What if Mbok's Dignity Housing Initiative was not sabotaged and actually succeeded?

Enter 'Housing Dignity Initiative'
 NEW ERA REPORTER    ARCHIVES    KHOMAS
 2006-03-24 00:00:00 12 years ago  184  0 
Share on social media

By Surihe Gaomas

Updated by Antoine MBOK on March 3rd 2019

Windhoek's housing problems have gone from bad to worst and there seems to be no working solution. I visited Windhoek's Havana suburb today and this reminded me that over 12 years ago i came up with a project to build affordable homes long before various projects from the government such as the mass housing project. my project Dignity Housing Initiative was sabotaged i even ended up investigated and arrested. My dream as a young man to contribute to the development of my adoptive country in trying to solve a problem which affects thousands of families was dashed and my reputation dragged in the mud and money invested in the project lost. 
I feel sad today for our people still without decent shelter; if nothing is done over 60% of our capital city will be made of shacks and the title of cleanest city in Africa a distant dream.

Bellow is the New Era Newspaper article published 12 years ago and as you will notice should you visit certain areas of windhoek that the housing problem is worst over half of the Windhoek population now lives in tin shacks and informal settlement could easily represent 60% of structures in the Capital City.

WINDHOEK Namibia's housing problem is poised for critical levels, as evidenced by the rapid mushrooming of shack settlements especially in the urban areas of the country. Currently, the country is facing a huge backlog of 300 000 houses and the situation is further exacerbated by the rapidly growing population, as close to 600 people migrate to the City of Windhoek on a monthly basis in search of better jobs and decent homes. Most of them end up erecting shacks in informal settlements. Some experts in the housing industry believe that the situation is becoming worse because of the lack of a working sustainable solution, raising fears that Vision 2030 might end up being only a "pipe dream". Just recently, it was reported that the Build Together Programme under the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development is currently incurring losses due to abuse by local authorities. Given the current situation where many local authorities are in financial distress, they take money meant for the programme to pay salaries and other bills. The current housing backlog is mostly due to limited resources allocated for housing delivery. The latest figures indicate that close to 100 000 people live in the capital's squatter settlement areas, which is one third of Windhoek's current population. However, in a drive to stem the growing problem of informal settlements in urban areas countrywide, Mbok Investments Company Limited (MINVESTCO) has initiated the "Housing Dignity Initiative" (DHI) that will focus on the construction of affordable homes. MINVESTCO is a Nami-bian investments brokerage (intermediary) and holding company that specialises in economic development, having a consortium of local companies as well. As the principle investor and holding company, MIN-VESTCO initiated the North-land Development Project Limited - an economic and property development company with a special focus on Namibian development needs guided by the development plan of Vision 2030. Chief Executive Officer of MINVESTCO Tony Mbok told New Era in an interview yesterday that DHI aims to build 20 000 to 50 000 low cost houses across the country through an economical and conventional technology. The price range for these houses will be between N$50 000 and N$70 000, which can be paid off in instalments. "The construction methodology is called the Moladi Building system, a South African invention where houses are built using Moladi plastic like mould structured walls with fitted doors, windows and electrical fittings," explained Mbok. A conventional mixture of sand and cement with special setting biodegradable chemical is then poured into the mould-like structure, which is left for a couple of hours to harden before the Moladi is removed to make up a smooth surfaced building that does not require any plastering. Foundations are either built on a floating raft or conventional cement foundation. Mostly people in the low and extra low-income group with a monthly salary scale of N$800-N$2 000 stand to benefit from this economically viable option. However, interested higher income earners will not be excluded. The houses can start from a 300-square metre plot with two to three bedrooms, a kitchen, living area, a shower and toilet. Mbok added that some local banks have also been consulted to buy into the idea of affordable housing for the poor, a concept that has for long not been considered by financial banking institutions in the country. Negotiations are still underway. Currently DHI is busy with the first phase of providing plots to interested clients on the 210 000 square metre piece of land (81/37 Nubiamis) situated in the Lafrenz area opposite Okuryangava in Katutura. Between 1 600 and 1 800 houses will be constructed on that land starting end of this year. So far all the low-income plots have been sold out. Still to be sold are middle-income plots at the Nubiamis Hills that go for between N$288,750 and 472,500 each. These prices are higher due to cost of bulk services such as installing a sewerage system in hilly terrain. Similar DHI ventures will also take place in the towns of Rundu, Henties Bay and Walvis Bay.
 New Era Reporter

 2006-03-24 00:00:00 12 years ago

Businessman Mbok publishes business books.

Businessman Antoine Mbok publishes business books
February 21st 2019
Staff

 

For the past 2 years friends, family, fans and sympathizers of Cameroonian born Namibian based businessman Antoine Mbok have had the pleasure of reading great motivational business books by the businessman, available on Amazon.com. Indeed Mr. Mbok, in 2015 made his writing debut with three recently released titles; 501 Business Ideas, 500 Ways to make money and Get Rich Quick, Build wealth now. The books are surprisingly well written and very practical business and motivational books meant to share Mr. Mbok's 30 years experience in business as a self employed entrepreneur.

Business man, father, Chief and now author, Mr. Mbok is planing to write more books in the future and in fact is busy writing 4 other titles at the moment and will release a new book every year until he retires. The current books are based on his business experience and should help readers better understand how money works, how to invest, do business and build wealth. Mr. Mbok's academic training included Investment Banking; financial markets, Insurance and business administration. The next four titles he said are works of fiction, without giving any details Mr. Mbok promises a much better book with an improved style. According to the author, fiction is much harder to write than non-fiction books and fiction authors need a set of specific skills to produce a quality, entertaining and enjoyable book.

We can look forward to a new book every year according to Mr. Mbok who is independently published. Mr. Mbok is looking for a wider book distribution network perhaps through large retail outlets and plans to travel to various book fairs around the world to promote his works. Mr. Mbok acknowledges that there is always room for improvement and seeks to acquire more skills as a writer of fiction

Mr. Mbok's books are sold in various bookstores in windhoek and internationally, the books are live as paperback and Ebooks on Amazon.com.

GREAT READING, buy this book.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/179572904X

The business guide is meant to assist you identify the type of business you would like to start, it also motivates and guides you through business start-up processes.As a fulltime worker you can identify side business activities that will not interfere with your employment allowing you to earn a second income. This guide has many business suggestions for business people, students, retirees, housewives, entrepreneurs or the unemployed for business ventures needing very little work or very little startup capital but offers great potential to earn a substantial amount of money. In sum “501 Business Ideas, easy to start with very little investment” can help put you in business regardless of your circumstance. It takes money to make money but this business guide, 501 Business Ideas, has been able to list a number of businesses people can start with very little or no money. This business guide is an absolute gem with the best advice, time honored, tried and tested methods of starting a business and building wealth.


GREAT READING, buy this book.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/172875500X

Through this business guide learn to make money by any means, you are exposed to various business concepts. Irrespective of your qualifications there is something for everyone.


GREAT READING, buy this book TODAY!!!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1795293683

The book succeeds in truly motivating its readers especially those looking to get rich and build wealth, through real life examples and quotes from various sources. The book takes the reader through what it takes to get rich, being rich and the motivations behind aspirations to riches, the book also looks at poverty and reveals the secret or should we say the difference between what makes the rich rich and what makes the poor poor. Great emphasis is made on emulating good examples, having a role model, improving oneself by acquiring new skills, getting financial education, thinking positive about money and having the wealth mentality. The book goes as far as detailing the use of neuro linguistic programming for those living in negative environments but looking to stay positive.


With these books published and successfully sold, Mr. Mbok feels more confident and is encouraged to write more books. No other business book sold as Mr. Mbok's 501 business ideas book in Namibia; the 501 Business Idea book is Namibia's best selling business book by the number of sales. The 501 Business Ideas book has proved very popular in Australia where a great number of e-books were sold. Mr. Mbok would like to be a recognized writer.

African Jewish Tribe; The Bassa people of Namibia

LOST AFRICAN JEWISH TRIBE IN NAMIBIA THROUGH CAMEROON.

THE BASSA TRIBE OF NAMIBIA

Original article By Serge Etele (April 2015)
Updated article by Antoine Mbok (January 2019)

In February of 2014, Menachem Kuchar, an emissary of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel, joined Serge Etele in Cameroon to examine the claim by some local tribes of their Jewish background. The visit was in response to an article written by Rabbi Israel Oriel Nguimbus, a resident of Great Britain on possible Jewish tribes in Cameroon.
Many local tribes in Cameroon had once observed rituals and customs similar to Jewish ones. The time line of these observances put them before the arrival of Christian missionaries, who had discouraged them. These tribes did not eat the animals that are forbidden in the Bible, and practiced circumcision, definitely not a Christian custom. They also practiced Halitzah, which demands that a brother take the wife of his deceased brother or relative, to ensure a child is born to the widow and the husband’s name is not lost or forgotten. The custom is no longer practiced. Menachem had just returned from Spain and Portugal where he was studying the emigration patterns of the Jews after 1391, especially to Africa. The Bamileke and the Bassa tribes were also visited.
For the purpose of this article, we have focused on the Bassa tribe of Cameroon. Our guides were Frederick Ndawo, a Bassa who had joined my own Beth Yeshourun Jewish Community of Cameroon, and his uncle, Mr Song.

 The Bassa tribe of Cameroon
The name Bassa in the Bantu language means “conquerors”. According to Frederick, Bassa tribesmen are taught that they are Jews. As in many parts of the world, tribal leaders are the keepers of all traditions and history, which they impart through an oral tradition. Frederick is one of his tribe’s leaders.

History
According to Frederick, the Bassa immigrated to Central Africa from Egypt thousands of years ago with Melek, their chief and one of the great grandsons of Judah, son of Jacob. The Bassa oral tradition describes Melek as a military chief in the Egyptian army who chose to stay behind to protect his privileges rather than to follow the uncertain journey espoused by Moses. However, when Melek learned of the death of Pharoah’s army at the Red Sea, he feared the Egyptians would take revenge against the Hebrews who had remained behind.
With the rest of the Israelites gone, Melek led his family and followers from Egypt. First, they traveled south along the Nile, but eventually moved westward, crossed Nigeria, and entered Cameroon. They eventually reached Ngok Lituba, their final destination. The Bassa called G-d, Elolom, the “God of the creation”) and, according to tradition, it was G-d who spoke to Melek and directed him to Ngok Lituba.

The Ngok Lituba Hill

The Bassa believe the Ngok Lituba Hill traveled in front of them from Egypt to Cameroon
 Throughout the centuries, the hill of Ngok Lituba has served as the holiest place of the Bassa people, the place where they used to gather once a year to perform sacrifices. They did this for centuries until German priests arrived in Cameroon in 1845 and forbade the practice. The community continued with their sacrifices in secret until the arrival of the French who stopped them completely by putting to death anyone who performed the sacrifices according to their ancient tradition.
Rites and customs of the Bassa people of Cameroon

Circumcision
Whenever possible, circumcision was performed on the eighth day after the birth of a son, and was considered a festive event. If the tribal leader responsible for circumcisions was not available, uncircumcised children would be gathered together later between their eighth and 11th year and would be circumcised in a group ceremony all on the same day.

Family’s purity Laws
When a woman was in her menstrual period, she isolated herself for eight days. During that period, she would not have intercourse with her husband and was not allowed to cook food for her family or do any kind of work in the house. After eight days, she performed her purification and then resumed her normal life.

Dietary Laws
The Bassa did not eat the animals forbidden in the Bible. They did not eat blood. And when they slaughtered an animal, they would dig a hole and let the blood flow into it. Then they covered it over.

A day of rest
Bassa worked during six days and rested on the seventh, called Ngwa noye u Nlo hinoye (the day of rest). The 7th day was a special day with no agricultural work allowed. People stayed in the village and spent time in rejoicing, eating and drinking and dancing. The priests would pray to Elolom.

The calendar
The Bassa followed a lunar calendar. They watched the moon to know when to celebrate the new month.

Purification
Anyone who attended a funeral had to perform purification. Men had to perform purification after any sexual intercourse. Purification consisted of washing oneself with a plant they call hyssop, then immersing oneself in a river. It could be only one activity or both.

Holidays
The most important Bassa holiday was the Gansaye festival (The Festival of Purification) celebrated at the foot of Ngok Lituba Hill, which took place once a year, some time between the ninth and the 11th month. People came from all the villages and brought animal sacrifices. Other holidays included a new moon festival and a harvest festival.

Priests
The priests were guardians of tribal traditions and ruled over the society. They played many roles, some were judges, others performed rituals.

Marriage
Marriages were arranged between families. The dowry brought by the man’s family had to include 70 items. A man who could not afford a dowry would work for the wife’s family for an agreed period of time after which he received his wife.
The Bassa didn’t give their daughters to other tribes that they called uncircumcised. The only tribe they allowed their daughter to marry was the Eton tribe of Cameroon that they believed descended from a brother of one of their ancestors.

Mourning
Five days after the burying of a man and four days after that of a woman, there was a rite of separation that allowed the soul to leave the area and not continue to wander around.

The above descriptions of Bassa customs and traditions are abbreviated, but demonstrate some similarities to Jewish customs and rituals. The information was given to us by Frederick and his uncle, Mr. Song who is a Bassa chief. During our discussion with Frederick and Mr. Song, Menachem asked them where they learned about the Shabbat if they didn’t attend the giving of the Torah in the desert of Sinai. They told him the giving of the Torah was only a revelation of something the people already knew from their ancestors.

THE BASSA TRIBE IN NAMIBIA
The Bassa tribe of Namibia was founded by Antoine Mbok, the first Bassa who made Namibia his permanent home almost 20 years ago, the name Mbok also spelled Mbog means “people, authority, law or government”. Antoine Mbok II is a descendant of the Nonga family from Hohong in Cameroon, son of Antoine Mbok and grand son of chief Mbog Nonga Pierre. After leaving Ngok Lituba the family settled in a village in the littoral region of Cameroon specifically Mandjap II village in the Gambe district (Samuel Eto’o Fils and Joseph Antoine Bell are world class football players known to be from Ngambe).

The Namibian Bassa tribe specifically the Mbok family is settled in Windhoek, Henties Bay and Kamandjap (chosen due to the slight similarity in the name with its ancestral village Mandjap).
The Namibian Bassa clan practice Bassa rituals and acknowledge their Jewish roots and being a part of the global Jewish community. Part of the Mbok family in Namibia practice Roman Catholicism, while maintaining the Jewish heritage. The first generation and Namibian born Mbok boys have been initiated and received blessings from their ancestors while on holiday in Cameroon. Each Mbok boy born in Namibia is taken to Cameroon in a family ritual for circumcision before the age of 11 and is fully healed before coming back to Namibia.  The Mbok family is closely associated to the Damara, Nama and Baster families in Namibia hence the Mbok family in Nambia speak, Afrikaans and Damara/Nama.
Bassa people are God’s chosen people.
We are pleased to share this personal family history with the general public.

Chief Mbok II