EAGER TO LEARN
Kambazembi Guest Farm will approach the High Court on Tuesday with an urgent application to declare the provisional valuation roll for landowners null and void.
This follows a 1 June notice by the land reform ministry that the provisional valuation roll would be available for public perusal from 1 June to 1 July at certain offices across the country.
The notice included sessions of the valuation court to be held between 10 August and 19 September at Grootfontein, Gobabis, Mariental, Keetmanshoop, Outjo, Otjiwarongo, Omaruru and Windhoek. During these sessions, landowners will be able to object to the roll but they cannot object to the valuation of their land or the rate of land tax.
Charlie Bodenstein, counsel for Constitution Watch (formerly the Landowners’ Association of Namibia) says the ministry’s actions are in violation of the Constitution.
“According to the applicants, the executive branch of government and not the legislative branch, namely the parliament, has controlled, determined, implemented and collected the tax.
“In terms of the determination of the tax and the rate of valuation, the government could only supply parliamentary discussion in 2001 which means this is when the rate of tax was last looked at.
“They could not supply any correspondence, documents or notices to show which discussions took place between the line ministries as the law requires it to be. This has to be done to determine the valuation rate,” Bodenstein says.
He says according to the land reform regulations, notice must be given before valuations take place, and the government has not met this requirement.
“A notice must inform the public of something that is going to happen, not something has happened. This will be Namibia’s greatest constitutional challenge to date,” he said.
The last farm valuations were done in 2007. Bodenstein says this is also in contravention of the Act, which stipulates that valuations must be done every five years.
In an affidavit, he adds that employees of the land reform ministry have said that the 2012 provisional roll, which is now being used, is the same one that Judge Elton Hoff declared null and void in a 2013 session of the valuation court.
The Namibian Agricultural Union has also joined the fray. In its latest newsletter the union says it surprised that the same controversial valuation roll, without any amendments, is being used again.
“These valuations are much higher than the ones on which current land tax is being paid. If the rate of 0.75% stays in place, landowners will pay between 300% and 400% more tax and this is causes great uncertainty among farmers,” the union says.
Shortcomings
“According to the [NAU] board, the inherent shortcomings in the regulations have contributed to the current land valuations.”
The union says it supports land tax as a contribution towards land reform, but the valuation of farmland should be more realistic and should be in line with the regulations and the law.
“Land tax must be fair, reasonable and affordable,” it says.
Last month, three notices of motion, which were financially supported by Constitution Watch, were filed by Kambazembi Guest Farm at the High Court, all requesting the setting aside of several land tax issues in 2015 and 2016.
According to Bodenstein, the law states that the validity of a valuation roll expires within five years after certification by the valuation court.
“The last valuation roll expired on 31 March 2013. The 2012 provisional roll indicated a drastic increase in land tax. After this was withdrawn by the land reform ministry in January 2013 and a new valuation roll was issued, the 2012 roll was declared null and void by Judge Elton Hoff,” Bodenstein said.
“However, before 22 August 2013, Kambazembi Guest Farm had already challenged the constitutionality of the government’s actions, along with the law and regulations in the High Court. This matter led to several different applications.”
However, the land reform ministry, in 2015, made a proclamation that a valuation roll is valid when it is approved by a valuation court and until it is replaced with a new valuation roll.
According to Bodenstein this would have replaced regulation 17(3), which states that valuation rolls expire after five years, but an amendment cannot be backdated. It also invalidates current rights and makes the implementation of land tax more unpredictable.
ELVIRA HATTINGH
This follows a 1 June notice by the land reform ministry that the provisional valuation roll would be available for public perusal from 1 June to 1 July at certain offices across the country.
The notice included sessions of the valuation court to be held between 10 August and 19 September at Grootfontein, Gobabis, Mariental, Keetmanshoop, Outjo, Otjiwarongo, Omaruru and Windhoek. During these sessions, landowners will be able to object to the roll but they cannot object to the valuation of their land or the rate of land tax.
Charlie Bodenstein, counsel for Constitution Watch (formerly the Landowners’ Association of Namibia) says the ministry’s actions are in violation of the Constitution.
“According to the applicants, the executive branch of government and not the legislative branch, namely the parliament, has controlled, determined, implemented and collected the tax.
“In terms of the determination of the tax and the rate of valuation, the government could only supply parliamentary discussion in 2001 which means this is when the rate of tax was last looked at.
“They could not supply any correspondence, documents or notices to show which discussions took place between the line ministries as the law requires it to be. This has to be done to determine the valuation rate,” Bodenstein says.
He says according to the land reform regulations, notice must be given before valuations take place, and the government has not met this requirement.
“A notice must inform the public of something that is going to happen, not something has happened. This will be Namibia’s greatest constitutional challenge to date,” he said.
The last farm valuations were done in 2007. Bodenstein says this is also in contravention of the Act, which stipulates that valuations must be done every five years.
In an affidavit, he adds that employees of the land reform ministry have said that the 2012 provisional roll, which is now being used, is the same one that Judge Elton Hoff declared null and void in a 2013 session of the valuation court.
The Namibian Agricultural Union has also joined the fray. In its latest newsletter the union says it surprised that the same controversial valuation roll, without any amendments, is being used again.
“These valuations are much higher than the ones on which current land tax is being paid. If the rate of 0.75% stays in place, landowners will pay between 300% and 400% more tax and this is causes great uncertainty among farmers,” the union says.
Shortcomings
“According to the [NAU] board, the inherent shortcomings in the regulations have contributed to the current land valuations.”
The union says it supports land tax as a contribution towards land reform, but the valuation of farmland should be more realistic and should be in line with the regulations and the law.
“Land tax must be fair, reasonable and affordable,” it says.
Last month, three notices of motion, which were financially supported by Constitution Watch, were filed by Kambazembi Guest Farm at the High Court, all requesting the setting aside of several land tax issues in 2015 and 2016.
According to Bodenstein, the law states that the validity of a valuation roll expires within five years after certification by the valuation court.
“The last valuation roll expired on 31 March 2013. The 2012 provisional roll indicated a drastic increase in land tax. After this was withdrawn by the land reform ministry in January 2013 and a new valuation roll was issued, the 2012 roll was declared null and void by Judge Elton Hoff,” Bodenstein said.
“However, before 22 August 2013, Kambazembi Guest Farm had already challenged the constitutionality of the government’s actions, along with the law and regulations in the High Court. This matter led to several different applications.”
However, the land reform ministry, in 2015, made a proclamation that a valuation roll is valid when it is approved by a valuation court and until it is replaced with a new valuation roll.
According to Bodenstein this would have replaced regulation 17(3), which states that valuation rolls expire after five years, but an amendment cannot be backdated. It also invalidates current rights and makes the implementation of land tax more unpredictable.
ELVIRA HATTINGH
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