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This piece explores the practices of urban development and preservation of heritage sites in Namibia, using the city of Ondangwa as a case study. It examines whether the historic sites of newly proclaimed cities in Namibia are preserved for economic purposes and for future generations.
The rationale behind this review stems from a survey of town hall practices regarding the removal or conversion of traditional sites. in non-productive sectors and sometimes let them become dormant. The paper outlines the possible challenges that could be part of urban development practices after the independence of Namibia and proposes measures that could be applied to overcome these challenges in order to make cities attractive to tourism and maintain their historical value. through heritage sites. ] Background
Located at the junction of the B-1 main road towards Angola to the north and to Ruacana via Oshakati to the west, the city of Ondangwa is the first and oldest urban agglomeration of northern Namibia. It became an important place mainly because it was the only watershed for contract migrant workers in northern Namibia during the colonial era. Migrant workers were collected by the South West African Indigenous Workers Association (SWANLA) from the traditional sub-ethnic districts of Ongandjera, Ombalantu, Uukwambi Uukolonkadhi, Uukwaluudhi, Oukwanyama, Ondonga and Ombandja and other ethnic groups in southern Angola. within an estimated radius of 700 km, and gathered in Ondangwa. The large hostel for contract migrant workers was built in the city in the early sixties to accommodate migrant workers in transit to southern Namibia or to mines in South Africa via the hand rental network. 39; work. SWANLA transported them from Ondangwa to Grootfontein for distribution to potential employers in the south.
For those who aspired to find a job in the Ondangwa recruiting area, it was not an easy task. The congestion experienced here can be likened to Scripture that says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the hole of a needle than for a rich man to enter the realm of God". They faced immeasurable conditions in Ondangwa. They were often beaten, especially when their shoving in search of employment opportunities went down in anarchy and riots. They also had no privacy during medical visits, being forced to walk naked in front of officials and their colleagues. Sometimes aspirants spent months in Ondangwa struggling to find a job, and sometimes they could not get them. In such cases, they would be forced to return home, or travel alone from Ovamboland to Rundu and then via Mohembo and Shakawe to South Africa, where they would travel by organized transportation by the Witwatersrand Native Labor Association Ltd. (WENELA) via Grootfontein and Mohembo to Francistown in Botswana and from there by train to Transvaal (Dierks, 2004). The agreement reached on 7 July 1949 at the Windhoek Conference for the amendment of the Agreement of 13/9/44, as amended at the Pretoria Conference of 24/9/45 ( 1), states: "SWANLA will provisionally engage, on behalf of and at the request of WENELA, the natives of Angola offer at their station in Ondangwa and present them to WENELA's doctor in Grootfontein for medical examination … (3) The natives who pbad the WENELA medical examinations at Grootfontein will be sent by SWANELA as the WENELA agent of Grootfontein in the WENELA trucks between Grootfontein and Bechubadand "(National Archives of Namibia 2004, in Niikondo, 2008).
Rationale
Because of its unique historical features, Ondangwa is a wonderful city Sites of immense historical significance Every corner of the city contains striking heritage sites and can therefore attract millions of national and international travelers . Their complex history has given Namibia many heritage sites including: the buildings of the former migrant workers district, the first shop in northern Namibia, the migrant workers clinic, the magistrates' court, the place where the migrant workers had their staff delivered (it was called Ongushe) and the bus station where the migrant workers were dropped, when they were expelled from the south or from South Africa. If these places were preserved, travelers would have much to see in Ondangwa and know the true strength of this historic city. However, at independence, these important historical infrastructures were ignored, converted into unproductive sectors or simply dismantled. (to follow)
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