APP wants tabling of land bill postponed
The All People's Party has called on President Hage Geingob to intervene and call off the tabling of the land bill until after the second national land conference has been held.
The land bill was withdrawn from the National Assembly in December following a string of criticisms and complaints that it was riddled with shortcomings.
Addressing the media at his party's first press briefing, APP president Ignatius Shixwameni urged the government to first hold the land conference so that the public's views could be taken into account before the bill was tabled.
The first land conference was held in 1991, shortly after independence.
“The land issue is the most burning and topical issue of our time and we are fully supportive of the ongoing calls for the postponement of the tabling of the bill,” said Shixwameni.
Shixwameni's call comes at a time when the country is hyped up over how the government is distributing land. Opposition parties have threatened to call for mass land action while residents of the Hardap and
//Karas regions have been marching in protest of what they term “skewed” land distribution.
Civil society too, under the banner of the Nangof Working Group on Land Reform, has held a number of meetings with regional communities to gain input on the grievances of landless Namibians. Meanwhile, people from the Nama and OvaHerero communities are calling on the government to address the issue of ancestral land lost to German colonisers. In October last year, Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua emphasised that the bill could not be divorced from the Nama and OvaHerero genocide and that a land bill should therefore address ancestral land, restitution, returnees from exile as well as access to sacred places.
However, lands minister Utoni Nujoma last week said that was not likely to happen, as the issue of ancestral land had the potential to stir up tribalism which could divide the country. Utoni was adamant that he would not consider calls for postponing the tabling of the land bill and insisted that the bill had been “over-consulted' already.
“Deliberations on the land bill started in 2004. My predecessors have dealt with this issue, they have consulted widely. If you ask the Legal Assistance Centre they can give you testimony, the ministry has gone countrywide to consult with various stakeholders,” Nujoma said.
Meanwhile, the chances of the land conference taking place appear slim, as Nujoma emphasised that it would only be budgeted for if his ministry received adequate finances.
JEMIMA BEUKES
The land bill was withdrawn from the National Assembly in December following a string of criticisms and complaints that it was riddled with shortcomings.
Addressing the media at his party's first press briefing, APP president Ignatius Shixwameni urged the government to first hold the land conference so that the public's views could be taken into account before the bill was tabled.
The first land conference was held in 1991, shortly after independence.
“The land issue is the most burning and topical issue of our time and we are fully supportive of the ongoing calls for the postponement of the tabling of the bill,” said Shixwameni.
Shixwameni's call comes at a time when the country is hyped up over how the government is distributing land. Opposition parties have threatened to call for mass land action while residents of the Hardap and
//Karas regions have been marching in protest of what they term “skewed” land distribution.
Civil society too, under the banner of the Nangof Working Group on Land Reform, has held a number of meetings with regional communities to gain input on the grievances of landless Namibians. Meanwhile, people from the Nama and OvaHerero communities are calling on the government to address the issue of ancestral land lost to German colonisers. In October last year, Swanu president Usutuaije Maamberua emphasised that the bill could not be divorced from the Nama and OvaHerero genocide and that a land bill should therefore address ancestral land, restitution, returnees from exile as well as access to sacred places.
However, lands minister Utoni Nujoma last week said that was not likely to happen, as the issue of ancestral land had the potential to stir up tribalism which could divide the country. Utoni was adamant that he would not consider calls for postponing the tabling of the land bill and insisted that the bill had been “over-consulted' already.
“Deliberations on the land bill started in 2004. My predecessors have dealt with this issue, they have consulted widely. If you ask the Legal Assistance Centre they can give you testimony, the ministry has gone countrywide to consult with various stakeholders,” Nujoma said.
Meanwhile, the chances of the land conference taking place appear slim, as Nujoma emphasised that it would only be budgeted for if his ministry received adequate finances.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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