Bitter land battle rocks Hardap

The Asab Community Trust and the Hardap Communal Land Board are embroiled in a bitter court battle over a 3,3-hectare piece of land, on which the trust wants to build a hotel and Nama cultural centre. The same piece of land has been earmarked by the Hardap Regional Council for a rural development centre, which is currently being constructed. The matter has now ended up in the High Court, with the community trust seeking interdict against the land board granting any rights to the regional council to occupy a certain portion of the land situated in Amalia near to Asab in the Gibeon Communal Area. The land is presently leased by the community trust and they are arguing that the regional council has no right to occupy the land and that they have not given consent. The regional council has since this month been occupying sections of the piece of land in question. According to court papers, the community trust wants to put up community-owned hotel and Nama cultural centre on their leased land and have entered into an agreement with Southern Namib Retailers. As part of their court application, the community trust is also seeking an interdict against the Hardap Regional Council and its "officials, servants and agents", barring them from occupying the land. They have also asked the court to order the regional council to remove its' building equipment and materials from the land and to remove all building work from the premises. The Minister Lands and Resettlement and the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, acting Chief Josef Christiaan and the Bondelswarts Traditional Authority are together with the regional council and the land board are opposing the granting of the interdict. The resettlement minister is cited because he administers the Communal Land Reform Act and oversees the overall administration of the all the land boards, while Local government minister administers regional councils and oversees their overall administration. The chairperson of the Asab Community Trust, Stephanus Fleermuys, said in a sworn statement that the Hardap Communal Land Board granted the trust leasehold rights and issued it a certificate on June 22, 2010. The lease included the right to develop the land into community-based tourism hotel and Nama cultural centre. However, the land board stated that the leasing agreement was reviewed by it on August 13. "I am not aware of any reason why land board should reviewed a leasehold right almost four years after it had been granted, Fleermuys argued, adding that they had no knowledge of the review proceedings. He added that because of the uncertainty arising between 2010 and 2013, due to the regional council's persistent interference, Southern Namib Retailers put the project on hold and the community trust could not continue with its proposed development. Fleermuys maintained that the Hardap Communal Land Board had unilaterally cancelled its right of leasehold. "Since the issuing of the leasehold certificate in 2010, the regional council is aware that a certificate of leasehold was issued in favour of the Asab Community Trust," he said. Fleermuys argued the land board purportedly cancelled the community trust's lease by alleging that the application was 'granted in error'. "They failed to disclose any details of the alleged error. It is also not clear whether they made the error in law or in facts," he said. The community trust further argued that the decision to cancel their leasehold right indicates unfairness and arbitrariness. WINDHOEK FRED GOEIEMAN