AR demands 2 500-unit township from Erindi sale
ELLANIE SMIT
The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement wants a High Court settlement agreement regarding the potential sale of the Erindi Private Game Reserve to be linked to the establishment of a 2 500-unit township near Windhoek and the servicing of 300 plots at Goreangab.
It also wants millions to be channelled towards housing in Windhoek and Walvis Bay, as a caveat to the settlement agreement.
These and other demands were revealed in a letter sent by AR leader Job Amupanda to Erindi owner Paul Joubert and land reform minister Utoni Nujoma.
Amupanda said the Erindi owners or buyers of the 65 000-hectare game farm should purchase one farm within a radius of 50 kilometres from the Windhoek central business district to be used for the purpose of establishing a youth township with the capacity to accommodate a minimum of 2 500 houses.
He said further they should provide N$10 million for the finalisation of the servicing 300 residential plots at Goreangab.
The money will also be used for the connection of bulk services for the 300 plots and empty houses at Otjomuise, so these can be allocated to people.
Amupanda said the Erindi owners or buyers should also buy five farms for the Youth in Agriculture for Economic Freedom initiative.
He said one farm will be used to host the Post-Colonial Agricultural Research Institute (POCARI), while two farms will be used for crop production and two for animal husbandry.
“Each farm so purchased must be allocated start-up capital of not less than N$2 million per farm to allow for productive farming.”
Amupanda said Erindi’s new owners must also undertake not to do any restructuring, retrenchments or reorganising that will lead to job losses.
“There should be a profit-share agreement aimed at sponsoring Namibian students studying agriculture, animal science, veterinary medicine and tourism at the best universities in Africa and the world.”
These demands come in the midst of an ongoing legal battle between government and Erindi over the sale of the game farm. The case dates back to 2016 has been postponed to Thursday for settlement, after documents were presented to the High Court last year indicating that Erindi was already given a certificate of waiver in 1999.
On 6 October the minister of lands, in terms of section 16 of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act of 1999, granted the certificate of waiver to Erindi.
The waiver was signed by then lands minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana for Farm Erindi no. 58 and Farm Constantia no. 60 which together forms Erindi Ranch Pty.
Amupanda said they were alerted about the imminent sale of Erindi to a foreign national.
“It is evident that government again surrendered and placed the Namibian people to a loss (sic),” he said.
Amupanda said it seems government failed to observe certain legal processes, particularly regarding the waiver that appears to have resulted in a situation where the court is likely to find that it should have accepted the more than N$1.9 billion (excluding VAT) purchase price.
“It is clear that government may lose this case in court because of either the existing certificate of waiver already granted or the laxity in the administrative mannerism of the government in particular your ministry (sic),” Amupanda write to Nujoma.
He said both the land reform ministry and the government mishandled the case, resulting in Namibian land remaining with or sold to foreign nationals “for a mere plate of salad”.
Erindi first launched legal action against the lands minister in October 2016. In the initial lawsuit, it asked the court to order the land reform minister to hand over all valuation reports the minister relied on to make an offer to buy Erindi for N$265 million.
The company also asked the court to declare that the minister acted in breach of his constitutional duty to act fairly, reasonably and in compliance with the law, when he made the offer to buy Erindi for N$265 million. It further wanted the court to order the minister to provide the company with a letter consenting to the sale of Erindi to a non-Namibian buyer.
In an amended application, filed at the High Court last year in June, Erindi wanted the court to review and set aside the minister's offer of N$265 million.
Erindi also applied for an order to declare that a written agreement exists in which government bought the company for N$1.92 billion – or to declare that the minister has declined the company's offer to sell to government, and that Erindi is now entitled to a waiver in terms of which the agricultural land it owns can be sold to a private buyer. It further wanted the court to declare that Erindi is entitled to market and sell itself as a going concern - also to non-Namibian potential buyers.
The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement wants a High Court settlement agreement regarding the potential sale of the Erindi Private Game Reserve to be linked to the establishment of a 2 500-unit township near Windhoek and the servicing of 300 plots at Goreangab.
It also wants millions to be channelled towards housing in Windhoek and Walvis Bay, as a caveat to the settlement agreement.
These and other demands were revealed in a letter sent by AR leader Job Amupanda to Erindi owner Paul Joubert and land reform minister Utoni Nujoma.
Amupanda said the Erindi owners or buyers of the 65 000-hectare game farm should purchase one farm within a radius of 50 kilometres from the Windhoek central business district to be used for the purpose of establishing a youth township with the capacity to accommodate a minimum of 2 500 houses.
He said further they should provide N$10 million for the finalisation of the servicing 300 residential plots at Goreangab.
The money will also be used for the connection of bulk services for the 300 plots and empty houses at Otjomuise, so these can be allocated to people.
Amupanda said the Erindi owners or buyers should also buy five farms for the Youth in Agriculture for Economic Freedom initiative.
He said one farm will be used to host the Post-Colonial Agricultural Research Institute (POCARI), while two farms will be used for crop production and two for animal husbandry.
“Each farm so purchased must be allocated start-up capital of not less than N$2 million per farm to allow for productive farming.”
Amupanda said Erindi’s new owners must also undertake not to do any restructuring, retrenchments or reorganising that will lead to job losses.
“There should be a profit-share agreement aimed at sponsoring Namibian students studying agriculture, animal science, veterinary medicine and tourism at the best universities in Africa and the world.”
These demands come in the midst of an ongoing legal battle between government and Erindi over the sale of the game farm. The case dates back to 2016 has been postponed to Thursday for settlement, after documents were presented to the High Court last year indicating that Erindi was already given a certificate of waiver in 1999.
On 6 October the minister of lands, in terms of section 16 of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act of 1999, granted the certificate of waiver to Erindi.
The waiver was signed by then lands minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana for Farm Erindi no. 58 and Farm Constantia no. 60 which together forms Erindi Ranch Pty.
Amupanda said they were alerted about the imminent sale of Erindi to a foreign national.
“It is evident that government again surrendered and placed the Namibian people to a loss (sic),” he said.
Amupanda said it seems government failed to observe certain legal processes, particularly regarding the waiver that appears to have resulted in a situation where the court is likely to find that it should have accepted the more than N$1.9 billion (excluding VAT) purchase price.
“It is clear that government may lose this case in court because of either the existing certificate of waiver already granted or the laxity in the administrative mannerism of the government in particular your ministry (sic),” Amupanda write to Nujoma.
He said both the land reform ministry and the government mishandled the case, resulting in Namibian land remaining with or sold to foreign nationals “for a mere plate of salad”.
Erindi first launched legal action against the lands minister in October 2016. In the initial lawsuit, it asked the court to order the land reform minister to hand over all valuation reports the minister relied on to make an offer to buy Erindi for N$265 million.
The company also asked the court to declare that the minister acted in breach of his constitutional duty to act fairly, reasonably and in compliance with the law, when he made the offer to buy Erindi for N$265 million. It further wanted the court to order the minister to provide the company with a letter consenting to the sale of Erindi to a non-Namibian buyer.
In an amended application, filed at the High Court last year in June, Erindi wanted the court to review and set aside the minister's offer of N$265 million.
Erindi also applied for an order to declare that a written agreement exists in which government bought the company for N$1.92 billion – or to declare that the minister has declined the company's offer to sell to government, and that Erindi is now entitled to a waiver in terms of which the agricultural land it owns can be sold to a private buyer. It further wanted the court to declare that Erindi is entitled to market and sell itself as a going concern - also to non-Namibian potential buyers.
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