Illegal fences pulled down
Acting on a High Court judgement, the land board in Otjozondjupa has been systematically removing illegal fences in Tsumkwe.
The Otjozondjupa Communal Land Board had by last week removed 22 fences erected illegally as per a judgement handed down by the High Court on 18 August 2016.
The High Court ruled in favour of the Otjozondjupa Communal Land Board for the removal of 22 fences in the villages of Kano Vlei, Bubi Pos, Kandu and //Ha-du in the Tsumkwe West communal area.
The director of regional programme implementations in the Ministry of Land Reform, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata said via e-mail that the communal land board in February this year contracted four local companies to remove eight illegal fences.
She said nine illegal fences were voluntarily removed by the owners after the High Court ruling, while five others were removed with the authority of the Appeal Tribunal judgement.
The fences removed stretched over 9 550 hectares of land, said Nghituwamata.
She added there are still 40 illegal fences in Tsumkwe West.
“The board is now busy planning to remove them without a High Court order on grounds that the owners were served with notices, but they had failed to remove their fences,” she said.
She said the removing of these illegal fences in Tsumkwe West is continuing.
Nghituwamata also urged the people who erected these fences in the communal areas of Tsumkwe to remove it voluntarily in order to avoid legal implications.
She also said the Ministry of Land Reform can demand that the culprits reimburse the State for the money spent on removing the illegal fences.
In 2013, the Ministry of Land Reform completed geographical mapping activities on the entire Tsumkwe West communal area.
It found that 77 fences were erected illegally, covering about 26 000 hectares of communal land.
These farmers had driven their animals into Tsumkwe in 2013 because of drought in their areas of origin.
Most of them originated from the Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Omusati, Kavango East and Kavango West, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions.
During the removal of the fences in February and March this year, no livestock or residential structures were found on the alleged illegal farms.
NAMPA
The High Court ruled in favour of the Otjozondjupa Communal Land Board for the removal of 22 fences in the villages of Kano Vlei, Bubi Pos, Kandu and //Ha-du in the Tsumkwe West communal area.
The director of regional programme implementations in the Ministry of Land Reform, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata said via e-mail that the communal land board in February this year contracted four local companies to remove eight illegal fences.
She said nine illegal fences were voluntarily removed by the owners after the High Court ruling, while five others were removed with the authority of the Appeal Tribunal judgement.
The fences removed stretched over 9 550 hectares of land, said Nghituwamata.
She added there are still 40 illegal fences in Tsumkwe West.
“The board is now busy planning to remove them without a High Court order on grounds that the owners were served with notices, but they had failed to remove their fences,” she said.
She said the removing of these illegal fences in Tsumkwe West is continuing.
Nghituwamata also urged the people who erected these fences in the communal areas of Tsumkwe to remove it voluntarily in order to avoid legal implications.
She also said the Ministry of Land Reform can demand that the culprits reimburse the State for the money spent on removing the illegal fences.
In 2013, the Ministry of Land Reform completed geographical mapping activities on the entire Tsumkwe West communal area.
It found that 77 fences were erected illegally, covering about 26 000 hectares of communal land.
These farmers had driven their animals into Tsumkwe in 2013 because of drought in their areas of origin.
Most of them originated from the Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Omusati, Kavango East and Kavango West, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions.
During the removal of the fences in February and March this year, no livestock or residential structures were found on the alleged illegal farms.
NAMPA
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