Govt project sparks San eviction fears
A first nation community, who are already experiencing poverty and despair, say their rights are being violated and government has chosen to ignore their pleas.
Members of the N‡a Jaqna Conservancy say they fear eviction, as government pushes for the implementation of its Programme for Communal Land Development (PCLD) in Tsumkwe West.
Group spokesperson Sarah Zungu said government has deliberately failed to record their objections to the project, when it was introduced during community meetings.
According to her, their livelihood is threatened because they do not know who plots will be given to.
They fear they may soon have nowhere to go with their children.
“We know it is a communal area but we do not want fences or small farms and government does not want to listen to us, but only wants to force this development onto us,” she said.
Zungu also accused government of turning a blind eye to the illegal non-San settlers, who have fenced off pieces of land without the Tsumkwe West San community being informed.
“The thing that really burdens us that our rights are violated and government chooses to ignore the feelings of the community. We are not even allowed to go and dig up veld food in the areas where people have settled illegally; if we do, we are accused of stealing people's cows or of trespassing,” she said.
The community has written a letter to government and its development partners to heed to their calls that the project should be abandoned.
The letter, dated 12 July, is addressed to the European Union, the EU Development Cooperation, the German Development Bank (KfW), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Otjozondjupa Communal Land Board, the lands ministry, the !Kung Traditional Authority, the Tsumkwe constituency councillor, the finance ministry, the World Wildlife Fund and the Namibian Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Support Organisations (NACSO).
In the letter, the community questioned the minutes of a meeting held at Aasvoelnes on 23 March, saying their objections were not recorded, as well as their comments that there is a lack of understanding about the proposed project.
“The three-and-half-hour meeting can clearly not have been sufficient time to explain the detailed land registration and cooperative proposals and the potential threats and benefits to the area, including translations to local languages. A large number of community members walked out of this meeting in objection to the proceedings but this is not mentioned anywhere,” the letter reads. It said further there have been inaccurate responses from the PCPD team to serious concerns about illegal fences that remain throughout the area and the risk to trophy hunting and devil's claw harvesting, which will be impacted by the proposed farms.
“It is clear that the consultants only recorded the part of the meetings that suits their needs, in order to forge ahead with a plan that was clearly predetermined.”
Lands ministry spokesperson Chrispin Matongela said the community was engaged.
“Any development that is taken to the people are for the communities. Objections are not strange; it is the nature of people. There will always be those people that object,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Members of the N‡a Jaqna Conservancy say they fear eviction, as government pushes for the implementation of its Programme for Communal Land Development (PCLD) in Tsumkwe West.
Group spokesperson Sarah Zungu said government has deliberately failed to record their objections to the project, when it was introduced during community meetings.
According to her, their livelihood is threatened because they do not know who plots will be given to.
They fear they may soon have nowhere to go with their children.
“We know it is a communal area but we do not want fences or small farms and government does not want to listen to us, but only wants to force this development onto us,” she said.
Zungu also accused government of turning a blind eye to the illegal non-San settlers, who have fenced off pieces of land without the Tsumkwe West San community being informed.
“The thing that really burdens us that our rights are violated and government chooses to ignore the feelings of the community. We are not even allowed to go and dig up veld food in the areas where people have settled illegally; if we do, we are accused of stealing people's cows or of trespassing,” she said.
The community has written a letter to government and its development partners to heed to their calls that the project should be abandoned.
The letter, dated 12 July, is addressed to the European Union, the EU Development Cooperation, the German Development Bank (KfW), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Otjozondjupa Communal Land Board, the lands ministry, the !Kung Traditional Authority, the Tsumkwe constituency councillor, the finance ministry, the World Wildlife Fund and the Namibian Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Support Organisations (NACSO).
In the letter, the community questioned the minutes of a meeting held at Aasvoelnes on 23 March, saying their objections were not recorded, as well as their comments that there is a lack of understanding about the proposed project.
“The three-and-half-hour meeting can clearly not have been sufficient time to explain the detailed land registration and cooperative proposals and the potential threats and benefits to the area, including translations to local languages. A large number of community members walked out of this meeting in objection to the proceedings but this is not mentioned anywhere,” the letter reads. It said further there have been inaccurate responses from the PCPD team to serious concerns about illegal fences that remain throughout the area and the risk to trophy hunting and devil's claw harvesting, which will be impacted by the proposed farms.
“It is clear that the consultants only recorded the part of the meetings that suits their needs, in order to forge ahead with a plan that was clearly predetermined.”
Lands ministry spokesperson Chrispin Matongela said the community was engaged.
“Any development that is taken to the people are for the communities. Objections are not strange; it is the nature of people. There will always be those people that object,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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