30 000 customary land right applications outstanding

ELLANIE SMIT WINDHOEKThe new Communal Land Boards have to deal with more than 30 000 applications for both new and existing customary land rights, which need to be registered and issued to land right holders.Land reform minister Calle Schlettwein said this at the inauguration of the seventh Communal Land Boards this week. They will serve from 1 March to 28 February 2028.A total of 181 Communal Land Board members have thus far been appointed to serve on the boards. Of these, 75 members are women, representing 41%. “I hope women representation in the board will increase as some nominations are still awaited from some institutions.”Schlettwein further said the previous boards, which served from March 2018 to February 2021, managed to register and issue 4 331 existing customary land rights certificates during their term.They also registered and issued 9 823 new customary land rights certificates, 494 rights of leasehold certificates and 110 occupational land rights certificates.Furthermore, 327 land rights were transferred and certificates were issued, while 198 land-related disputes were resolved, four illegal fences in communal areas were removed and 46 judgements were delivered for appeal cases against Communal Land Boards' decisions.Still outstanding“There is still an outstanding number of 30 007 applications, for both existing customary land rights and new customary land rights, which need to be registered and issued with land rights certificates to the land rights holders.”He appealed to the new boards' members to develop a target-oriented strategy that will complete the registration of all outstanding applications in their respective regions, especially for existing customary land rights.The minister said the allocation of unreasonable large sizes of land parcels on commonages is another concern.According to him, some Communal Land Boards have been approving land rights exceeding 50 hectares for customary land rights and exceeding 100 hectares for rights of leasehold.“This is a contravention of the provisions of the Communal Land Reform Act. Many of those allocations have led to unnecessary disputes and litigation processes.” Fair and sustainableSchlettwein said he expects to see increased fair and sustainable land allocations, promotion of land registration, removal of illegal fences, implementation of board resolutions and speedy dispute adjudication in regions.He added that in some regions, land allocations are too close to the road reserves or in watercourses.“Such allocations are not only a concern to public safety, but undermine our Disaster Risk Management Plan.”Land allocations in unsustainable areas may cause disruptions to natural drainage systems and compromise biodiversity, he said.

30 000 customary land right applications outstanding

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-09

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30 000 customary land right applications outstanding

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-09

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