenenimessias@gmail.com

Introduction and brief description of the region

The Okalongo settlement is one of the fast-growing settlements in the Omusati region. The settlement is located at the
junction of two large road connections; the road connecting to Outapi in the west and Ongenga in the east, and the road
connecting Okalongo to Oshikuku in the south. National, regional, and local traffic move through the town on a daily
basis.

Existing land uses

The settlement is growing rapidly with an increasing number of new buildings for residential as well as business. The
majority of the land in the settlement is still covered by mahangu fields and traditional homesteads. However, modern
homes could also be observed, which gives an indication that the area is slowly moving away from a rural setup to more
urban development. Here are some of the existing land uses.

Physical characteristics

According to the ecological assessment done by Biodatain June 2019, the site has been overgrazed, trampled and
harvested extremely for firewood as is usual around all human habitations. The population density in Okalongo is high,
and as a result, the surrounds have been heavily transformed, the settlement has lost its original biodiversity and its
inherent bioclimatic ecological potential.

Key environmentally relevant features show that most land is taken up by homesteads and land has been cleared for
croplands, firewood or used for grazing. Little natural vegetation remains beyond scattered large trees, and there are
almost certainly no large wild mammals resident in the area. There are some potentially sensitive seasonally wetlands
on site, trees such as Marula, Jackal Berry, and Wild Fig are common in this area and they are valuable as a source of
food and for the environmental benefits they provide. The site is ecologically degraded and no longer pristine thus
functioning as an ecosystem is rather impossible as it is not a natural environment anymore.

Population and Socio-economic characteristics

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

Urban migration has occurred as rural residents living nearby have moved into Okalongo to access goods, services and
opportunities available in the town. Residents within the settlement have also changed their way of living from purely
rural livelihood to an urban setup. By doing this people have gained access to improved social and economic
circumstances, created economic growth and improved their quality of life. The population growth has increased the
demand for necessary services which can be brought forward through the establishment of townships.

CULTURAL RESOURCES

The settlement consist of 2 cemeteries one within the planned area and the other is informal and it is located within the
Okalongo Townlands. No other items of historical value were found or could be identified within the site boundaries.

RESOURCE UTILISATION ON SITE

According to the ecological assessment done by Biodata, the site suffers the usual environmental degradation and
biodiversity loss that occurs around all human habitations and thus conclude that it is not a natural environment
anymore.

INFORMAL SETTLEMENT AND RELOCATION

The site does not consist of an informal settlement. However, there are a view informal structures that are on-site, and
some of these structures are within road reserves as all structures could not be accommodated on erven.

DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

Commercial activities takes up the majority of the total land area, however primary and private sector are the only
economic sectors in the settlement since the production of agricultural products is the only activity that takes place
within the settlement. There are no industrial areas but the main form of business is wholesales and individual
businesses that cover up most of the total area.

INFRASTRUCTURE DVELOMENT

The existing planned areas have been serviced; however, most of the services connections to properties have been
installed at random as individuals find it necessary to connect their properties to specific services especially water and

electricity. The availability of these services in the town is an indication that future residents will have an improved
quality of life as they can easily be connected to the existing reticulation network. Service provision needs to
accommodate larger dependent populations while taking into account existing and other planned service infrastructure.
The private sector constitutes more to the area’s economy since there are only small and big individual companies that
provide job opportunities to the local people.

Okalongo is a declared as a settlement area by Omusati regional council.

The available infrastructure and services are shown in the pictures below.

REGIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPOERTUNITIES

Throughout the development of this area, settlement may attract high traffic volumes during the construction phase,
more construction vehicles will be present on site. Once the layout amendments are complete and the settlement is fully
operational, there is a potential increase in traffic volumes as more people move and settle in the area. Another
challenge is health, safety and conflicts .There are various general concerns here, such as hazards posed during
construction by vehicles, excavations and ensuring that the spread of communicable diseases is minimised both in
regards to workers on-site and nearby communities. It is possible that issues or conflicts with stakeholders may arise
during construction of the services.

Development comes with a lot of opportunities, so after the area is developed , we expect more job opportunities,
increased living standards and provisional of basic and essential services within the Okalongo settlement.

APPLICATION OF REGIONAL PLANNING THEORIES

The procedural theory of planning is the existing theory in this area. The area is still under planning and ensuring that
all the stakeholders’ voices are heard. However, there are some constraints that may affect the development currently
or I the future. The settlement has areas that stay with stagnant water so possible flooding should be planned for in the
future. Good drainage should be part of the planning.

Okalongo settlement is at the transitional stage since the concentration of the economy in the core begins. People and
economic activities are moving from the periphery of the settlement into the core.

PROPOSALS THAT WOULD ADDRESS REGIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

STIMULATE HEALTH AND WELLNESS

    Provide for flood safe residential erven.
    Provide for flood-safe water connection.
    Provide that all services will be on the higher road reserve.
    Provide for a closed sewer system, which will prevent pollution during flooding.
    Provide for pedestrian infrastructure.
    Provide for business opportunities and is accessible to job opportunities.
    The development is also situated within walkable distances from the town centre, schools and health facilities
    within Okalongo.
    Provide formal and permanent occupation of land and the security of tenure
    Provision of commercial areas with the proper connectivity to existing land uses.
    Transport and movement systems should be designed and classified in terms of its functions and purposes from a
    clearly distinguished street hierarchy. The proposed development should be particularly accessible from two
    national roads, and the plan has a hierarchy of roads to accommodate for different functionality and means of
    transport.

shimwenenimessias@gmail.com//////shimweneni messias////@students.nust.na///07BTAR-2019